As the long-awaited Pretty Lights return began at Mission Ballroom, a front row fan screams, “He’s back and better than ever–sober and healthy, baby!”
Fans across the world tuned into the live stream, witnessing the sober Derek Vincent Smith take the stage after a five-year hiatus. Concluding the three-night Denver run, DVS sends out the impactful message, “The opposite of addiction is connection.” Derek’s message has inspired many fans, venues, and artists to encourage sobriety and wellness within the EDM community.
Challenging the stereotype
“(I’m) wanting to set a good example for family and friends. Add longevity to my career in touring, balance my energy, increase my productivity, and flow of creative output. Committing to sobriety was the yellow brick road for which I had to walk. As Pretty Lights just said at his Mission Ballroom show: The opposite of addiction is connection.”
– ST4RFOX
Drug use has defined rave stereotypes since the beginning of its time. Nowadays, EDM blogs and platforms have paired their content with drug-driven humor, memes, and reels. Although it’s all in good fun, why does it seem shows or festivals can’t be enjoyed without substances involved? Are we really enjoying music at the ‘drug fest’ as our parental’s have humorously teased?
Various individuals within the EDM community are taking the initiative to preach their wellness journeys on personal and public platforms. Some of the biggest venues now offer alcohol-free beverages, while festivals create spaces for wellness workshops. Such messaging and accommodations have quickly inspired the rave community to embrace a lifestyle of growth without substances involved. Empowering this subject even further, we’ve had the opportunity to ask a couple of renowned individuals for their statements regarding their sober experiences while being so greatly involved in the EDM industry.
Words from Ravenscoon
“True sobriety, to me, doesn’t just mean abstaining from drugs and alcohol, but also facing your inner demons, getting mental health help, seeing a therapist, getting on medication if needed, eating healthier, working out. You have to change your lifestyle.”
– Ravenscoon
Ravenscoon: Sobriety is the most important thing that I’ve ever done for myself. My path of alcohol and substance abuse led me to a point where my body and mind were failing me; I had given up hope on living much longer. Instead of giving up, one day I woke up and decided that I had enough of feeling horrible. I’d lost too many friends and I had more life left in me. Getting sober wasn’t anything that anybody else could have chosen for me–not my partner, family, or friends. Honestly, when people tried to help, it normally just pushed me further into myself, hiding it better rather than changing.
Since getting sober, I feel like I’ve grown up 100 years. I’m bursting with creativity, and I’m healthier and happier than I’ve been in a long long time. It hasn’t been easy though. I’ve had to cut off friends, learn new habits, to take care for myself, and face the terrible things I’ve done and said to people when I was in active addiction. There’s a lot of shame and guilt that comes with getting sober that may take you off guard. I honestly hated myself so much that I never wanted to be sober. I thought the version of myself drunk or high was who I wanted to be. But in time, you’ll learn that it is just part of the lie your addict brain tells you.
‘If there’s any advice I could give anyone considering getting sober…‘
Ravenscoon: It would be to not give up. That it’s OK to slip up. That sobriety is something you must choose for yourself; you cannot do it for someone else. And that sobriety is just the beginning of your journey of self-healing. To get sober and stay sober means you must grow, even if painfully.
True sobriety, to me, doesn’t just mean abstaining from drugs and alcohol, but also facing your inner demons, getting mental health help, seeing a therapist, getting on medication if needed, eating healthier, working out. You have to change your lifestyle.
BUT!!!! You don’t have to do that overnight. All of that is daunting. You should be proud of yourself for even considering sobriety. Even 10 minutes, a day, a weekend – baby steps. You got this.
Words from Morgan Jones (The Black Box, Venue Manager)
“Losing so many people I deeply cared about to the same thing I was carelessly partaking in everyday shook me to my core, and really woke me up to a widespread problem; not only within our community but also within myself. I carried a survivor’s guilt I never knew could exist. I realized just how normalized and socially acceptable every day over use of alcohol and substances had become within venues, festivals, private events, and the music industry as a whole.”
