Local DJ Ben Brood is the founder of Sky Bar Theme Nights, a tradition that began in 2022. These events often sell out quickly, with both the attendees' costumes and Brood's setlists tailored to a specific theme. Those who line up early will be handed out small items at the entrance.
From One Direction nights to emo nights, Brood's themed nights appeal to a wide range of tastes. His other themed nights include Disney Night, Morgan His Warren Night, and even Pitbull Night.
A theme night that clearly never goes out of style, and the most popular at Sky Bar, is the Taylor Swift night. These people attract dozens of Swifties. Many of them arrive dressed as if they were heading to an Elas tour.
Taylor Swift's night was actually the first in a now long line of theme nights. Two years ago, someone directly messaged Brood multiple times requesting a Taylor Swift night.
“If you look at the list of DMs from her… it's immeasurably long. It's just her talking about Taylor Swift night and why we have to do it.” Brood said.
At some point, Brood gave in to the idea and decided to try a theme night. Tickets sold out quickly and it was an undeniable success.
“I want to thank her for her perseverance,” Broud said.
Brood is originally from Seattle, Washington, but grew up in a small town in northern Alabama.
“DJing wasn't on my list of things I wanted to do. I didn't even know it was a job or something I could do. It wasn't what I was looking for, I just… It just happened.”
Bruud has been a DJ for 13 years, 11 of which have been full-time. He started working at Skybar in 2018 with the help of one of his mentors, Michael Reiner.
In addition to working at Skybar, Bruud also works on Auburn sports, sorority and fraternity events.
“I used to travel all over the Southeast, but after I started working at Skybar, I was offered almost three nights a week,” Brood said. “I’m traveling a lot less now, so I didn’t play Auburn sports, which is basketball, but I’m going to play football this season.”
Hosting a Sky Bar theme night requires careful planning, as Brood wants to make sure he's informed about the artist's music. DJ compared the process to studying for an exam.
“When it comes to theme nights, I put myself in the shoes of a fan, even if I'm not necessarily a fan of the music,” Broud said. “I watched videos, read books, looked at charts, found people who were interested in the music, asked them to make playlists for me, and asked them to tell me their favorite songs and why they liked them. .”
Theme nights are held on Wednesdays, which makes it difficult to get people to want to go out.
“As you make that happen, you start thinking about how you can make it fun for your attendees with things like video content, giveaways, and door prizes. Just making sure it's set up like a normal everyday bar night,'' Brood said.
Bruud has a good system in place for planning events, and even with unfamiliar music, it only takes a month to prepare.
“My first night with Taylor Swift was probably two months of preparation. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't that familiar with her music at the time,” Broude said. “She, one of my friends, helped me out a lot. We would literally sit down and go over a song and figure out why it's good and why we should play it. We talked.”
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So far, Brood's personal favorite theme night is Pitbull Night.
“It was so funny and crazy to watch. I would say about 70 percent of the audience was wearing bald hats and dressing up like pit bulls,” Broud said. “It was great to see such dedication to the theme, and the music was fun too.”
Skybar employees Katie Johnson and Jessie Xu thought a Galentine's themed night and a One Direction themed night would be really cool.
“Sometimes I feel like certain groups or people don't have a lot of music, but he does.” [Bruud] Find it, and he will play it,” Xu said.
Johnson and Schuh said Brood is different from other DJs because he visits Sky Bar employees between sets to talk to customers.
“He interacts well with the fans,” Johnson said. “I know a lot of DJs are in the DJ booth, maybe for a set, but at an event they're on the dance floor or on stage with their customers.”
Brood's passion for engaging with people and undeniable dedication to his work make his skybar-themed nights an interesting downtown night vibe.
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