Elaine Huang talks about the last ten years and what’s next for Neon Owl, from a simple idea after a festival to a full movement.
It’s been ten years since Neon Owl first launched, built on the idea that the magic of music and connection shouldn’t stop when the festival ends. Founded by Elaine Huang and her brother Raymond, the brand has built a reputation as one of the most genuine, authentic communities in dance music, putting philanthropy and real relationships at the heart of everything they do.
What started as an idea to sell charity merch has become a movement. Neon Owl now brings together artists, fans, and industry leaders, all working toward a common goal: using music as a way to make a difference. Whether they’re supporting mental health, disaster relief, or undiscovered artists, Elaine’s vision has always focused on giving back and lifting others up. It holds true to its motto: “Dance. Give. Inspire.”
The past decade hasn’t always been easy, but Elaine has guided Neon Owl through all kinds of changes. When the pandemic hit, she quickly pivoted to virtual Open Door Sessions, mentoring programs and livestream fundraisers that kept the community connected. Now, with the launch of Neon Owl Records and a recent partnership with the LA-based ICON Collective, she’s setting up the next chapter for both the organization and the artists it supports.
As Neon Owl celebrates this milestone, we sat down with Elaine to look back on the journey, talk about lessons learned, and see what’s coming next for one of dance music’s most inspiring collectives. Read on for a snapshot of where the organization has been and where it’s going.
It’s been nearly ten years since you launched Neon Owl. How does it feel to reach this milestone, and what reflections have come up for you looking back at the journey?
Reaching our ten-year anniversary at Neon Owl feels very special. I always knew we would cross it, because I was never going to give up on my dreams of creating such a community within music, but I would say it was much more challenging than I ever anticipated ten years ago. Everything took much longer and was much harder. There were more tears than anticipated. A lot of people tell us how we have been “crushing it” or “blowing up quick,” but there has been nothing quick or easy about the process.
We pivoted a ton over the last decade. Although the mission to bring people together through our shared love of music and to create a positive impact on the world has remained, the vehicles of how we get there have both shifted and expanded.
In the beginning, I told Ray that we were going to easily sell 10,000 T-shirts and raise a bunch of money for charity. Let’s just say that that never happened, and we have made a difference in many other ways while still raising a lot of money through our live streams, fundraiser events, Open Door Sessions, shows, and much more. Merchandise ended up being such a small piece of what we do. Artist development and bringing the music industry together was something I hadn’t anticipated when I came up with the concept of Neon Owl, either, but it quickly became a pain point I saw in the industry after meeting people — both established and those coming up — so I decided I wanted to fill that void.
Now, Open Door Sessions and The Mastermind Artist Development program have become a huge part of what we do. Being a promoter and throwing our own shows was always something we saw as a possibility early on, so to be doing it in so many different cities with the community has felt quite surreal as well.
This summer, we are also launching Neon Owl Records, which was not something I had dreamt of early on. In fact, I had rejected that possibility due to how much we have going on already. But with the amount of connections we facilitate and artists we have helped get signed to different labels, it seemed like a fitting next move to further grow and develop the community.
In 2016, you told us that Neon Owl was about bringing the spirit of connection, creativity, and giving beyond the festival. Do you feel like you’ve accomplished that vision, or has the meaning behind it evolved for you over time?
I definitely feel like we have achieved that and then some, but there is always more to be done. The reason why I fell in love with electronic music and the scene was because dance music festivals were the first time I experienced PLUR.
I had been to many other types of concerts before, which were fun of course, but it didn’t embody the acceptance, freedom, love, and making friends with random strangers that I had experienced at EDM festivals. I wanted to replicate that kind of culture beyond the festival walls, and feel like we have done so through the general Neon Owl community with artists, fans, and attendees. I thought we would always evolve toward creating a movement with music lovers, festivals, its attendees, and our favorite artists.
We are still about connecting music lovers all over the world, but what inspired the expansion to Open Door Sessions, The Mastermind program, curating shows, and now the record label all happened organically and gradually. Early on, through doing interviews and philanthropic collaborations, we met a lot of incredible people — from festival founders to big-name artists — and we were able to create friendships and collaborations that felt aligned. We thought that we could create something more with these aligned brands and creatives to make an even bigger impact on the artists of tomorrow.
