Aside from an unexpected turn in the weather, Saturday night's Second Annual Electronic Music Festival at Downtown Civic Plaza was successful in smashing the destructive stereotypes associated with raves.
Surrounded by courthouses and police stations, the festival was out in the open, and people were there simply to enjoy the music.
On two stages, the show featured 10 New Mexico DJs, including Crystalline, Kiddo, Eddie Ocean and Donovan. Also in attendance were guest speakers, sword dancers and break-dancers.
"The goal of the event is to shed a positive light on the electronic music culture," said Cyrus Gould, one of the main Electronic Music Festival representatives.
Raves, which commonly feature electronic music, have received bad reputations for their alleged connection to the drug culture. Rave culture became a site of political and social scrutiny when Congress introduced a bill called the Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act in 2002.
The 'RAVE Act,' as it is now known, classifies raves as "all-night alcohol-free dance parties typically featuring loud, pounding dance music." The bill points to raves as being associated with endorsing drug use and holds promoters responsible for any drugs or drug-related accidents occurring at the events.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Electronic Music Festival served as a peaceful counter to the RAVE Act as well as an opportunity for the festival's organizers to inform people of the positive aspects of rave culture.
Local Libertarian Party representative Bruce Bush spoke out against the RAVE Act at the event, calling it "an attack on community and the right to gather as a group."
"The rave war is a subset of the drug war which is the subset of a much bigger, culture war," Bush said. "We need to recognize that we the people have been conned by a big lie."
The event's co-producer and sponsor Jessica Christiansen became involved to show that raves aren't about all the negative hype they receive.
"The festival is a statewide collaboration of people trying to raise awareness about the electronic music scene and to counter the negative stigma that has been generated throughout the nation," Christiansen said.
Electronic music is a key element in rave culture, and it has become almost impossible to consider them separately.
"They are one and the same," DJ Donovan Livingston said. "You can't have one without the other. To me, raves are just an extension of the eternal celebration of life."
Livingston also considers electronic music as part of the definition of American culture.
"It really reflects America," he said. "America is a very technological country and this music represents that."
Demetria Frangos was at the event, and even brought her infant. Frangos is an avid electronic music fan, and said she's attracted to the music because of the scene it carries with it.
"I think the electronic music scene always had a good vibe, it's a peaceful vibe," Frangos said.
