Must Read

Ookay and Fox Stevenson Bring Wow! Cool! To Richmond [Event Review]

November 18, 2017 By Lia Tabackman

Photo by Lia Tabackman

In a sentence, Ookay’s Wow! Cool! Tour was an over-the-top party disguised as a casual Thursday night show. In more sentences, the tour’s excellence stems from Ookay’s clear development as an artist, with the addition of live instrumentals and vocals, flawless mixing, and the ability to seamlessly switch between genres.

Hot on the heels of their collaboration “Lighthouse,” EDM legend Ookay has been hitting the road with UK based singer and producer Fox Stevenson to show cities around the globe that dance music is more than just button-pushing; it is a responsive and live experience.

After stopping by South America for Chile’s Creamfields Festival, The Wow! Cool! tour wound its way down to Richmond, Virginia thanks to the masterminds at East-Coast based production company, Steez Promo. Opened by local producers Bunk Buddha and Trantic, ravers arrived in hoards to The Broadberry – in typical Thursday night fashion. Fox Stevenson dove head-first into an unapologetically bass-heavy track, recklessly yet eloquently mixing elements of his signature liquid dubstep into classic bass music tracks. The set was dark, grimy, and the perfect intro to what would continue on as a memorable night in recent Richmond history.

For Ookay, the tour is a chance to premiere his new live-set, complete with a keyboard, keytar, drum pads, and live vocals. While commonly associated with electronic trap music, the California based artist has begun to pivot away from his signature genre into a realm of live music that combines elements of dubstep, electro, and house music into an experience that refuses to be defined by any singular genre. The tour’s technicolor visuals in a variety of hyper-retro, animated styles grasped the 90’s kids by the heartstrings and reminded everyone in attendance that their inner child is always ready to play (or party.)