With festival season wrapping up this past weekend with North Coast, a multitude of DJ\’s have revealed their astonishing talents, and a very impressive individual, DJ Smiirk, also prevailed in the EDM scene, performing on the Main Stage of North Coast on Saturday, at the age of 15.
Avery Delgado, also known as \’DJ Smiirk\’, was inspired by tracks released by Deadmau5, and began Djing at the age of 11. After months of attending music festivals, his first being Lollapalooza, 2011, Delgado upgraded his DJ gear and spent countless hours in his basement, mixing, and practicing to get better. Even at such a young age, Delgado attended music festivals in the area and traveled even further, to Miami, to attend the Winter Music Conference and get a feel for the music industry.
Over spring break of 2014, Delgado took his passion a step further, and attended Ultra Music Festival in Miami. While at the festival, Delgado also got to meet big name DJ\’s such as Martin Garrix and DVBBS, just to name a few.
This past May, Delgado, or DJ Smiirk, entered his first DJ competition, gaining the opportunity to open for KAP SLAP, but he decided to stay local instead. DJ Smiirk\’s next approach was to enter the Spring Awakening Music Contest. Submitting his mix and being ranked the Top 5 after over 300 votes, DJ Smiirk got the chance to experience a very highly competitive festival contest, and even though he did not win, he got the opportunity to take note and use all of the skills he had developed over the years and in his past Djing competitions, to give his festival performing dreams, one last shot.
DJ Smiirk submitted for the North Coast Music Festival Contest, and was chosen as one of four DJ\’s to battle at the Concord Music Hall. \”It was actually pretty funny because I technically couldn\’t go inside the venue because it was 17+, but I did, since I was performing.\” Delgado said. After much preparation and hard work, DJ Smiirk finally reached his goal, winning the North Coast Music Festival.
DJ Smiirk got the opportunity to show his skills and mix on a set that shared performances with Nicky Romero, Dada Life, Adevnture Club, and Milk and Cookies, later that day.
\”This whole experience, from seeing Dj\’s backstage , to seeing what they do as a craft, has fueled a bigger desire for me to master more of my skills. But really, meeting my fans and playing music that moves the soul is what inspires me.\” DJ Smiirk said.
Author: Alexandra Shafran
