Special to Knoxville.com Sight and sound dovetail weekly at the Cider House during 'The Midnight Voyage,' a celebration of electronica.
The last few years have seen a type of musical resurgence in Knoxville in the form of electronic dance music that has spawned a number of different weekly events for those who want to come out and get down. What once was often bordering on the underground at the now defunct Electric Ballroom has come into the limelight and fully hit the mainstream thanks to several factors, including a broad music festival exposure nationally and an increased prevalence on college radio, specifically here in Knoxville.
One show that has been an integral part in bringing out the dance in Knoxville is “The Midnight Voyage”, hosted by Brian Coakley (or DJ Psychonaut as he is known on the air). What began in March 2008 as a replacement show for another electronic radio show on WUTK, “The A.M. Groove,” has become a sort of brand in Knoxville, spawning its own production company and currently supporting a weekly event at The Cider House in the form of “Midnight Voyage Live”.
Speaking with Coakley on how “The Midnight Voyage” got its start, he said “I had heard electronica on the station in different contexts like The A.M. Groove and The Urban Jungle, which is a great show still on the air, but I thought there was room to start something a little different.” Rather than focus on specific sub-genres, he wanted to create a show that found a happy medium among all types of electronic music, and thus “The Midnight Voyage” was born.
On where “The Midnight Voyage” got its name, Coakley said “(It) came from a song by the dynamic duo known as Ghostland Observatory. Just a few weeks before I started the radio show I had seen them live for the first time at the 2008 Langerado Music Festival in Florida, and I was absolutely blown away by their energy and creativity.”
From there the show began to grow as it got more involved with the community and expanding outside of simply playing music each night. “As the show progressed and more and more people got into it, the more involved we became with the overall electronic music scene in Knoxville. We started promoting shows in town, doing ticket giveaways, interviewing artists, having local DJs come in to the studio, etc., “ Coakley said, “and naturally, the more we did, the more people got into it.”
From there “The Midnight Voyage” became involved in the promotion of several shows around Knoxville through posters, various social-networking sites and teaming up with several other groups in Knoxville that promote similar events. “We’ve learned a lot and made friends with a lot of other people in town who promote electronic music; Knoxtronica.com, The Valarium, Po ‘n Crunk Productions, Carleo Entertainment, Knoxville-EDM and Fly Like Us to name a few. All of these entities work really hard to keep electronic dance music alive in Knoxville, and it’s so incredible to see how far it’s come and how many people are into it now,” Coakley says of the rising success of these events here in Knoxville.
As far as the new weekly event featured at The Cider House every Saturday night, Coakley says, “It offers a wide variety of sensory stimulation. You’ll see and hear different local and regional artists each week. They will be playing different types of electronic music and pretty much anything that will make you wanna get down.” Additionally there will be live painting on stage, a projection screen, lasers, fire performances and face or body painting for free.
As far as drink specials go, the event features $2 tall boy beers and “some exceptional bar food for you to munch on”. There are also opportunities to register to win tickets to a variety of upcoming electronic music shows in Knoxville available at the door. Most importantly, the event is free to everyone 21+ and only $5 for those ages 18–20.
When asked what he was most excited about seeing at the event, Coakley said, “I am most excited about seeing what this event can become as a result of collective creativity and group participation. I can’t wait to hear some new music and see everyone in the crowd getting down and having a good time.”
“Midnight Voyage Live” is every Saturday night at The Cider House and features a rotating lineup of electronic artists each week.
© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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