Northwest Arkansas may need a breather coming off the heels of one of its most jam-packed weekends of the year. Visitors from far and wide flocked to the Ozarks to experience not only Arkansas’ largest music festival – Format, but also the Bikes, Blues, and BBQ event centered all around, well – bikes, blues, and barbeque. While I didn’t manage to rev any engines or bite into any pulled-pork sandwiches, I was enjoying Bentonville’s second annual Format Festival. While this article isn’t about the festival, if you are unaware, Format is a cultural celebration of and FOR music, art, and technology – making up the MAT in the festival’s title (putting the pieces together?). Both events fell roughly around the same time over the course of the weekend of September 22nd. And for those desperately needing to pack their itineraries, there was one more event that shouldn’t have conflicted with any of the weekend’s festivities because, well, it didn’t start until after everyone had already gone to sleep.
Following Format’s strong opening day on Friday the 22nd, a local collective by the name Backroom AR had big plans for the evening following the closing act’s final notes. Having grown up in cities that range from New York to Baltimore to Dallas, the group – who wished to remain anonymous – told me in an interview that was held a week prior to Friday’s ‘FORMAfter’ after-party that the event would be their largest yet in their quest to create their own nightlife experience in NWA.
Having made a new home in NWA within the past year, the people at Backroom AR found it hard to emulate the lifestyle of their past, bigger cities saying, “We were going out on the weekends and a lot of bars were doing last call at 11:30p-12:30a and we were really confused by that.” Having been fans of nightlife, they were yearning for something more tangible. They were searching for a feeling that not just any bar could offer them. They dove into this idea more when they told me that “when [they] lived in Dallas, [they] would go to after-parties that started at 2-3am and went til 6,” they continued by highlighting that these after-parties “just have a different feel; a more underground feel. Maybe it’s an artist that you’ve never heard of, but they sound incredible.” They harped on the idea of never knowing where the night was going to take you, and that the Ozarks severely lacked that sense of spontaneity. They began to theorize and craft their own ideas surrounding what possibilities lay outside of the classic NWA bar, stating, “The only place you can really go out in NWA is in Fayetteville and a lot of people don’t always want to go to Dickson Street.” Ultimately, the party-throwing gene was always within the Backroom AR group as they admitted that, “We’ve always wanted to run something like this or do after-parties. We were like, ‘shoot the after-parties here are at like 11 o’clock so we could basically do going-out hours.’” The table was all but set for Backroom AR as they focused on making their dreams of dancing into the Arkansas sunrise a reality.
A chance meeting at a local apartment pool party hosted by DJ, Theronious Chunk gave Backroom AR a glimpse into the future. They recall the way it played out, saying it opened up many different opportunities for potential partnerships and connecting on “creative tastes.” This was just the link Backroom AR needed to pose the idea to Theronious Chunk, as well as other DJs, that Backroom AR could offer them something a lot of DJs don’t get to see very often: the platform for artists to play what they truly want to play. Backroom AR said it's one of the pillars that acts as a foundation for what they do, highlighting, “That’s like a motivator for us; to be able to give artists a platform.” It’s an unfortunate truth for DJs that want to be paid for their skills. Surprise or not, your local DJ probably doesn’t want to be playing Maroon 5 at weddings for the rest of their lives. Backroom AR commented on this more, saying, “At our last show, we had one DJ group that was playing with us and – they play, like, huge fraternity/Row Week type-stuff. Like, large amounts – much larger than our normal crowds – and they told us how much they love the event. They were saying that it was the first show they played where they got to play exactly what they wanted, which is a big deal to us.”
