As someone who frequents the events put on by Emo Nite, I was stoked to hear that they reached out to KTSW about their party at Empire Garage in Austin. Emo Nite started in 2014 when Morgan Freed and T.J. Petracca threw their first party in Los Angeles playing all the classic emo anthems. They called it a celebration, bringing a happy community together over music they listened to when they were sad and alone.
After a brief stop into Empire’s Control Center side to see fanclubwallet and Penelope Scott’s concert before the event began, I made my way into what would be my 7th Emo Nite party. Now, I am a firm believer that up on the stage is the best place to spend Emo Nite, so I made my way right up, front and center. As I stepped up to the stage, the DJs were giving a shoutout to the woman running the merch table, having the crowd yell “We love you, Mariana!” They then called out to all the men aged 29-35 in the building, encouraging them to enter the mosh pit as the beginning of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” plays through the speakers.
I went to my first Emo Nite party when I was 18 and I was a little worried about the atmosphere that I was walking into. However, I was quick to learn that the people who attend these parties are some of the kindest and open-hearted people that I have come to encounter, this time was no different. At one point in between songs, one of the DJs began a speech about how everyone in attendance was living their own lives before they arrived and how they will go back to their own lives once they leave but for the few hours that we were together, anything outside Emo Nite didn’t matter.
The only time that I stepped away from my spot on the stage was for the all-girl mosh pit to Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u.” This was one of the hand full of songs that got the entire venue off their feet because there are some songs that most people could jam to no matter if they had an emo phase or not. Others like this were Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8r Boi,” or the Pop Goes Punk cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” by A Day To Remember that played after we all sang Happy Birthday to the Geminis.
For the next few hours, I danced my little heart out to hits by All Time Low, Mayday Parade, Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, Paramore and plenty other of my favorite artists. One of my favorite moments of every Emo Nite is when “Welcome To The Black Parade,” by My Chemical Romance comes on. As soon as that iconic G note plays at the beginning of the song, lighters and phone flashlights fill the sky and by the end, we are all arm in arm and swaying to the emotional bridge. I get chills every time.
McKenna dancing on stage at Emo Nite. Sammy Wells/KTSW
As my night was ending, the DJs were hyping up the next song in the que as the heaviest moshing song of the night, only to play “Trouble,” by Never Shout Never which, if you haven’t heard it, is a cheesy love song to a simplistic ukulele melody. That gave me a good laugh as I left the venue.
If you haven’t experienced an Emo Nite, I couldn’t recommend it more. It is the perfect place for emo kids, as well as anyone else who enjoys loud music and a good time. You know where you’ll find me next time Eno Nite comes to town, and I hope to see you there too!
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