Names: Valdudes, Magda Halina, Cace Spowboy
Occupations: Producers, DJs, organisers for festiVAL
Nationality: American
Current event: July 26-27 2025, festiVAL will explore the connections between the energies in a physical club and on Twitch. Featuring Gabriel & Dresden, Chris Cox as well as the interviewees, the event will be streamed live from a real world location to Twitch's front page. For more information and tickets, go directly to the festival's website.

If you enjoyed this interview and would like to stay up to date on the artist's activitives, visit their respective Instagram profiles: Valdudes; Magda Halina; Cace Spowboy.

Bandcamp listening parties, YouTube live streams, Twitch – are these truly different phenomena? What sets Twitch apart?

Valdudes: At their core, those are all avenues for people to come together and enjoy music in a supportive community.

There are also some technical aspects that give Twitch the edge. Twitch has the DJ Program, which allows DJs to stream music without having to worry about copyright issues. Plus, the Twitch chat UI is so simple, clean, and compact, it's simply a better experience.

The biggest thing that sets it apart is Twitch’s community and connectedness. I have made a huge number of virtual friends that I end up meeting and becoming friends with in person. All the DJs aren’t just separate entities doing their thing alone; we all know of each other and support each other so that we grow and have success together.

During COVID, Twitch was an important element for keeping dance culture alive. How did you personally experience this time and the rise of Twitch?

Magda Halina: When COVID hit and everyone's gigs were cancelled, there was a real need for something to keep us connected and our inspiration flowing.

Streaming on Twitch started as a way to nourish the communities already built prior to Twitch. Countless people have said that it helped them get through dark times during the pandemic while keeping the rave culture alive, and I couldn’t agree more.

Many of you in the festiVAL team are DJs, but I assume you’re fans as well. What is it about a Twitch set that you enjoy as an audience member?

Cace Spowboy: I was a devoted fan before I became a DJ. What made me stay was the good music and the connection with the DJ, and the community.

You don’t have to chat. You can just hang out and listen, or “dance” in chat by spamming emotes, and still enjoy an expertly curated live DJ set as your personal soundtrack.

And when you are ready to party, you can celebrate with the people who have been encouraging you and creating alongside you. It builds an amazing sense of camaraderie.

But DJs have to foster that space. It has to be safe and uplifting, or people will leave, and for good reason.

From your experience and feedback, are people dancing to the music played on a Twitch stream?

Cace Spowboy: Sometimes people are dancing, but sometimes they’re crying, painting, writing, or even doing surgery (it happens!).

Music and community transcend the rave, and Twitch DJs make that connection.

During the early years of Twitch, which channels in particular grabbed your attention?

Valdudes: It was the hip-hop DJs and turntablists that first grabbed my attention on Twitch.

Channels like DJ Epik and SkratchBastid, with their incredible technical skill and musical curation, really inspired me to get back into DJing myself, something I had abandoned for 15 years before picking up again.

Can you briefly describe the road that led from the post-COVID period towards festiVAL?

Magda Halina: When I started streaming on Twitch during COVID, I always assumed it’d be temporary. But as everything went back to normal and the years went on, the community continued to grow stronger than ever.

Despite our strength, we always felt underrepresented on the platform, especially before Twitch launched the official DJ program. That feeling created a hunger in our community for a space to come together in person, and thus, hybrid events were born.

festiVAL is an effort to take hybrid events to the next level with equal integration on a much larger scale.

Twitch DJs chat, moderate, spin records, perform live, entertain – it's almost like Twitch is the opera of our time! What interests you specifically about DJing on Twitch, and what are the qualities of a great Twitch DJ?

Valdudes: On Twitch, I can go live at any time of the day, and there will always be someone there ready to vibe and socialize with me.

With that said, having a consistent schedule where your fans can rely on you to be live is one of the qualities of a great Twitch DJ. Having the patience to let the music speak but get on mic to socialize and hype up the chat when necessary is also a huge skill that Twitch DJs learn. Plus, pushing the boundaries of entertainment beyond just mixing songs.

