Solomun Breaks His Own Rule to Open Pacha New York — and Hands the Floor to the Bronx

Last night, Solomun opened Pacha New York — and in doing so, breaks a rule he has held to for more than a decade: no shows outside of Europe in the middle of Ibiza season. The Diynamic label head will play the first set of the new Brooklyn venue's official opening weekend, and he is playing it for free. Admission goes to ticket holders from his rain-soaked May 23 set at Fulton Fish Market and the surprise five-hour Knockdown Center afterparty that followed.

The decision is, by his own admission, against character. "Of course I knew about the plans around Pacha New York. And yes, I was asked if I wanted to be part of it. Under different circumstances, I probably would have said yes without thinking twice. Pacha has been part of my life for fourteen years. But the only possible date fell right in the middle of my Ibiza season," he wrote. "I held that rule for over ten years. I never questioned it. Once the summer starts, I stay in Europe. No long-haul flights, no jumping between time zones. It is a rhythm that has worked for me for a very long time. So my answer was no. But they kept that Friday open anyway. No booking, no backup plan. Just hope."

What changed his mind was the Bronx. "Thousands of you. 50 degrees, soaking wet, and not one of you moved. The energy never dropped. And then five hours more together at Knockdown Center, announced with almost no warning, and every single one of you showed up. That was just crazy. I kept thinking about it. And at some point I asked myself: who am I to stay inside my comfort zone, when all of you left yours for me? So I'm doing it. For the first time, I'm stepping out. I'm coming back to New York to open Pacha."

The mechanics are simple. Fulton Fish Market and Knockdown Center attendees will receive an email with a registration link for the Pacha show. Everyone who registers goes into a single raffle. Names drawn receive two free tickets — one for themselves, one for a +1. Pacha's smaller, more intimate room means not everyone in the raffle will be drawn, but, as Solomun puts it, "Everyone who was there gets the same fair chance."

Tonight at Pacha

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Next Week

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The Brooklyn date is bookended by Pacha Ibiza b2bs at his long-running Solomun +1 residency — June 14 alongside Chloé Caillet, June 21 with Idris Elba — with Skrillex, Jamie xx, Peggy Gou, and Anyma all on the summer slate. For one Friday in between, though, the booth belongs to New York.