Meet the Humans of Downtown: stories and snapshots from the urban core of Las Vegas
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No one is having more fun than DJ Crykit. Whether it’s an event she’s produced, a DJ gig (like her recent performance at DTLV Field Trip) or life in general, you’ll always find her laughing, smiling and dancing like a funky pixie with colorful drip. Naturally, she’s the center of gravity in any space she enters.
“I set good intentions before gigs,” she said. “As the DJ or event curator, my intention is to hold space for love, joy, creative self expression, healing and acceptance.”
Originally from Wisconsin, she moved to San Francisco in 2000. “I wanted to go to fashion design school but started playing records and breakdancing instead,” she said.
A fan of 90s electronica, she immersed herself in San Francisco’s rave scene and fell in love with drum and bass and house. Breaking made her love hip-hop, funk and soul, too. By the time she moved to Vegas in 2011, she had an eclectic catalog, but had to add top 40 hits and pop records into her sets. That’s why whenever she’s rocking a party, you’ll get an assortment of sounds — something familiar, something obscure, but always groovy and fresh.
“I will always love the sound of the underground and enjoy finding ways to fuse the sounds of the known versus unknown.”
Her Playhouse events marry all of her interests, from music to art to fashion. Initially a vintage reselling platform, Crykit merged the Playhouse cyber shop with nightlife on the Commonwealth rooftop starting in 2016, creating fashion show parties with vintage pop-up shops and unique art backdrops. “It’s an exclusive one night only creative experience,” she says.
When asked about how it feels returning to the stage for DTLV Field Trip for her first live gig since the pandemic, she said “I can already feel the bubbly fun energy the people bring to the event. I’m fulfilling my purpose again,” she said.
That purpose?
“To connect with others through music, art, fashion, and dance,” she said. “These forms of creative self expression are so healing and bring people together, especially in these times of separation and divide.”
She joked about creating a “Crykitopia” — but we’re seriously here for it.
For more stories like this, follow #HumansOfDTLV on Instagram.
