The DJs in the Turn It Up competition will be using similarly flashy equipment. Photo by Andrew Buckley.
ALEX MCCARTY | STAFF REPORTER | armccarty@butler.edu
Red Bull is hosting its Turn It Up DJ battle at the Hifi Indianapolis on Oct. 19. This is a fierce DJ competition in which teams of students from Indiana colleges compete against each other to win over the crowd. Each team has to come up with their own improvised mixes to progress to the next round. Whichever team gets the best reactions from the audience wins the battle.
The Red Bull Turn It Up series has been going strong since 2020, showcased internationally in cities such as Sydney and Vancouver. It debuted in the States on Sept. 7 in Houston and is now coming to Indianapolis.
Eight DJs from various Indiana universities will be participating in the event. Three DJs will represent Butler University and compete to win alongside other schools such as Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana University Indianapolis.
Senior health sciences major Robbie Delatorre is one of the DJs who will be performing on Butler’s behalf. His DJ name is Rdela and he has been performing sets for roughly three years.
Delatorre is fully aware that this hobby seems very different from what he is going to school for. However, he suggested the two are more related than one might think.
“It’s not really [about] the power or the control of actually shaping people’s nights,” Delatorre said. “It’s more so about [whether they are] happy with it. With DJing, your main priority is making the people happy. Just like in healthcare, you have to prioritize what people want.”
This sentiment is why so many music lovers find DJs exciting and fun to watch. Unlike other forms of live music or entertainment, a DJ depends on the energy of the audience and will adjust their set to maximize enjoyment. Knowing how to adapt to constantly changing environments while keeping people happy is a valuable trait that all good DJs share.
For Turn It Up, the participating DJs will be split into teams of two and face off against each other. During each round, the groups will be asked to create mixes from a variety of surprise themes. The DJs do not know what themes will be chosen until they are performing at the battle, which means that they will have to improvise their own sets and mixes on the spot.
Will Barnes, a junior creative media and entertainment major, is another Butler DJ participating in the event. He has been DJing for around two years from his bedroom and parties around campus. The Red Bull Turn It Up battle will be the largest venue he has ever performed at.
He addressed the practice of freestyle DJing and how he uses it to enhance his sets.
“I love freestyling on the fly [and doing] whatever I’m feeling,” Barnes said. “I’ll throw in a loop or some crazy backspin [or] I’ll make a live mashup if I can. I tend to just do it all on the fly.”
Similar to how the music is led by student DJs, the winner of the DJ battle is decided by members of the audience. Each team of DJs will be assigned a color and each crowd member is given a wristband. These wristbands are used to vote for whichever team they prefer, culminating in one team winning the final battle. This system ensures that the outcome of the contest is exclusively decided by the people and the DJs are playing for nobody but the attendees.
Sophomore strategic communications major Kiana Fleming is the student ambassador for Red Bull. She has been working with Red Bull to promote their brand as well as local events like the Turn It Up contest.
She discussed promoting this event and what she has learned from the experience.
“I’ve never had a job where I’ve actually had to promote … so I think it’s been cool to get customer feedback,” Fleming said. “This will definitely help me in the future [with] getting out of my comfort zone and talking to people [because] I’m not the best [with] randomly going up to people. I learn something new every time I’m at Red Bull.”
The Red Bull Turn It Up contest is an exciting event for music fans who are looking for a night of great entertainment and competition. It is also ideal for any students who want to support local classmates as they compete to win the battle. For DJ fanatics and local college students alike, it will be a night to remember.
The event will take place on Oct. 19th, 2024 at the Hi-Fi Indianapolis. It starts at 9:00 p.m. and the doors open at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased from the Hi-Fi Indy Website or Tixr.
