Pop Conference can now confirm that the following weekend events - all of which are held in person - will also be live-streamed on Twitch (except for one which will be on Zoom; see below). You can sign up to attend them in person - or you can watch online. Please pre-register in advance for select in-person special events as we are required to strictly adhere to room capacity regulations and NYU facilities protocols. If a special event reads as "sold out" when you go to register, that means we have exceeded room capacity for in-person attendees.
Vince Aletti in Conversation with Tim Lawrence: Reporting the Rise of the DJ, the Downtown Party Scene and Disco
Room 202, 370 Jay Street Saturday, April 29th @ 1:00 PM — 2:15 PM Free to attend in person and only general registration to the Pop Conference is required.
LIVE STREAM HERE
Twenty-five years after their first interview, Vince Aletti, author of the legendary disco column “Disco Files,” talks with Love Saves the Day/Hold On to Your Dreams/Life and Death on the NY Dance Floor author Tim Lawrence. Retracing Vince’s experiences on the downtown dance floor, the groundbreaking articles he published in Rolling Stone and the Village Voice, his genre-defining efforts at Record World, and his eventual work alongside Warner Bros. disco promoter Ray Caviano, they will run with a thesis that almost nobody would have considered credible when they first spoke: “New York’s most significant contribution to popular music is to have given birth to contemporary DJ culture.” How did the rise of the downtown party lead to disco? How did the meaning of the universe get to be revealed on the floor of David Mancuso’s Loft? To what extent did the 12” remix reinvent music? What was it like to be the person to narrate the evolving scene? Was the backlash against disco inevitable, even healthy? Heat will be generated…
Critical Karaoke: Big Wave in the Room: A Renaissance in 16 Acts
w/ Daphne A. Brooks, Jafari Allen, Jason King, Aimee Meredith Cox, Daphne LaMothe, Sidney Madden, Madison Moore, Ann Powers, Kevin Quashie, Doreen St. Félix, Tavia Nyong’o
Saturday, April 29 @ 5:15PM — 7:00PM Room 202, 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York 10012 Free to attend in person and only general registration to the conference is required.
LIVE STREAM HERE
Critical Karaoke is a Pop Conference tradition in which writers offer essays on songs that can be no longer than the length of the song itself. This year scholars and critics from across disciplines pay homage to Beyoncé's dance floor masterwork Act I: Renaissance.
The Party to Pop Pipeline: How Independent Musicians Navigate Club Culture and Nightlife
Hosted by Paper Magazine Saturday, April 29 @ 7:15 pm - 8:30 pm 370 Jay Street, Room 202
LIVE STREAM HERE
Nightlife, especially queer nightlife, has historically been a space for independent pop stars to find their footing, discover their fanbase, and ultimately launch their careers on the charts. PAPER Magazine's Justin Moran invites a panel of ambitious, young artists — including Miss Madeline, Mel 4Ever, Madison Rose and more — to talk about their career experiences navigating party culture as both a tool and ongoing source of inspiration in music. Register below beginning Friday, April 21 at 10 am ET.
Feeling Like a Rose: Kevin Aviance in Conversation with Madison Moore
Sunday, April 30th @ 1:00 PM — 1:45 PM 370 Jay Street, Room 202 This event is free to attend in person and only general registration to the conference is required. LIVE STREAM HERE Kevin Aviance is a musician, DJ and performer with the biggest personality in the NYC club scene, and has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Notably, Kevin is a part of the vogue-ballroom House of Aviance, has worked with several artists including Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston, and released two albums, ‘Box of Chocolates’ in 1994 and ‘Entity’ in 2004. Most recently, Beyonce sampled Kevin’s hit 90’s track ‘Cunty’ on her new song ‘Pure/Honey’ featured on her Grammy-nominated “Renaissance” Album. In addition to performing at music festivals and the club circuit, Kevin has been featured in outlets including Paper Magazine, Billboard, Forbes, and Interview Magazine. Madison Moore is an artist-scholar, DJ and assistant professor of Critical Studies at the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California.
Spotlight Session - Man Parrish Confesses All to Tim Lawrence: “I Wasn’t Just a Disco Bunny”
370 Jay Street, Room 202 Sunday, April 30 @ 2:00 PM — 2:45PM
This event will be held in person and it will be broadcast on Zoom (not Twitch). Man Parrish will participate remotely, while moderator Tim Lawrence will be physically present with a live in-person audience. Free to attend in person and only general registration to the conference is required.
The New York Times has said Man Parrish is the “GodFather Of Electronic Music”. Other media sources claim he is a founding force behind EDM, the electronic dance movement, that is now considered mainstream pop music of today. Helping to lay the foundation of electro, hip-hop, freestyle, house, and techno, as well as the dozens of sub-genres that splinter off from those styles. Parrish introduced the aesthetic of electronic pop to the American scene. Tim Lawrence is the author of Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-79, Hold On to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973-92, and Life & Death on the New York Dance Floor, 1980-83.
Get On Up: Generations of Music Superproducers in Conversation Closing Night Conference Keynote
featuring Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Timbaland, Take a Daytrip
Sunday, April 30 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Room 202, 370 Jay Street LIVE STREAM HERE
DJ SLIINK w/ Special Guest DJ TAMEIL
Closing Night Conference DJ ‘Tea Dance’ Party Presented w/ LETSGETFR.EE
Sunday, April 30 @ 6 PM - 10 PM The Garage, 370 Jay Street, Willoughby Street entrance
a special and joyous all-ages closing night dance party event for the 2023 Pop Conference, celebrating the roots of Jersey Club music. LIVE STREAM HERE
