When it began in 2000, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival was free.
But in its fifth year, the Movement, as the festival is now known, began charging an entry fee that rose to $150 per day and $300 for weekend tickets on the first tier.
“I remember when it started and it was free,” says Detroit resident Raul Rocha, a music producer also known as DJ Roach. "People don't necessarily hear the music, they just find it," he said, referring to people walking downtown and stopping at Hart Plaza, where traffic occurs. “We got the fans out,” he said.
But he said the magic was lost as the mechanism became more and more expensive over the years.
"I wanted that feeling back," said Rocha, who works daytime at a construction site. That's why in 2011 he founded his own techno festival Tec-Troit. More than a decade later, it's still free.
The annual Tec-Troit festival kicks off this Friday at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation at 1211 Trumbull St. The group includes artists Depth Charge, Scan 7, Blake Bakter, Mike Clark, Thomas Barnett, Drivetrain, Gary Romalis and others.
"What you're going to see is a lot of local talent and some of the biggest names in underground techno," said Rocha. About 10,000 people have been attending the two-day weekend festival for its eleventh year, Rocha said.
Anita Zavala, director of entrepreneurship and wealth for the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation (DHDC), said she was delighted that everyone came to the festival.
"We're really offering this to engage the community and bring everyone to our site to promote artists from Detroit," he said. “Some kind of anti-motion. Since Detroit is the birthplace of techno, we really wanted to celebrate it, plus it was free and for all ages, so we didn't want to sell Detroit music at all."
This is the second year that DHDC has hosted this event and Zavala said he plans to continue with the event. The festival also serves as a fundraiser for DHDC to support their program and promote the economic development of all their suppliers, he said.
Rocha said they were able to support the project for over a decade because they had many sponsors, but noted that corporate sponsorship was difficult to come by due to different plans. But when there are not enough sponsors, Rosha says that sometimes he pays for it himself.
"It's 100% passion," he said.
"It's great and it's all about the love of music and techno and the pursuit of vinyl," he said. "We have nothing against digital, but we love techno, we love darkness and dirt, and we love vinyl."
If you can't make it to the festival this weekend, Rocha will hold a Jit Festival on July 29th, also at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation.
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