Dance Mania celebrates 30 years in April with Eric Martin, DJ Milton, Waxmaster, and more
The event will commemorate the label’s contributions with DJ sets from dance music trailblazers.
Photo: Dance Mania Records/Facebook
Chicago music label Dance Mania has announced the festivities for its 30th anniversary.
The event, which is taking place in the city’s Avondale Music Hall on April 12th, will celebrate three decades of Dance Mania’s legacy in pioneering ghetto house, juke, and footwork. It will feature DJ sets by some of the label’s foundational artists, such as Eric Martin, DJ Milton, DJ Slugo, Waxmaster, D.j. Lil’Tal, Gant-Man, and more.
“This epic night pays tribute to the pioneers while nodding to the future,” the venue wrote in the caption of its announcement post. The space will host two rooms that “honor” the label’s impact on underground dance music, the statement continued.
Dance Mania Records was founded in 1986 by Ray Barney, a native Chicagoan and generational record shop owner. It became globally recognized in the early ‘90s for releasing tracks with a raunchy repetitive spin on Chicago House by artists like DJ Funk, Paul Johnson, Parris Mitchell, DJ Deeon, and others attributed to creating the ghetto house subgenre. The imprint also distributed some of DJ Clent and DJ Rashad’s early productions, earning credit for laying some of the groundwork for footwork.
Revisit label signee Traxman’s HEADS KNOW TAPE and check out the full lineup for Dance Mania’s 30-year celebration below.
FURTHER READING
The History of Dance Mania with Ray Barney by Shannon Dawson, Club Management
Dance Mania: Ghetto House's Motown by Jacob Arnold, Resident Advisor
DJ Deeon and Parris Mitchell on how Dance Mania changed house forever by Lauren Martin, DAZED
The return of Dance Mania Records by Leor Galil, Chicago Reader
