Meet Ethan Maccoby of Emo Night Brooklyn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Maccoby.

Ethan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Alex Badanes and I grew up together and have been best friends since we were two years old. Growing up in the UK just south of London, emo and pop-punk music was a big part of our lives. We would constantly go to shows and when we weren’t going to shows, a classic pregame was to blast the music we loved, sing-along, drink and rock out.

We both moved to Boston for college and then Brooklyn, NY after we graduated. We would have similar pregames at our apartments — inviting our friends over, drinking beer and rocking out to music we loved. We thought it could be really fun to ask a bar across the street if we could host an “Emo Night” there — essentially a place where people could rock out, sing along, drink to all of their favorite songs just like us. Our incentive was free beer 🙂 It was a small basement bar in Williamsburg, and by the time the “show” started it was PACKED with a line of hundreds of people who were turned away because we had reached capacity. It was one of the most epic nights of our lives.

Since that night in January 2015, we slowly made the party bigger and bigger, moving it to Brooklyn Bowl monthly. Towards the end of 2015 we started to expand to more cities around the country, including Orange County.

We have also been lucky enough to invite many of the emo/pop punk icons to party with us at Emo Night Brooklyn, perform and do a DJ set of their favorite songs. We’ve had guest DJ’s including Ryan Key (Yellowcard), New Found Glory, Travis Clark (We The Kings), and many many more.

Now we have expanded internationally as well, regularly doing cities including Berlin, Amsterdam and London.

We have also recorded a number of original songs with artists we love. We wrote and recorded “Back In Time” with Ryan Key of Yellowcard, and “Two Stupid Kids” with Rob Freeman of Hidden In Plain View.

We do around 150 shows per year and are excited to keep making the party bigger and even more epic.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s been a ton of hard work. Alex and I both have 9-5 day jobs as well, so it’s always tough juggling that. It also can be tough doing business with your best friend!

Also, some cities can take off and do really well, while other markets can be harder to break into. And of course, there are always last minute emergencies like flight delays, cancellations and other things that can be a bummer!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
We help bring together a community of amazing individuals that love Emo, pop-punk and alternative music. We help people both relive their nostalgic years, but also celebrate a genre that is still very much thriving. Many people tell us it’s the best night of their lives.

What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
Going to incredible shows with Alex. My first concert was Underoath and Silverstein at a tiny 200 cap bar in England. It was amazing.

Pricing:

• Tickets typically around $10

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]

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