I remember thinking that working with my favorite DJs and festivals was so damn cool. However, I also thought, “How cool would it be to actually help discover and build an artist from the very beginning of their journey?” That’s when Open Door Sessions started. Then, after a few years of hosting Open Door Sessions all over the US as well as virtually, there was a demand for a more in-depth and close-knit artist development program, which is now called The Mastermind. We have also expanded to Amsterdam for the last couple editions of Amsterdam Dance Event.
In the last couple years, we have really built a strong community that has led to us partner with many clubs and brands for shows. This, in turn, has allowed for us to work with some of our favorite artists as well as offer the stage for up and coming DJs and producers. Lastly, after helping facilitate the signing of so many artists and being asked when the Neon Owl record label is coming, it’s finally launching this summer!
Open Door Sessions has become an important part of Neon Owl. What sparked the idea for it, and did you ever expect it to have the kind of real world impact it has today?
Neon Owl’s motto has always been “Dance. Give. Inspire.” Open Door Session’s motto is “Connect. Create. Elevate.” They intertwine with each other. Every event we curate at Open Door Sessions is about bringing the music industry together and growing as a collective. When you put a room filled with creatives together all under one roof, magic is bound to happen.
We kick our events off with a mixer to break the ice, and we host educational talks from some of music’s finest to teach and inspire the next wave of talent. We then host demo listening parties to help artists become better at their craft, even get signed. The events are curated to help artists get discovered, heard and signed. Beyond that, it opens up doors to relationships that are often not accessible, whether it be to A&Rs, talent buyers, managers, or even just creative peers that the bedroom producer or singer has been looking for. It has been amazing to see how many people have gotten booked and signed from our events, and even more beautiful to learn that some of the coolest friendships have formed through our community.
I was quite naïve early on when I inserted myself into the music industry, but I quickly realized how much gatekeeping there was. That was something I wanted to change, because there should be a space for all the talented and hardworking people to thrive and succeed. I’d like to think that in the last decade, we have created a positive dent in the music space to foster growth, connection, and collaboration, and show that we can rise together.
As a music lover at heart, I was passionate about discovering new artists on platforms like SoundCloud back in the day. That naturally led me to discovering a lot of new talent, including Johan and Bernie aka BEAUZ ten years ago. Our connection happened fast, and I just knew they were going to be stars, as cheesy as this may sound. My belief in them as well as their belief in themselves was unwavering. Over the course of the next couple years, we were able to help them book their first Bay Area club gig at Pure for our charity show, sign to Trap Nation through my friend Medii, and get them their first festival opportunity at The Midway.
Seeing their growth and knowing that I just had a little hand in that got me addicted and wanting to do more. They had shared so many stories of rejection, gatekeeping, and hardships with me, and I just had the urge to solve that problem for talented hopefuls on a mission to become great artists. That was when Open Door Sessions was born over seven years ago.
The new partnership with ICON Collective feels like a major next step. What drew you to collaborate with them, and what do you hope this will mean for the future of artist development?
ICON Collective is obviously known as one of the most prestigious, badass schools for music production. They have had the most insane talents come out of the school from SLANDER to NGHTMRE, Kayzo, JAUZ, and so many more.
I had known about them for a really long time, and then one day my good friend Zhou introduced me to Vito, and they invited me to go tour the campus because they thought Neon Owl was doing some pretty cool stuff. So I pulled up to the Burbank campus the next time I was in LA, and I was blown away.
I was blown away by the first-class facility, all the plaques they had on the walls, and the culture that I was able to get a glimpse into with just my first visit. I saw some magic being cooked up in the studios, but there were also so many students and alums just hanging out and vibing with one another. It felt like both an inspiring place and a family at the same time, and I just got why the school birthed so many gems. Both communities felt like there could be some synchronicity if we were to join forces in some way.
