VIDEO: Rudder hosts Electronic Music Fest, April 27-28

Crack a glow-stick and put on a pair of neon Nikes for a weekend of music the Cape Region rarely puts on display.

Dewey Beach Electronic Music Festival will take place from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Friday-Saturday, April 27- April 28, at the Rusty Rudder on Dickinson Avenue.  The free festival will feature more than 20 live DJs from across the East Coast.

Event promoter Vikki Walls said the popularity of electronic dance music caused her to schedule the event. “We’re always up to trying new things,” she said.

Featured DJs include Taurus - of Taurus and Vagelli - of Philadelphia, Monsterz Under the Bed of Baltimore and Voodoo Farm of New York City.  Ten Delaware DJs will also perform, including DJ EA of Wilmington and DJ Bis of Newark.

WalDo Black of Newark's R.T.T. will host the opening night of performers; Trey of Dover hip-hop group Bud Ez will host performances Saturday night.

Funtown Productions, based in Philadelphia, will provide glow-in-the-dark hula hooping.  BodyPaint.Me, a group of visual artists also based in Philadelphia, will offer live body painting to patrons.

Walls said the event would not look like an episode of "Jersey Shore."  “It’s like a young, electronic dance music Woodstock,” she said.

Walls said she wants the event to have the feel of a miniature Electric Daisy Carnival, an annual Las Vegas festival that draws hundreds of thousands and features live DJs, carnival rides, theatrics and art installations.

Meggin Holtzclaw, human resources executive at the Rudder, said electronic music is gaining popularity, and she hopes the event will bring more people to Dewey Beach. “We think it’s going to be big this summer,” she said.  “It’s the big thing in the cities now.”

Holtzclaw also said the event is a chance to showcase some DJs who will be performing regularly at a new Highway One venue.  Ivy, an upscale dance club, is scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend at the former location of Venus on the Half Shell on Dagsworthy Avenue.

Ivy will feature live DJs throughout the summer, beginning with DJ Jazzy Jeff - best known for his late 1980s and early 1990s work with The Fresh Prince, or Will Smith - on Friday, May 25.

For a lineup of Dewey Beach Electronic Music Festival performers, visit deweybeachfest.com/dbemf.