BLACK LABEL EVENTS SIGNAL A RETURN
TO THE INTIMATE DISCOTHEQUE
From the early days of City Different club haunts like The Senate and El Paseo to the glory days of The Paramount, Santa Fe has, for decades now, enjoyed an almost mythical reputation for nightlife enthusiasts.
“Santa Fe is a touchstone for the creative and eccentric, so it makes perfect sense that we’ve managed to create such a vibrant scene that only continues to evolve,” says Oona Bender, longtime Santa Fe DJ and now nigh...
BLACK LABEL EVENTS SIGNAL A RETURN
TO THE INTIMATE DISCOTHEQUE
From the early days of City Different club haunts like The Senate and El Paseo to the glory days of The Paramount, Santa Fe has, for decades now, enjoyed an almost mythical reputation for nightlife enthusiasts.
“Santa Fe is a touchstone for the creative and eccentric, so it makes perfect sense that we’ve managed to create such a vibrant scene that only continues to evolve,” says Oona Bender, longtime Santa Fe DJ and now nightclub impresario along with Black Label partner Van Roy.
Black Label is the new club night and brand conceived and produced by Bender and Roy, who have been friends and colleagues for twenty plus years, having served vital roles at a list of Santa Fe’s best clubs and events. After attending the Winter Music Conference in Miami in March and visiting with industry friends, the two were inspired to do something. With Black Label, the goal is very specific, almost niche as the format is straight up underground soulful house and disco. “Black Label is not about what the flavor of the month is or who the hottest DJ/producer of the moment is. It’s about the feeling that our particular mix of people, music and sound evokes,” states Roy. “Think intimate discotheque in the high desert.”
Black Label will launch Saturday July 25 at Blue Rooster with the return of Hector Romero from Def Mix in New York. A working DJ and label manager for over twenty years, Romero cut his teeth as a Hip Hop DJ in the Bronx before transitioning to house and opening for mentor David Morales at such clubs as The Red Zone and Palladium. He soon became part of the Def Mix family, overseeing Def Mix Music and SAW Recordings. Def Mix was home to Grammy Award winning DJ/Producer and “Godfather” of House Frankie Knuckles, himself a regular guest DJ in Santa Fe. Since Knuckles untimely passing in 2014, Romero’s international profile in the industry has soared as he tours the finest clubs and festivals in the world, including residencies at both Pacha in Ibiza and Cielo in New York.
Black Label’s next event will be September 19 with the Sugar Girl Squad from Deep Sugar in Baltimore. The Sugar Girl Squad is DJs Ultra Nate (the world renowned house artist best known for her anthem “Free”) and Lisa Moody.
For more information, please call Van Roy at 318.240.3495