We kicked off with inviting Liz and Chevy to speak at one of our LA events last year, along with a bunch of industry heavy hitters. This year, we decided to do a more formal collaboration merging both communities together and hosting at the ICON campus itself. It was honestly such a beautiful event; we invited so many alums that have gone on to do amazing things to come back and pay it forward. We had a lot of other industry guests as well, while merging the Neon Owl collective of artists with ICON’s grads and current students who already show so much promise.
I would say that you guys can definitely anticipate more events like these. And I can guarantee you that something really special is going to come out of the talents, creativity, culture, and resources brought together between both sides.
You’ve stayed committed to giving back from day one, whether it’s mental health, clean water, or disaster relief. How do you choose which causes to support, and how do you keep service at the center of what you do?
This part has always been fairly easy. There is no lack of causes to support in this world! Oftentimes, when we work with one of the artists, collectives, or festivals, they are already passionate about a cause. A lot of people have something that hits home for them, and all it takes is a platform to shed light on that.
For example, we were doing a lot of Twitch streams for a while. One of the DJs in our Mastermind program and community, Nikita Page, is actually from Ukraine. So when it was his turn to do a stream, he asked if we would be open to diverting from our usual animal rescue donations — because we love animals — to help raise funds for Ukraine. Without a doubt, I said of course.
Since it was so close to home, we actually had a lot of people support the stream and cause. Nikita also made it very easy because he’s one of the most entertaining dudes and talented DJs I’ve come across. We actually raised close to $12,000 that week for a few different organizations aiding those out in Ukraine, humans and animals included. It felt really special and emotional to be able to use the community we have built over time for good, especially knowing that he had family in the trenches. That was one of the many moments where we felt that despite the world going to shit at times, music is medicine, music is healing, and music is what brings us together despite our differences.
During the pandemic, the entire industry was shut down. A lot of people were out of work, without income, and depressed at home. That was actually when we decided to launch a virtual series of Open Door Sessions, and we started focusing more on mental health as well. Since we are all owls here, we also all happen to be animal lovers, so animal rescues are often our go-to.
Over the years, you’ve worked with artists like BEAUZ and Andrew Rayel as well as events like Groove Cruise and ADE. What’s been one of the most meaningful moments or collaborations, and why did it resonate with you?
There have been many memorable moments for me, but I’ll only list a few due to time. The first was when we got to partner with one of our favorite artists, Andrew Rayel, as our brand ambassador for merchandise a couple years into Neon Owl. Ray and I had been fans well before we started Neon Owl, so to create specific merchandise and experiences with him to share with the fans was a very special milestone for us. Although a lot has changed and I don’t go raving for fun as much anymore due to a very busy work schedule, I still manage to find any time I can at a festival to go visit Andrew or go into the crowd and hop on someone’s shoulders during Andrew’s set like the old days.
Some other very special moments as of recent were with BEAUZ. We all agreed that these ones couldn’t have been more full circle. Having been friends and working together for so long, we were able to bring them to LA for their first LA headline show at Catch One last September. It blew our expectations out of the water, and we sold out a couple of days before the show at the UNDERGROUND stage. We did an insane, 360-degree hard techno set, and the vibe was completely out of this world. It was like we were transported to another time and place.
One of the other artists I work with, truekolors, got to be direct support for them, which was also very special as we’ve been developing Kyu as well. Bernie and Johan took a liking to him and also saw it as a way to pay it forward for up and coming artists. truekolors played such an incredible set, and to see the crowd going off to both an artist I’m currently developing and ones I discovered ten years back was a little surreal. The following week, we took the boys to their first ATL show hosted at District Atlanta with our friends InvAsian. That was also a huge success with a huge turnout, where they brought out KEPIK and Hidden Axis to perform, as well as Blake Wisner, a very talented singer-songwriter.
Fast forward to just a little over a month ago for Neon Owl’s official ten-year anniversary, and we threw a party at The Clevelander South Beach during Miami Music Week. We brought BEAUZ out for their first Miami show ever, as it was a very fitting celebration. The club packed out and the venue told us it was by far their best-performing show of Miami Music Week. We put a lot of effort into these events, so I was blown away by the results.
