Viral DNC DJ Discusses Michigan Song Choice, Overnight Acclaim: ‘Amazing’

When DJ Cassidy received a call from Democratic National Convention producers last month, he anticipated a cool experience but didn’t expect to create one of the summer’s most viral moments.

During his Tuesday night set at Chicago’s United Center, Cassidy accompanied the state-by-state roll call with a selection of songs, drawing significant attention and becoming a major talking point of the convention. His performance garnered extensive news coverage and generated a buzz on social media.

The enthusiastic response was something Cassidy didn’t foresee. “I knew this was certainly going to get some attention and be a special moment,” he said, but he didn’t expect it to resonate so deeply. “At the end of the day, that’s what it did — struck an emotional chord through the music and the way it was put together to hit the people in the arena.”

The veteran DJ, who has performed for stars like Beyoncé and Barack Obama, and gained popularity with his “Pass the Mic” sessions during the 2020 pandemic, felt a mixture of nerves and excitement ahead of his prime-time segment. The 75-minute, 57-track set was a collaborative effort with Democratic National Committee officials and state delegates, combining state anthems, music from local artists, and universal songs to capture the evening’s celebratory energy.

Many song choices were straightforward, such as “Sweet Home Alabama” for Alabama, “California Love” for California, and “Empire State of Mind” for New York. Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” was an obvious pick for New Jersey, while Minnesota got Prince’s “Kiss” and “1999.”

Other selections were less intuitive. For example, Florida’s choice of Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” was because it had become a grassroots anthem in the state. Michigan, with its rich musical legacy, had multiple options, but Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” was instinctual for everyone involved. “Musically, it has an emotion that makes you feel like the boxer walking out to the big fight,” Cassidy said. “It’s anthemic.”

“Eminem really created an ‘Eye of the Tiger’ or ‘We Will Rock You’ for our generation,” he continued. “I felt a song like that would react in a big way inside the arena, and that would translate through the TV screen.”

Michigan also provided songs for other states: Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” for Connecticut, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” for Maryland, and the Romantics’ “What I Like About You” for South Dakota. These selections, according to Cassidy, were motivated by the themes, emotions, and spirit of the night rather than geographical origins.

Some tracks had unplanned relevance. “Respect,” for instance, had a historical connection to Maryland’s Speedo Sims before it was popularized by Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Keen-eared Marylanders noted this trivia during Cassidy’s set. “I would love to take credit,” Cassidy said, “but it wouldn’t be the first time in my career I experienced that kind of coincidental serendipity.”

One personal highlight for Cassidy was the set’s only instrumental song, the Alan Parson Project’s “Sirius,” used by the Chicago Bulls as intro music at the United Center. The track, like “Lose Yourself,” carried a “when we fight, we win” energy, adding to the evening’s motivational vibe.

Cassidy’s set spanned seven decades of music, covering nearly all genres and demographics. From his DJ deck, he could sense the anticipatory excitement in the United Center as the audience tried to guess the next song. “That’s the foundation of what makes it exciting to listen to a DJ,” he said.

The set presented unique challenges. Unlike typical DJ performances where exit points are carefully timed, at the DNC, Cassidy had to adapt to the varying lengths of state delegations’ speaking segments. “So I had to come up with a musical roadmap that would allow me to exit and enter each song at various points that made musical and emotional sense,” he explained. “I needed almost infinite possibilities.”

Nearly two days later, Cassidy was still thrilled with his performance’s success and moved by the positive online reactions. “I haven’t seen comments saying, ‘Why didn’t you pick this song?’” he said. “It almost seemed like people innately appreciated the song that represented their state in their way and felt the love. That was a goal, and it’s been so amazing to see the reaction.”

Source: Detroit Free Press