Wake and shake: a.m. raves are perfect for early birds

EDM fan Zoe Bibbes, founder and organizer of Club Lumen, had been out of the scene for nearly a decade when those magnetic beats pulled her back in. It happened after attending her first Electric Daisy Carnival, better known as EDC, one of the largest EDM festivals in the world.

An experience she describes "shook her body clean,” Zoë Bibbes knew quickly she needed to bring a taste of that energy back to the Valley where she lives.

Within just a few short months, Bibbes launched Club Lumen, known as The Freq Club, until this past Sunday.

Club Lumen is an EDM organization responsible for curating what she hopes to trademark as “The Morning Rave,” a tech-house and coffee party experience.

Club Lumen has so far had three iterations of its Morning Rave, with its most recent event — which sold around 170 tickets — on Sept. 20 at downtown Phoenix’s Dialog, a coffee shop that emphasizes its zero-proof mocktails and trendy and elegant communal spaces.
The event coincides with available food from a brand new Mexican restaurant, Revolucion, which is held in the same space, serving tacos and margaritas.

Bibbes strives to create these events in spacious, well-curated spaces. Its second event was hosted at Dig It Gardens, a plant and coffee shop, and made a debut at Provision Coffee, both modern spaces with multiple areas to dance and socialize.

In addition, Club Lumen tries to get local businesses involved as vendors as well as local DJs as talent. Previous DJs have included AJA Cruz, Celine Fatale, and Jack Efron. Meanwhile, vendors such as Alis Volat Jewelry, Off Vintage Ave, Regarding You and Wett Skincare all had tables at the most recent event.

“I want to make sure it's all done with integrity and genuine interest from people,” Bibbes said. “So, I have a genuine interest in, like, helping everybody else grow too, and together we can all rise and grow this together.”

While the event is meant to have a general appeal, The Morning Rave was launched to give lovers of house music a place to dance and vibe out on an ordinary Saturday morning, while sober-leaning and curious folks can enjoy a lively vibe paired with non-alcoholic beverages like lattes and mocktails.

“I don’t really like to drink,” Bibbes said. “I would rather just go (out) sober and talk to people and be present.”

While alcohol often acts as a social lubricant for people, especially in rave and nightlife settings, more and more sober or sober-leaning events are emerging nationally and even across the state.

One such group, Brew & House, based originally in Colorado and California, is launching its first event in Arizona at the start of next month, while Case Study Coffee Lounge and Fair Trade Café have broken ground in the night coffee party scene.

Bibbes prides herself on being one of the first of these events and creating a space where the love of music and desire for community are at the forefront.

“I’ve seen this in LA, Denver, and Miami, and I’m really glad I got to bring this experience here,” Bibbes said. “It’s been really organically fun and people genuinely love it.”

Bibbes insists that the event is meant for anyone to enjoy, even if they are not sober-leaning (two of its three events have had alcohol at its neighboring restaurants) or don’t consider themselves a “raver.”
The event can be used as a networking event for aspiring music industry professionals, as a fun and active morning hangout with your partner or friends, or even a solo date. Families are even able to bring their teens and older children to attend these events.

“I’m blending all these different worlds and people on purpose, the rave community, the wellness community, it's entrepreneurs, it's whoever,” Bibbes said.

While Bibbes acknowledges that the day party aspect can be daunting for some and that many events can start with a degree of social awkwardness, she feels the event has so far drawn in open-minded, creative people and house music in general creates a welcoming environment.

“You’re gonna meet friends,” Bibbes said. “ I’m trying to keep it very open in the community.”

And in reality, inside of The Morning Rave, there is a little of that awkwardness present.

To the groovy, bassy sounds of tech-house, people are dancing, shuffling and bouncing around. Some people come decked out in 'kandi' jewelry or bucket hats covered in sprouts. Others bring along hula hoops or flow toys, while the rest of the crowd takes advantage of the fans or tasseled toys that were given out by the organizers. Everywhere, people are friendly and gracious, greeting you with a smile and making sure you have room to dance.

“The people make it a community,” Bibbes said. “Watching all the people just get excited, that's what's making it breathe life.”