spring street Talks Pride Month and Spins a Genre-Defying Mix

spring street swung by to chat about their artistic journey, what you can do to support LGBTQ+ people during Pride Month, and more.

Rising DJ and producer Christopher Percy, aka spring street, is helping shape the next era of the scene with their genre-defying style and focus on uplifting the community in tow. While sets in the northeastern region of the US and releases on labels like Proximity, Wave Music, and Graydient Collective, have defined much of their rise, so has their passion for supporting others in the LGBTQ+ community.

In 2022, spring street came out as non-binary, which “greatly changed” their perspective on American Pride. “I always knew I was queer in some way, but not in any way that had been portrayed in media or school in my childhood,” they shared. When spring street’s best friend came out as binary in college, everything “started to click.”

“I’d never felt tied to a certain gender, aside from being male presenting and not buying my clothes growing up,” spring street said. “But also, I never really *wanted* to be attached to a gender. I didn’t feel like a boy, or like a girl, I just felt like, a me. And now it’s really cool to know there’s a reason why I always felt that way and that there are other people like me who I can connect and grow with.”

“What’s not cool, though, is that I technically don’t exist in the United States directly because of the induction of Donald Trump this January,” spring street shared. “It’s been an incredibly surreal few months for myself, and I’m sure many others in the queer community, as all the fears we were continuously told we were overreacting about are quickly becoming a reality.” These realities have included Project 2025’s attack on state-funded gender-affirming healthcare, rollbacks of worker and surveillance protections for queer people, and the federal government attempting to completely erase transgender people from public life.

Pride Month is a reminder that big parades, corporate sponsors, and respectability politics are not going to protect and save queer people. Community action and the dismantling of dangerous misinformation can, though.
spring street

“This Pride, I urge you to donate to a local queer organization (as I’m pledging to do with my spring street show earnings at the end of 2025), go to a speaker panel during pride events, heck, even go to your town’s pride celebration or pride night at your local bar and support the artists there,” spring street said. This also goes beyond local drag queens and queer artists, as they mentioned that all LGBTQ+ members – from nonbinary baristas, lesbian line cooks, trans tour guides, and more – need support too. “The right to live freely and prosperously is not dependent on your profitability, marketability, or your appeasement to the system,” spring street said.

Supporting those in the LGBTQ+ space goes beyond donating money and attending events, as one of the most important aspects of change is holding others accountable. spring street mentioned how important it is to speak up if someone you know is being homophobic. “Engage with them, tell them it’s not ‘just a joke’ or ‘it does matter if it doesn’t just affect you,’” they said. “If I, along with 10 of my queer coworkers, can deal with getting fired from our job for trying to fight for better treatment and protections, you can talk to your friend about why you can’t just ‘care about the economy’ or why you can’t be socially liberal and fiscally conservative.”

The biggest act of resistance we can show evil is experiencing joy, so go connect with your community, be joyful, and always resist.
Spring Street

Beyond being a DJ and producer, spring street is a graphic designer for Bass Oasis, a small collective in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that champions diverse lineups and community-building experiences like monthly open deck events so aspiring artists can learn on CDJ3000s. “Being able to offer this for free to people is so sick because I know the financial strain of not just purchasing all the necessary DJ equipment at a beginner level, but the rarity of the opportunity to play on 3000s in a learning environment,” they said.

Recent Bass Oasis shows have featured Hexxa and Pnther, and the one on June 27 is set to celebrate the end of Pride Month in style. That night will bring an all-queer lineup to Cloud + Spirits that includes Dani Demand, Nice Nadine, Future Luna, Frau Fantastik, and a set from spring street that shouldn’t be missed.

It’s so great being able to have a hand in making sure queer people and all minorities in the dance music scene have a stage and platform to be heard and grow. Even though I definitely would have wanted this when I started, it’s more gratifying knowing that I’m directly contributing to helping even the gap for us in the scene that our ancestors fucking created.
spring street

To celebrate Pride Month and showcase the mentality they’ve brought to their project, spring street spun up a mix that takes you on a journey through the different sides of their music and tastes. “I named this project spring street because I never wanted it to be about me, but the music and the people I meet because of it,” spring street said. “This mix is a love letter to that, featuring music from my best friends, mashups with songs from queer icons, and plenty of tunes from those upholding the culture.”

Since first beginning their production journey as an artist in the scene, spring street has never let the confines of a genre or trends get in their way. While admitting that there are certainly downsides to diversifying too early on, their mission of showcasing art based on how they perceive the world and its constant change has been paramount. “I want my music and my sets to showcase how I see reality, and that’s not gonna be constant,” said spring street. “It’s gonna be chaotic and unpredictable, but between that, there’s gonna be beauty and joy and hope.”

The longer I do this, the more I think I realize that my sound isn’t necessarily a genre, it’s a feeling. It’s the chaos of the 303 basslines being backspun into industrial trap, or the beauty of soaring melodic bass leads paired with electric guitars and DX7s. I hope to think that no matter the style, my sound can cut through the genre and resonate with people who are just looking to find a moment of peace in the ever more likely end of the world.
spring street

Listen to this exclusive mix from spring street, grab tickets to the Sounds Of Culture show, and follow their social media channels for more to come.