As promoters, we put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into creating something special, but things rarely go smoothly and oftentimes don’t pan out the way we want them to. To top it off, we were able to bring a lot of other artists within the Neon Owl community to play, including the very talented up-and-coming artist TEJ for his first Miami show. We have a gut feeling that he’s gonna blow up one day very soon, and it’s nice to know that you were the first to believe in an artist and give them a platform to share their art.
Lastly, these aren’t specific moments per se, but I have managed to witness a lot of artists come into our community a little shy, very nervous, and even bashful to show off their work. The specific artist I’m thinking of now is Julie aka Hidden Axis. When Julie came to her first Open Door Sessions VIRTUAL about three years back, she was shy to speak, but I picked on her during the VIP networking hour [laughs].
I quickly knew that she had some mad talent up in that crazy mind of hers and was going to do something great in music. Don’t ask me how I know these things, but sometimes you just have a gut-feeling about certain people. She told me she was “dabbling” in music production and I told her to “own that shit!” She was way too talented to be dabbling, and I could tell she had a fire in her waiting to be ignited, even if she didn’t know it yet herself.
As time went on at our events (both virtual and in person), I would say “This is Julie aka Hidden Axis. She’s going to be a future EDC mainstage artist one day.” Julie would blush, turn away, and ask me how could I even say that? Trust me, I don’t go around saying that shit to just anyone, but I know this girl was gonna go places.
As time went on, she started to believe in herself, too. We helped guide her through to her first release through [Paradise Music imprint] Wave Music, and many labels since. She just released her first remix on Ophelia with Haliene, whom she has been a big fan of for so many years. She also went on tour with Elephante and has a track coming out with KEPIK, another producer she has looked up to, on Heaven Sent in July.
There is also another artist by the name of HEL, who comes out of Colombia, a place I’ve resonated with for many years now. We met last year at an event, and I saw something very special in him. He actually told me about the first Colombian artist to break out of the scene over a decade ago, who goes by the name of MOSKA. I met MOSKA on Groove Cruise and ended up introducing HEL to him. Fast forward to when MOSKA headlined at Halcyon SF last month, and HEL got to be direct support for him.
It was a very special and heartwarming moment to see someone so promising play alongside one of his childhood idols, and knowing that I got to be a part of that. It was emotional to see the crowd, friends, and family coming through to support, representing the Latin community and Colombia. I believe that one day HEL will be able to offer those that come after him that platform, support, and inspiration.
Although these moments don’t make up one memory, it builds up the journey of an artist from day one to where we are now, and the many places we still get to go. One day, I envision her coming back to speak at Open Door Sessions and giving back to the next wave of hopeful artists. I envision her headlining her shows and paving the way for many others, and especially inspiring other Asian girls to pursue their dreams even if they seem far fetched or out of the norm.
What’s a challenge from the early years of building Neon Owl that shaped who you are as a leader today?
In the early years of Neon Owl, one of the challenges was trying to get people to buy into what we were doing. There weren’t many people doing what we do, so it was harder to get people to understand or participate, and it definitely took some convincing.
I remember that I vibed immediately with artists like Andrew Rayel, MaRLo, and Dash Berlin, and they were all about what we were trying to build. There’s also another person: Jason Beukema, the founder of Groove Cruise who has the biggest heart ever and was immediately into the community we were trying to build and the impact we were trying to create. He invited Neon Owl to be a part of the Groove Cruise community right away. We started working on activations and fundraisers together, as well as bringing more headlining DJs to participate in The Whet Foundation charity initiatives during the many Groove Cruises we attended.
It was not always that easy, though. Neon Owl started off as a passion project, and I didn’t view it with a business mind at first. I had left a cushy, paying job to start this meaningful project. Oftentimes, I was shortsighted about how it was going to grow and develop without focusing on revenue, but just “good vibes only.” We were always about giving back and doing good, but we didn’t try to seek outside resources to expand and cover costs. We therefore weren’t able to expand as fast as we wanted to.
