Students can get their satisfaction tonight at the Tucson Convention Center with Italian DJ Benny Benassi and other electro-house music DJs.
Benassi is the “Godfather of Electro,” according to Adam Richman, a regional development senior and founder and CEO of the Big Room Group. The Tucson-based event production company is partnering with Lyfted Entertainment to bring the DJ to Tucson.
Benassi’s arrival has been two years in the making, according to Richman. After a 2010 survey that asked students who they wanted to see in Tucson revealed a great interest in Benassi, Richman spent two years trying to persuade him to perform. Finally, after successful shows like N9NE Fest and DayGlow, Benassi showed interest in attending, and Richman is excited to have him.
“There’s just something about Benassi,” Richman said. “It (the show) is just hours of non-stop energy. You better do something to hydrate yourself – drink Gatorade. Be ready to go for two hours because for two hours, when he’s on stage, you’ll be dancing. There’s no stopping.”
Tickets will be available on the UA Mall today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and cost $35. There may be some VIP tickets remaining — which cost $50 and allow attendees to skip the line and watch the show from the front of the stage — but they are in short supply, Richman said.
Students can also purchase $10 bus passes to make transportation easier. The bus will run for the duration of the show and both pick up and drop off students at Tucson High Magnet School. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the DJs will start spinning right away.
Opening for Benassi will be DJ Motion, Remix Nation, DJ Abate and DJ Tranzit. Benassi himself will take the stage at 11 p.m.
Richman said he expects around 4,200 people to attend and hopes to fill the house. Aside from the standard Big Room Group procedure — big LCD screens, confetti, light shows — the sound system has been stepped up, according to Richman, meaning attendees will be able to feel all of Benassi’s beats run through their body.
