Break out your darkest eyeliner and your gaudiest studded chokers. It’s prom night.
High Dive is hosting Gainesville’s first EmoProm “I’m Not Okay” Edition Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
EmoProm is a young touring “emo-DJ-driven” dance party with all the classic attributes of a high school prom. Having started in December, it’s a mixture of the traditional and the counterculture, complete with slow dances, prom-style photoshoots and a special dedication to the emo alternative scene.
EmoProm co-founder and resident DJ Michael Silver said EmoProm was birthed from an idea he had for an emo party. When his colleagues at Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola gave him the OK, they found themselves with a name, logo and the first few versions of the event planned out by the end of that same day.
“EmoProm is the club night for those who hate club nights, for the couple looking to re-charge that spark, and for the lonely soul looking to not feel so alone for the night – can’t be lonely singing along with hundreds of other people right?” Silver wrote in an email.
Saturday’s event is being dedicated to Silver’s “kings of emo”: My Chemical Romance. He considers the night a celebration of the band’s current reunion tour.
High Dive facility and events manager Patrick Lavery said High Dive has worked with EmoProm organizers on a variety of events in the past but has never hosted an EmoProm before.
“This is a new event that they just started, and we are happy to bring it to Gainesville for the first time on its inaugural run,” Lavery wrote in an email.
While there is no enforced dress code, attendees are encouraged to go all out, sporting either alternative emo fashion, semi-formal prom attire or any combination of the two, according to EmoProm’s event page.
Reflecting the event’s theme of inclusivity and uniqueness the event will crown of “prom royalty” for best dressed, rather than “king and queen,” is a change Silver is proud to have made. EmoProm is for all, he said, so it made sense to ditch traditional gender associations.
Between the stage effects, acts mimicking beloved emo music videos and custom EmoProm alcoholic drinks, Gainesville’s emo and emo-loving are invited to relive a night of the past and embrace the music they love.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing a group of people who love this music as much as I do,” Silver wrote. “I love to see people going all-out with their outfits, I have seen some amazing outfits since we’ve started doing this and that has been one of my favorite parts of it. I hope that I see a large crowd in front of me at High Dive as I’m DJ’ing the night away.”
EmoProm tickets can be purchased via EventBrite or High Dive's website for $8 in advance and $10 day of show. A buy three, get one free and couples prom pack special are available. Song requests can be texted to EmoProm’s request line at 213-787-4224.
Contact Chloe Greenberg at cgreenberg@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @_chloegreenberg.
EmoProm will take place at High Dive Saturday night following the Original Gainesville Food Truck Rally.