It was also very difficult to convince some managers, booking agents, and venues to take part in what we were doing, especially as we started Open Door Sessions. Oftentimes, people wanted to know whether there was going to be a profit at the end.
If I were to go back and give myself advice, it would be to think of ways to find additional resources and put out more content so the added brand awareness could have generated more allies, funds, and resources to help us help more charities and artists. I know that’s kind of a very specific thing to say. In reality, what I’ve learned over the last ten years is that you can have a great idea, but without the right people in place or enough resources, you’ll be stretching yourself, your team, and your bank account extremely thin.
I think that I left corporate having this idea that money was evil and that we are all too consumed by it. I wanted to create something that was purpose driven and artist first, and I did. But I also learned that money is just a tool, oftentimes just an energy exchange. What you choose to do with it is up to you — and for us, that’s to create more good.
I don’t regret a single thing I did. I feel that because I stayed true to my mission of continuing to spread good in and outside of the music space, and have always put artists first, that Neon Owl has a lot of brand trust. Some may say we “blew up quick,” but I would argue that it was quite the opposite, and that we went slow and steady. There’s nothing wrong with that. It has helped us build a strong community and gave me the lessons I needed to face the next challenges we still have ahead.
You made a major pivot during the pandemic with virtual events and mentoring programs. What did that teach you about community and connection?
The pandemic was a really rough time for everyone. It felt like the industry and the world came to a stop, and it was quite depressing for many of those around us. I am forever grateful for what it brought to us and the community though: the opportunity to pivot and create virtual events where people got to come and connect from all over the world.
During that time, some of the biggest artists, brands, and labels were all available. They weren’t bogged down by insane schedules and were happy to take part in what we were doing. We expanded Open Door Sessions from in-person events to virtual events, which allowed for more guests not confined to the specific cities we were hosting in. It also allowed for more accessibility to up-and-coming artists and industry people from all across the world.
People would literally stay up in China, India, and Australia till odd hours to be a part of the talks or get the opportunity to play demos for some of the artists and labels they looked up to most. Some of those tracks got signed and really cool collaborations formed between people across the globe.
We hosted people from Billboard Dance and Brownies and Lemonade, and we did an Anjunabeats takeover with a big part of their team. All of those virtual events not only helped us help a lot more people, but they really increased Neon Owl’s visibility on the map. Towards the end of the pandemic was also when The Mastermind was born, and a lot of the members that ended up joining the artist development program were artists that came through the virtual space from all over.
Post-pandemic, we decided to keep the virtual events which were much easier to run logistically than in-person events, but a majority of our focus still stayed on in-person. Although much more challenging, I still believe that nothing beats meeting people in person, shaking hands, and giving hugs. So we want to stay true to that core of connection and building strong communities. It is very much achievable via the Internet, but nothing beats good, old-fashioned in-person connection.
For artists who are trying to break through right now, what’s one piece of advice you think matters more than ever in today’s music scene?
Not to be cliché, but find your community and find your people. It can be quite the lonesome journey, but if you find like-minded people to connect with, work with, and mutually support, it can take you much further. Oftentimes, it can be quite discouraging to be producing in your bedroom by yourself, trying to find ways to put out music by yourself, wondering how to make connections by yourself. It’s much easier to know that you have some friends working towards a common goal, and to pick each other up on the low days or keep each other accountable.
Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, use the Internet to find ways to get involved! Don’t let this space that appears to be isolating at times keep you that way. Social media can be frowned upon, but the Internet and the virtual space is where I met some of my closest friends initially during the pandemic, and then in person later.
What’s next for Neon Owl? Are there new projects you’re excited to bring to life in this next chapter?
Well, as I mentioned a little earlier, Neon Owl Records is finally coming to life! I didn’t picture this early on, but it seems like the fitting next step for our community. We have the first few tracks locked in already, but we’re always seeking more talent. So whether folks are a part of the Neon Owl community or not, we’d love to hear your music!
We are not confined to very specific sub-genres. We simply want to put good music out into the world. Whether someone is well known or just starting out, we want to continue to live by our ethos of bringing people up and taking chances on artists and art that we believe in.
