Little Rock’s newest EDM venue, CELLHAUS, hosted its fourth free show of the year Sept. 2, showcasing DJs from all over Arkansas.
Six DJs took the stage at CELLHAUS to host KRAFT III, the third show in the tech-house rave series.
Local DJs SEXI LEXI, GÜERO, P for Parker, SVUNSET and KRANIVM each brought their styles to the event with a mix of house music, riddim, dubstep, bass and EDM.
The first set of the night was a special performance hosted by DJ P4ARADOX, whose identity was kept secret from the crowd.
P4ARADOX started the show with a darker EDM sound, warming up the crowd for upcoming sets.
The next performer, SEXI LEXI, brought a mix of dubstep and house music to her set, followed by GÜERO, who continued the house music theme for the dancing crowd.
The night’s fourth performer, P for Parker, also stayed on the house music theme, playing his remixes of popular songs like Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and will.i.am and Britney Spears’ “Scream and Shout,” allowing anyone to join in on the fun, house listener or not.
SVUNSET, the night’s fifth performer, mainly played EDM with a mix of riddim and bass, including popular songs by electronic DJ Griz.
His set brought out the main mosh pits for the night, with many people headbanging together for the entirety of his hourlong set.
The final performance of the night was from KRANIVM, who started his set out with some riddim and closed the night out with some calm house music to wind everyone down.
Lasers, smoke machines and general LED lighting accompanied each set, programmed with the music to enhance the audience experience.
While this was only the fourth event held by CELLHAUS, its community is burgeoning.
Darin Benningfield, also known by his stage name Gray Orange, created CELLHAUS as a way to create a safe and friendly environment for people to come together and enjoy music at no cost.
“When I was 18, I went to so many free shows out of state because there were no options around me. That’s what I wanted to change with CELLHAUS,” Darin said.
Darin said he can make these events free since he uses money out of his pocket and because he has some of the equipment needed to create his own music.
Darin also has help from his girlfriend Aaron Anderson, who is also looking at expanding the CELLHAUS experience.
Anderson said, “We’re looking for vendors to come to our next event to sell their art to continue to promote the idea that everyone and everything is welcome at CELLHAUS.”
She also explained that even though the CELLHAUS venue is technically a house in a neighborhood, they have an understanding with the neighbors about the event, and there have been no noise complaints.
“We’re doing this in a way we’ve never seen before, so it’s important that we do things correctly to create this fun and safe community,” Anderson said.
P for Parker, who is also closely involved in CELLHAUS, talked about how this community is so important for the current political climate.
“Arkansas is not known for its sense of community, especially with LGBTQ+ and people of color, so we always want to be able to provide a safe space for those people to come and not feel judged or attacked for who they are,” Parker said.
Parker also mentioned that this is a good starting point for someone new in the EDM and house scene because of how welcoming the community is.
“We come together as a family, even if you come by yourself, someone will soon be by your side to welcome you to the party,” Parker said.
Parker warned newcomers that safety is very important at the HAUS: “You violate someone, you’re out. If you come here and choose to not be accepting and loving, why are you here?”
CELLHAUS is planning their next show to be a special “Spooky Rave” on Friday the 13th where they will have vendors selling art outside of the HAUS where you can go back and forth from headbanging to finding your favorite new local artist.
CELLHAUS is located at 4721 Camp Robinson Road in North Little Rock and new shows and information can be found on the CELLHAUS Instagram page @cellhauslive.