Their first, official Backroom AR after-party debuted on July 1st. With Theronious Chunk in full support of their mission, they managed to secure a bar that agreed to host their dance-all-night-until-the-sunrise event in exchange for exposure and getting more people in the bar. At first, they worried about the ambiance – or lack thereof. Backroom AR prioritized being able to “transform the space into something that NWA wasn’t used to. Something that kind of surprised people.” They reminisced on the people who raised concerns about cover charges to get into their event. Backroom AR made a point to say that they were told many times that people in NWA would never pay a cover, but confident in the experience, Backroom AR said, “I was giving people money-back guarantees [...] Not only did nobody come [back to get their money], but I went up to every single one of those people to ask them if they wanted their money back and they all said no.” When I asked them to reflect on that first show, the team at Backroom AR had this to say, “I think part of it is kind of like The Field of Dreams, like, ‘If you build it, they will come.’” The results of the first show, they told me, was evidence that it was so badly needed and that “people were just dying to go to shows like this.” They assured me that the bar certainly had no complaints as, even though they weren’t sure what to expect at first, “sure enough, their POS system broke because there were so many people. They never saw those numbers before.” Now with a proof-of-concept, Backroom AR had solidified its marketability. They say they now feel supported with many regulars as well as new people who are consistently showing up to their events. They refer back to that first bar back in July, saying, “we can’t go back there because of the fire-code.” They’ve undergone such growth that not only can they not go back to the original bar, but they are creeping up on reaching capacity at venues that can hold 400! Good problems to have. Speaking of good problems, with their newfound popularity Backroom AR says they don’t even search out talent, they go on stating, “Now we have DJs coming to us. We have bars and groups just come to us – wanting us to do that cos they understand what it kind of brings as far as, like, alcohol sales go.”
A hard line to toe is safety and fun. This is just a truth of the universe and it’s always best to have a healthy balance of the two. To abandon one is to not only do yourself a disservice, but those of whom may also be relying on this balance. With that being said, you can rest easy knowing that your late-night excursion does have some cognizant leaders at the helm. Backroom AR tells us that “safety is one of the things our team prioritized from the beginning. If we don’t have security, we can’t do a show.” They believe it’s important to not gatekeep party-goers from enjoying themselves, but to facilitate an environment in which they can feel protected while doing so. They put it best by commenting that “[our security] is not there to, necessarily, intimidate. They’re there to encourage everyone to have a good time [while also] being on the sidelines and being alert.” Backroom AR has its sights set on something equally as important, as well. More specifically, a topic that plagues many bars, music festivals, and crowd-heavy events: water. Frankly, Backroom AR has this to say about access to water: “We won’t partner with a venue that won’t let us do free water. That’s an absolute no.” Security, check. Free water, check. They also make it clear that they’re looking out for you and your friends. To those who struggle with a good balance of fun and safety, Backroom AR said, “Obviously we want to be legally compliant, but we don’t want to see anybody get in trouble while being at one of our shows, so we definitely keep an eye on that too.” Overall, on the safety front, they believe just being a place that’s open even after your favorite bar closes is in the spirit of what they set out to do in the first place. It’s important to have a place to go that’s free of judgment and can offer some free hydration or snacks when it’s needed.
