Nancy Huynh shares her favorite moments in the scene, how she found a passion for event photography, artists she’s fallen in love with, and more!
Name: Nancy Huynh
Rave Name: None
Age: 19
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
Current City: Chicago, IL
Occupation: Student and Music Event Photographer/Videographer
Twitter: @nancydhuynh
Instagram: @nancydhuynh and @nancydhuynhphoto
What was your first electronic music event?
The first electronic music event I attended was the Indy 500 Snake Pit in 2014 during Memorial Day Weekend, where the lineup consisted of Dillon Francis, Nervo, and Hardwell as the headliner.
What/who influenced you to attend your first event?
Throughout my middle school years in my free time, I actively searched for new music. I did this through randomizing Pandora stations, keeping up with the Billboard top charts, and through YouTube. I remember watching gaming videos on YouTube, where every YouTuber seemed to have a Monstercat track as their intro/outro. I especially listened to songs that came up through Pandora random shuffling, which included Daft Punk, Tiësto, Morgan Page, Deadmau5, Nero, Pendulum, Blackmill, and more. At the time, I didn’t realize exactly what “EDM” was, and none of my friends did either. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and always listened to it.
Eventually, I discovered what Spotify was, and saw that the top song of the top 100 chart in early 2012 was “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” by Skrillex. From then on I decided to do a bit more research, and figure out what Electronic Dance Music was.
Later on, I came across the music label Protocol Recordings, where I discovered Nicky Romero and Nervo’s collab “Like Home”. When I found out Nervo was coming to the Indy 500 Snake Pit a couple of years later, I felt like I had to attend no matter what, even it meant breaking out of my comfort zone. I saw that Dillon Francis and Hardwell were on the lineup as well, so I listened to their discography and loved what I heard, further convincing me to go to my first rave!
What is one moment from an event that was special and why?
For years I was trying to see Zedd live, and couldn’t make it to his Moment of Clarity tour. In 2015 he announced his True Colors Tour, one of the stops being in my hometown, Indianapolis.
The moment I’ll never forget is standing towards the back of the crowd, the stadium becoming pitch black, and Anton plays his intro mashup of Hourglass vs. Spectrum vs. Beautiful Now, following with vibrant visuals, lasers. I was in pure awe of the beautiful productions all while my favorite songs were played. At that moment, I realized I wanted to capture moments like these for myself, for others to enjoy and look back on, and for those who cannot attend these shows. This is when I realized I wanted to become a music event photographer, to visually communicate stories and beautiful moments within the music community.
What is your favorite festival or event?
The first full festival I attended was Spring Awakening 2018, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Spent the weekend with close friends, exploring my favorite city, and having the best time at our favorite artist’s sets throughout the weekend. Was fortunate enough as well to meet some of my music idols, and thank them in person for the positive impact their music made in my life – a weekend I’ll never forget!
What is your favorite electronic song and why?
Without question, “Spectrum” by Zedd ft. Matthew Koma.
In summer 2012 (When I was still first diving into the world that is electronic dance music), I was watching one of the top 50 songs on thBillboardrd charts, where “Spectrum” was featured. It’s one of the earliest songs I instantly fell in love with, where it made me truly realize my love and connection with music. It’s hard to properly express through words.
Who are your favorite artists?
There are so many artists I adore and support, but the ones that I have musically connected with the most are Zedd, Nicky Romero, Madeon, Porter Robinson, K?D, Medasin, Seven Lions, Ghastly, Illenium, Virtual Self, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Dirty South, Project 46, and many more!
What are your favorite genres?
It’s hard to pick favorite genres, as there are many sounds I’m into depending on my mood. Often times you’ll find me listening to house, progressive, melodic, trance, electro, retrowave, LoFi, dubstep, and or bass – a wide range!
What do you feel your “Identity” is in the electronic music community?
I feel that my identity is a visual artist, where my passion for music drives me to create art within the electronic music community. I want my art to lift others, inspiring positivity and spreading love, especially in this hate-filled world. I do this through visual art practices, my camera lenses in my photography and videography, as well as graphic designs.
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