She grew up in Tri-Cities, became a DJ in Spokane. Meet one of the Uptown Get Down artists
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Uptown Get Down Artist Features
Get to know some of the artists scheduled to perform at Tri-Cities’ Uptown Get Down music festival. These features tell a little about who the artists are, their sound and their connection to Tri-Cities.
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While the Uptown Get Down music festival has performers from all over, a majority of them have ties to the Tri-Cities area. One of these artists is Lauren Lofton, aka DJ priestess.
Having moved to West Richland while still in elementary school, Lofton credits her Tri-Cities musical education as the baseline for her bass lines.
Music education in Tri-Cities
Lofton learned to play the recorder while at William Wiley Elementary. The school did have a steel band though, which she wasn’t part of, but it may have inspired her future in percussion. Lofton became a percussionist while at Enterprise Middle School, and stuck with it through her years at Hanford High School.
She was part of the school marching band and the symphonic band.
She wishes her former teachers could see her now, and know that they know they did a good job.
“I would want them to know that they did such a good job, and that I’m grateful for them, I’m proud of them,” Lofton said in an interview with the Herald. “I hope they’re proud of me.”
Lofton returned to the Tri-Cities after a semester at Louisiana State University, where she intended to major in music education with a percussion focus, after deciding that path wasn’t right for her. Upon her return, Lofton says she felt a little lost. She was disconnected with her music side for some time after this, but not permanently.
A welcoming community
Before long, Lofton found her direction and moved to Spokane, set on massage school. Soon after that move, she began attending music festivals, like Paradiso at the Gorge Amphitheatre. She wanted a place to dance and express herself, but ended up falling in love with the community.
The soon-to-be DJ had been living in Spokane for over a year when she was introduced to the Spokane DJ scene and trained in the art. Lofton thinks that her foundation in music gave her a leg up over other beginner DJs — it wasn’t the beat or the sound she had to figure out, only the new equipment.
Her friends invited her out to Melting Man, a makeshift COVID-era replacement for Burning Man. She used the equipment provided to perform an informal set, which got her noticed. So much so that the hosts approached Lofton and told her she needed her own equipment — and set up a GoFundMe for her to buy some. In one day, it raised $800.
“I genuinely don’t think I would have taken myself as seriously if that hadn’t happened,” Lofton said. “So I really have that group of burners to thank.”
She says that one weekend basically changed the trajectory of her career and her life. Lofton noted that COVID changed how many artists and musicians lived and worked, and she feels lucky to be one of the people who was positively impacted.
“I came out stronger, better, more capable and I think so many musicians struggled so hard that I am just so grateful that my experience was so positive,” Lofton said.
Current DJ career
Since her COVID-era boost, Lofton’s presence as a DJ in Spokane has grown, with regular shows at popular EDM nights and a previous headlining show at the Emerald of Siam.
She’s excited to return to the Tri-Cities for the weekend of the festival, not just to perform and see family and friends, but also to listen to other artists.
“I think it’s so cool that this type of event is happening, because there is so much going on musically in the Tri-Cities that I feel like doesn’t get a lot of attention...” Lofton said. “I really hope that this is going to be a little bit of a shift in the scene and I hope that it becomes a lot bigger.”
Listen to samples of Lofton’s work as priestess on SoundCloud.
This story was originally published May 9, 2023 at 10:58 AM.