We were lucky to catch up with Theo & Chris Emo Night Tampa recently and have shared our conversation below.

Theo & Chris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The0- I feel like they are all meaningful. The last thing I want to do is waste time & resources. Someone else’s or mine. I think we do a good job of curating shows & picking bands that we feel fit with what we do & want to accomplish. We’ve been pretty luck to have others believe in what we do.

Chris- For sure, I feel like anytime a young band gets to play a new venue because of us, or play to a bigger crowd than they’re used to, it’s meaningful.

Theo & Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Theo – We’ve been a DJ duo for like fifteen years now. Maybe longer. Around ten years, we decided to throw an emo night. Just us two playing our favorite records. Songs & bands that we usually couldn’t play when we djed nightclubs or whatever. It took off and it went from being a one off party to a monthly party we have thrown for the last ten years.
We just celebrated Emo Night Tampa’s 10 year anniversary on June 7th. Around 6 years ago, we started to incorporate bands into the night. Started off as one band. Then two. Now we typically have four bands play any given party with us djing in between. We have had over 125 unique bands from all over the country, play the night.

I think the thing I’m most proud of is, we built something from scratch & when no one thought it would work. I’ve met some great people & even better friendships from ENT & to do it with one of your best buds, is pretty great.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Theo – Support your locals. Support your community & the community will support you back.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Theo – Every party we throw, the possibility of something going wrong is there. Bands will cancel last minute. The equipment might have issues. The thing I think I learned is, that in the end, it will work itself out. No one has died cause a speaker wasn’t working properly. You have to think on your feet & pivot at a moment’s notice. This is where community steps in. A band’s van breaks down & can’t play the show? You reach out to your community. You need equipment? Community.

Chris- We’re lucky enough to be a part of something that people want to be involved in, so when things go wrong, equipments not available, a band has to cancel…,someone is always ready to step up and help us make it happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Emonighttampa.com
• Instagram: emo_night_tampa

Image Credits

Dave Decker