After our interview, a week out from their ‘FORMAfter’ after-party, I felt as though the stage was set for me and I couldn’t wait to experience it for myself. As a fan of nightlife and electronic dance music, I was so excited for the music-filled weekend I had ahead of me. Fast forward to Friday the 22nd, LCD Soundsystem plays out the crowd at around 10:45p. Even though I had been walking the festival grounds since 2pm, I was ready to dance until 5am. The event was held at CACHE STUDIOS, a place for local creatives to, well – create. Tonight, we were creating good vibes. I managed to arrive around 11:45pm. Upon entry, the event was split into 3 rooms. A live band, MODELING, was setting up for what was teased as a “Secret Performance” in the first room. The second room lacked any sort of music at all as it was the “Silent Disco” room that made me chuckle as I saw a crowd of people bounce in sync to a bass that was hardly perceivable without the special headphones. In the third room was the main event that was held in a bit of a garage-like area. Here, DJ after DJ were set to play into the wee hours of the night, and it was already kicking off. People dancing, people drinking, people talking – well, actually – people yelling. It was loud. Projected on the walls above the garage floor were custom-made trippy graphics that completely submerged the space in this “we’re-not-in-Arkansas-anymore” neon purple, yellow, and green. The bass was thumping and it, along with the bustling crowd of the most diverse cast of characters I’ve ever seen, was truly a thrill. Among some of my favorite acts, I really enjoyed DJ Girlfriend and FITZY in the main area. I had my own share of synchronous bouncing at the Silent Disco as I caught a bit of Unsweet Steve’s mix. MODELING seemed to kill it as well in the first room. Such a great offering of talent. Not that I was surprised to see and hear such talented artists, it’s just unlike any musical experience I’ve had. The crowd managed to thicken in the garage, but never to a point of implosion as the other two rooms offered a bit of relief. Bathroom lines managed to move relatively fast, which I appreciated, but the concession line would have you waiting for well over 15 minutes. Again, good problems. I was pleased with my first experience at a Backroom AR show and look forward to more events in the future just as much as the creators themselves do.
As far as planning for their next event, Backroom AR said, “We’re not really stressing [about planning shows]. It’s just kind of like, ‘what should we do?’” They are mostly looking forward to innovating in terms of the kinds of attractions they’ll offer during future shows. For the ‘FORMAfter’, they had a performance art piece by Ben Edwards being held as well as some unconventional electronic acts that branched outside of EDM a bit (there was a cello involved). With aspirations like these, they’re definitely worried about the space as well, saying, “At the pace that we’re growing, it’s almost like, ‘How soon are we gonna grow out of our biggest venue?’” That’s just one of the concerns looming over Backroom AR’s heads because the sky’s the limit. They go on to say that, “We have a lot of things that we talk about internally. I think we’ll eventually look into doing some festivals, maybe partnering with some groups, really working with those relationships with sponsors and having something big once or twice a year. Then, move to something once or twice a month. Get a big space if we can. A lot’s to be seen, cos you know, we’re only in 4 months of operation.” As for the immediate plans for Backroom AR, they did have something special to announce and it’s that they’re going on the road! Little Rock better keep their eyes peeled, because on December 2nd, they’re gonna get their chance to experience one of these shows first-hand. While details are yet to be announced, the date does seem to be what Backroom AR is looking at for their Central Arkansas debut. Meanwhile, for the coming months, Rogers, AR can expect to see much more of Backroom AR as they still plan to maintain their 2-shows-a-month schedule going into next year. When 2024 rears its head, they say “it’ll kind of be hitting the ground running – just kind of starting to think through some bigger plans.”
If you’re a DJ looking to be a part of one of the coolest things coming out of NWA’s music scene, don’t be afraid to send a mix over to Backroom AR. They highly recommend an original set where the DJ’s doing a little bit more than just hitting the Play button. They are super excited to get in touch with new talent saying that “it has nothing to do with followers. We don’t even ask DJs how many people they’ll bring to the venue cos that’s our job. We’re providing the platform, the people, and the marketing. Your job is to play what you want to play.” You can reach the team @Backroom_AR on instagram.
The Backroom AR experience was described by them in a few words. They said the experience just “feels raw. It feels creative. I think we’re kind of just drawn to that.” It seems a lot of NWA residents are drawn to it as well. The wide appeal of EDM’s danceability and the malnutrition caused by an early “last-call” allow Backroom AR’s operation to flourish – and in such a short time, too. NWA’s boom over the last ten years has brought in a lot of change to the area and Backroom AR says that “we’re a part of that change. People who embrace that change are really big fans of what we’re doing.” Color me one of those fans. Times are changin’, and maybe it’s time that the rest of Arkansas followed suit. If you’re interested in purchasing tickets to their next event or want to stay up to date on what they have coming down the pipeline you can visit their website at backroomar.com or drop them a follow @Backroom_AR on instagram.