Who says you shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day? Don your most sacrificial attire and prepare to have it destroyed in the most fun way possible as Life in Color, dubbed “the world’s largest paint party,” is back. You’ll be covered in color and drenched in sound, dancing to headliner Zeds Dead along with David Solano, Kennedy Jones and more.
We got the 101 on LIC from co-founder Patryk Tracz.
How did the idea for LIC come about? Nine years ago in college there was a fraternity/sorority hosting a paint event at one of the socials. They would park in a room and just throw paint at each other. When we saw that we said, “Wow, this could turn into a huge concert.”
We were always inspired by [Dutch entertainment company] ID&T. They did a show called Sensation in Europe with a cool, huge production and everybody dressed in white. We’re like, “What if we did an event where everybody comes dressed in white and they throw paint at each other and it could grow into something big?” So we did one in Miami at a club with 800 people, and we sold out. The energy of the show was just amazing, and it kept growing.
How many Life in Color events have there been? We do about 100 a year, international and domestic, for the past three years. We’ve been doing this for nine years now. Miami [is still] our flagship event. It’s a festival and we do about 25,000 people. It got nominated last year at the [International Dance Music Awards].
Do you worry the EDM festival bubble is bursting, and there may be too many events? There’s definitely a lot of EDM concerts now, but I think we stand out from all the other ones—obviously with the paint factor—and we’re always trying to innovate our company any way we can. It’s always a concern because the artist prices keep going up because there’s so many different places they can choose from, but … I’ve gone to other EDM shows and we’ve done other shows other than paint parties, and the energy’s just different.
What I always say [about] Life in Color is there’s no VIP, everybody’s equal, everybody’s one ... Whether you’re a shy person or not, come to the show and when they start throwing paint at each other it breaks that barrier to just escape reality, just to be free.
What are some tips for first-timers? Be prepared to have a great time. Probably put your phone in a Ziploc bag. You will get paint on you. And wear white!
Life in Color with Zeds Dead, David Solano, Kennedy Jones. November 28, 8 p.m., $18+, $45-$60. Cashman Center, lifeincolor.com.
