Why I Started EDM HBG
I started EDM HBG because I wanted to help build the kind of EDM community I always wished Harrisburg had.
For a long time, if I wanted to really experience EDM, I had to leave Harrisburg. I’d drive to D.C., Philadelphia, or New York City just to find a place where I could dance, hear good music, and be surrounded by people who shared the same passion. I always wondered why we couldn’t have more of that here at home.
EDM has never been just about the music for me. I still remember my first rave and what it felt like to walk into a room full of strangers and somehow feel completely welcomed. You could be yourself, forget about whatever was going on in your everyday life, and just dance. You could meet someone you had never spoken to before and instantly connect through music. That feeling stuck with me.
When I was younger, I also remember traveling during COVID to underground raves and pop-ups in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City. Those experiences showed me a different side of the culture. There weren’t necessarily huge-name artists, massive clubs, or crazy production. It was really just about the music. People showed up because they wanted to dance, have a good time, and share that experience with each other. There was something really special and authentic about that.
Over the years, I’ve been to 100+ EDM shows and more than 20 festivals around the world, and the more I experienced the scene, the more I realized what makes EDM so special.
It’s not the production or the ticket sales. It’s the people.
It’s the acceptance.
It’s the freedom to be yourself.
It’s the friendships you make.
It’s discovering a local artist and supporting them.
It’s dancing next to someone you’ve never met and feeling like you’re all part of the same community.
That’s what I felt was missing in Harrisburg.
I wanted to create something that was actually rooted in the local EDM community, not just events built around capitalizing on a trend by people who don’t really understand or participate in the culture. I wanted to create opportunities for local DJs and artists to develop, experiment, get in front of people, and share the music they love.
That’s why I created EDM HBG.
We’re not trying to be the biggest event company in the area. We’re not trying to compete with the major festivals or bring in the biggest names just for the sake of selling tickets. EDM HBG is about building something from the ground up.
Every event is an opportunity for a local artist to play, for someone to discover a new favorite DJ, for friends to meet new people, and for someone who may have never been to an EDM event before to walk through the door and feel like they belong.
We’re proud to keep things grassroots as we grow. We may not always have the biggest stages, the largest crowds, or the flashiest production, but we care deeply about the experience and the people who make this community what it is.
My goal is simple: I want Harrisburg to have an EDM scene that people are proud to be part of.
A place where local artists have opportunities to grow.
A place where you can show up alone and leave with new friends.
A place where you can dance without judgment.
A place where the music comes first.
And most importantly, a place that feels authentic to the people who actually live and breathe this culture.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if there is one person dancing or 100 people dancing. If someone walks through the door, hears music they love, lets go of whatever they’ve been carrying that day, and gets to dance freely, then I’m proud of what we created.
I’m proud that I created a space where people can come together, support local artists, and simply dance and have a good time.
I don’t know exactly where EDM HBG will be years from now, but I hope that when Harrisburg eventually has a thriving EDM community with countless local artists, events, and opportunities, we can look back and say that EDM HBG helped play a small part in building it.
At the end of the day, I didn’t start EDM HBG because I thought Harrisburg needed another event company.
I started it because I believe Harrisburg deserves a community.