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I live in a small city and most of the nightclubs here are very conservative with their music selection. No matter which club you go to, it consists primarily of early 2000s hip-hop staples i.e. Big Pimpin, Back That Thang Up as well as classic club anthems like "Single Ladies" and "We Goin Down" and "jumpin Jumpin." You hear very little music newer than 2008 and no electropop, EDM, or anything that might be considered "effeminate." Usually at some point, they will spin the Wobble and the Cupid Shuffle. It's also the same music every weekend and they never play anything different.
Of course in major cities you are going to have more nightclubs with different music selections that cater to different crowds, but in terms of your generic, Top 40 nightclub, how does the music selection differ? I moved to my current town from a major coastal city, but I was really only familiar with the LGBT scene and not the club scene in general.
In small cities you really only get the trendy top 40 simpleton music scene. Theres really no foundation for underground music to flourish. If there is a pocket of the underground scene in a small city, then it still tends to be generic and not underground at all. Still, in even large metro areas, there is an abundance of cheesy electronic music that caters to the drunk/oblivious, untrained ear.
Smaller cities are lucky to have one or two decent clubs, which, if they're lucky, have talented, dedicated house DJ's. The house sound will depend entirely on that guy/gal, and how hard he tries to keep on the cutting edge of that sound.
I'd say it's worth researching, but those guys typically end up bailing for the big city or moving on and becoming Mercedes salesmen or something before too long. Best you can hope for is a club with ownership that's plugged into the music scene, and really vets their talent before hiring. But those kinds of places are few and far between outside the big metros.
I live in a small city and most of the nightclubs here are very conservative with their music selection. No matter which club you go to, it consists primarily of early 2000s hip-hop staples i.e. Big Pimpin, Back That Thang Up as well as classic club anthems like "Single Ladies" and "We Goin Down" and "jumpin Jumpin." You hear very little music newer than 2008 and no electropop, EDM, or anything that might be considered "effeminate." Usually at some point, they will spin the Wobble and the Cupid Shuffle. It's also the same music every weekend and they never play anything different.
Of course in major cities you are going to have more nightclubs with different music selections that cater to different crowds, but in terms of your generic, Top 40 nightclub, how does the music selection differ? I moved to my current town from a major coastal city, but I was really only familiar with the LGBT scene and not the club scene in general.
Man, you aren't kidding about the city you are referring as being small, if that is all they play.
I think it depends on the small city, as a college town or a smaller city not too far from a major city may have more of a selection.
The Cupid Shuffle and the Wobble? lmao where are you from?
I won't claim to be "from" here, but I live in Oklahoma City. This place really is like living in the twilight zone.
Where I lived before I was openly gay so I frequented mostly LGBT-oriented establishments, but moving back here I have had to go back in the closet so when I go out, it's to straight establishments. I was wondering if that was the kind of stuff they played everywhere but apparently it isn't.
I consider OKC to be a mid-sized city as opposed to small, and in general mid-sized cities run the gamut in terms of offerings. That said, since you live in one of the more conservative cities in America, people are much more likely to be more straight with their attitudes, and thus you get the Dancing With The Stars/So You Think You Can Dance version of what's played and not the indie scenes that are found in most large cities and some mid-sized ones. In most of America away from the big cities, the most "indie" music you'll probably hear is some form of country music and most of the non-country music is typical overplayed pop. Its a shame since thanks to the Internet, the accessibility of more underground music is stronger than ever, and its about time that Middle America can diversify, just like how country music is becoming more popular overseas. That said, in those underserved markets, you'll find it easier launching a startup in town since it likely will draw many wonderful folks looking to have some fun rather than having them drive (or even fly) hours to a major city, which itself usually includes a place for country for those that are homesick.
I won't claim to be "from" here, but I live in Oklahoma City. This place really is like living in the twilight zone.
Where I lived before I was openly gay so I frequented mostly LGBT-oriented establishments, but moving back here I have had to go back in the closet so when I go out, it's to straight establishments. I was wondering if that was the kind of stuff they played everywhere but apparently it isn't.
It's mostly due to the culture, than the size of the city itself. I live in a mid-size city similar to OKC, but the music scene is pretty much modern and varies throughout genres, except country, you won't find many country nightlife options; sometimes you'll even get a bit of live street music.
Definitely a cultural thing. Louisville's metro area is smaller than OKC's (which is a better determining factor the size of a place for this type of situation). There are I think 5 gay clubs in the city, possibly more. They are frequented by very accepting straight people as well. One of them, Nowhere Bar, has amazing DJs that play their own stuff, not just a playlist on shuffle of old songs. Another popular one has a pretty good DJ who always will use a real turntable and do real mashups and remixes of stuff. Very EDM. The latter plays a good mix of old and new rap music as well. Only been to one other gay club and again, like most gay clubs, very good mix of current EDM. There are a few that play that throwback rap songs and try to be hip for the frat bros and stuff, but even they'll throw some new stuff down.
Although Louisville isn't a big city and not there on the national music scene, we've had some good artists come through lately. Marshmello and Audien came for Derby. Craze came for Derby last year. TroyBoi had a stop on his tour here earlier this year. YG, MGK, Griz, and I think a few others are coming through this fall.
So yes, it's definitely more of a geographic and cultural difference.
In small cities you really only get the trendy top 40 simpleton music scene. Theres really no foundation for underground music to flourish. If there is a pocket of the underground scene in a small city, then it still tends to be generic and not underground at all. Still, in even large metro areas, there is an abundance of cheesy electronic music that caters to the drunk/oblivious, untrained ear.
Depends. I know Asheville NC has a good seen for live music, though that's not necessarily a club scene.
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