Scotland’s first Deaf Rave is coming to St James Quarter

Deaf Rave, the organisation that provides live entertainment with music, sign songs and visual performances, has unveiled the dates for its first ever Scottish showcase on Friday, 19th August at St James Quarter.

Taking place on level B3 of the St James Quarter car park, the event will be an accessible day time clubbing experience, promoting deaf identity and culture whilst bringing music to the masses.

The event line-up will see the very best deaf DJ talent take centre stage including Troi Lee (DJ Chinaman), Matthew Taylor (MC Geezer), DJ Ceri Karma, Jia McKenzie, Billy Reid and Aerial Fung (Def Motion) dancers. 

Established in 2003, Deaf Rave began with a vision to provide a platform for deaf and disabled artists and to provide unique, live entertainment for the deaf community. The rave will be jam-packed with a variety of different performances including sign song, sign rap, sign dance acts and more.

The event will run from 5.00pm-10.00pm and tickets can be purchased via the Edinburgh Festival Fringe website with ticket prices starting from £10.

This one-off event is in partnership with Deaf Action, a charity based in Edinburgh supporting, and celebrating deaf people. Deaf Action was established in 1835 and works with deaf people across Scotland and the South of England.

The charity’s inspirational work is geared towards empowering all deaf people to achieve their potential and fully participate in society, with equality of rights, access and opportunity. 

Nick Peel, Managing Director at St James Quarter, said: “It’s an absolute honour to bring Scotland’s first Deaf Rave to St James Quarter this August.

“At The Quarter, we’re passionate about providing world-class events that are accessible to all and it’s great to see our Corporate Social Responsibility Committee’s vision come to life through this live event.”

Troi Lee, Founder of Deaf Rave, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Deaf Action and St James Quarter for providing us with the opportunity to bring our event to Scotland for the first time.

“Our events will showcase the very best deaf DJs and guests can expect a whole host of entertainment including sign songs, sign raps and dance performances against a highly visual backdrop.

“Our Deaf Rave is part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival so we’re looking forward to welcoming members of the deaf community from all around the world.”

Stacy Rowan, Fundraising Manager at Deaf Action, said: “We are incredibly excited to bring Deaf Rave to Scotland as part of the inaugural Edinburgh Deaf Festival.

“We want this event to unite everyone through a love of music and culture. The event is accessible to everyone, so bring your dancing shoes!”

For more information, please visit: https://www.deafrave.com/