– Morgan Jones
MJ: The path towards sobriety and wellness has become one of the most important and exciting journeys I’ve been able to experience. I could never envision, from my numbed-out state, all of the health and happiness I was able to invite into my life if I would just separate from the things that were creating blocks in those areas. Never was I properly educated or exposed to the topics of sobriety or wellness until much later into adulthood. I could never picture a life for myself that included the words “sober” or “well” because I never saw it around me. All I knew, was both of those words seemed like two big commitments. Ones that, I wasn’t sure I was ready or able to make.
I started flirting with drugs and alcohol at age 13. In the past, I was likely to chase down things that fed me “fun” over things that brought me fulfillment. I admittedly always found it easier to just go with the crowd and perform for my peers. I was addicted to the late nights, endless internal fights, and honestly found periods of sobriety to be boring. Always asking myself the question, “What do sober people even do for fun?”
I now know that the answer to that is, EVERYTHING I COULD EVER DREAM OF AND NEVER HAD TIME FOR!
In the first year of COVID, five lives very precious and close to me, were lost to overdose and addiction, and it hasn’t stopped. The lights of people I look up to and consider brothers/sisters are still being snuffed out completely with minimal conversations around “why”.
Losing so many people I deeply cared about to the same thing I was carelessly partaking in every day shook me to my core, and really woke me up to a widespread problem–not only within our community, but also within myself. I carried a survivor’s guilt I never knew could exist. I realized just how normalized and socially acceptable every day over use of alcohol and substances had become within venues, festivals, private events, and the music industry as a whole.
My family, friends, and favorite artists were dying. I was forced to vividly see the lethal combination it’ll become if you just let that wild train continue. But how do you stop something like that?
The answer for me is that we do it one by one.
‘Once I was able to accept and acknowledge my role, I looked in the mirror and asked myself some pretty tough questions...’
MJ: Am I willing to love myself and the people around me enough to pursue a path that leads to a happier and healthier destination–a path with a promise of quality and longevity of life?
Is there willingness to do the hard thing?
Am I willing to be mindful of the way my own actions and influences bleed into and validate the behaviors within the community around me?
Can I admit I am a part of the problem?
Am I willing to have the hard conversations and ask for support when needed?
Do I love myself and others enough to want to do my part to feel and heal the hurt that we too often as a collective try to skurt?
Am I willing to speak up and show enough care for the people in my life to not enable and participate in behavior that will inevitably cause early goodbyes and a lifetime of soul-shattering cries over the loss of so many beautiful and once creative lives?
The answer to all of these questions for the majority of my life was “No”.
One day, I decided I had enough and shifted my mindset to start answering, “Yes”.
I can truthfully say the climb towards sobriety and wellness has been a slow and steady for me over the past three years. I’ve achieved a sense of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well being in my life I never thought I’d see.
‘I’ve revealed my limitless potential…’
MJ: There’s a plethora of different lifestyles to live in the world and not one path is right for all. But I can honestly say after leaning into a cleaner and healthier chapter, I’ve revealed my limitless potential for growth and achievement. The benefits of sobriety within my body and mind have been endless. The version of me created from wellness, now stands firmly on our abilities to create, change, and consciously build the lives we desire.
I am beyond grateful for the sober practicing people and places within the Denver music community. Those who led me by example, showed me healthier alternatives, and to all of the friends and peers who reached out to me with kindness, support, and guidance every step of the way. I won’t lie and say that it’s easy, or that it’s a practice that starts out perfect. But I will promise you that it’s worth it. A move towards the betterment of one is a move towards the betterment of the whole. Although it’s a personal journey and it can sometimes be scary, I’m thankful it’s one we never have to walk alone.
Community leads to change
Rising fentanyl overdoses and drug-related deaths within the EDM community have impacted event organizers, festival goers, concert attendees, and whole fanbases. As a community, encouraging safety and accountability can be the most useful strategy for change. Small steps toward encouraging sobriety and wellness are luckily now in play. From venues offering crafty mocktails, to wellness events like Yoga on the Rocks, there’s reassurance of a better horizon.
Don’t forget to look out for one another, and remember, there’s always resources to help yourself or a friend in need.
Cover image by Brittany Teuber
Looking for resources? Start here! SAMHSA | DanceSafe | NIMH
Keep up with our weekly Spotify Playlist, Fresh Hunts. Updated every Friday with all the latest releases. Whether it’s the newest drops from your favorite artists, some old-school, or underground…we just want you to hear it.