For example, Twitch DJs might have a silly reward like doing a shoey if certain support goals are met. These sorts of actions really solidify the connection between the community and the DJ.

I'm curious about your view of the relationship between words, sounds, and images within the format: What will chats typically revolve around, and is there a feedback loop between the chats and the music played? Is music still the main event or the soundtrack to the conversation?

Valdudes: Most of the time, the music is at the forefront, chat will be spamming colorful animated emotes, saying things like “That drop was FILTHY!” and generally celebrating the musical journey.

A Twitch DJ stream is also like walking into a bar or club, lots of people greeting each other, giving each other virtual hugs, and socializing like you would at any gathering.

Often, the music does become the soundtrack to the conversation, with DJs getting distracted and having to say “hold on, I have to mix in the next song real quick!” in the middle of a conversation with the chat.  

As a DJ, how does the experience of DJing on Twitch compare to the experience of a DJ set in a club?

Magda Halina: They are both unique in their own ways! On Twitch, we have total creative freedom to play as long as we want in any vibe we want, and we feel more inclined to take risks we wouldn’t otherwise.

Playing a set in a club is typically more curated based on the crowd, time slot, and/or promoter involved. I don’t believe one is meant to replace the other - I think both experiences serve their own fulfillments within the craft.

Are you finding that Twitch generally encourages different — possibly more daring — track choices?

Valdudes: It not only encourages it but celebrates it!

My most hyped sets have been when I am going full experimental mode, like mixing from Hard Techno into Appalachian Folk music, then into Dub Reggae.

On Twitch, you are afforded the luxury of being able to take risks like that. You can take people on a musical journey to places they have never been before.

Which innovative ideas for the future of the format are you personally finding inspiring right now?

Magda Halina: One of the most innovative parts about festiVAL and the future of this format is that we are collaborating with a variety of streamers, like SushiDragon, for example.

He’s an extremely talented visual FX artist who will be integrating his talents to not only provide cross-community support to the DJ category but also help us make the livestreamed experience as interactive as possible.

What are the technical challenges for the event?

Cace Spowboy: With Pioneer on sound, we didn’t have to worry about DJ gear or speakers. For the stream, the first thing we did was upgrade the venue’s internet to support multiple high-quality streams.

Then we planned the elements that would make the experience feel truly hybrid: video feeds of the stream and chat displayed throughout the venue, camera angles to capture the vibe of the IRL audience, and immersive lighting and visuals that both chat and attendees could influence.

Then we brought in TheSushiDragon and PeteFox on tech, and they brought that vision to life.

festiVAL has an intriguing concept because it suggests both sides – on-location DJing and Twitch DJing – can benefit from each other. In which way?

Magda Halina: Our communities have a global audience, so it’s important that we integrate the livestream experience into the in-person experience.

Having both helps us bridge the gap in a way that hasn’t been done before, so that everyone can be a part of it and feel engaged.

What were the considerations for picking the location for the IRL part of the event?

Cace Spowboy: We knew we wanted to do LA - it has a high concentration of Twitch DJs, it’s an international hub (so travel is easier for our global online audience), and it has a major Twitch office. We were looking for a space that felt luxurious but still had the comfort of a living room.

It felt fated when we found a venue that was interested in streaming, located in a safe neighborhood, and close to all the major LA attractions. The luxe loft and garden courtyard were the perfect canvas for our lush, colorful, and cozy decor.

Tell me a bit about the importance of the DJ program for the future of DJing on Twitch and making events like this possible.

Cace Spowboy: After getting shut down on so many other platforms, the DJ program protects the community that’s been built on Twitch and gives us a legitimate path to grow DJing online. The only thing that kept DJs out of your living room before were copyright claims, and now the floodgates are open.

We’re just beginning to explore what a truly hybrid festival can look like. The DJ program gives us the confidence to full-send on creating these events without fear of being shut down mid-stream.