Head DJ Chris Smith has been called a lot of things. Cool, crazy, fun, jerk, genius, idiot, hippie, he's even been called, at times, a great blues DJ. He's been spewing forth the blues onto dance floors for just over 5 years, playing in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and South Carolina (at last year's Holy City Blues Exchange). This year, he's promised to once again break out the big guns and "make this party ballin".

Laura Lackey’s love affair with Blues has been developing for quite some time now. Ever since she began DJing local Blues house parties, she has committed herself to the art and is now a regular DJ at Dance Blues Friday in Durham, NC. You may also remember her from last year at Holy City Blues Exchange, Dirt Cheap Blues Exchange, or Cheap Thrills Charlotte. Ultimately, when it comes to DJing, she prides herself on providing a variety of styles and eras in each of her sets, and loves to choose music that dancers will enjoy & interact with, making each song count.

Some of Laura’s favorite artists: Big Mama Thornton, Koko Taylor, James Cotton, Muddy Waters, Nina Simone, Keb’ Mo’, Sidney Bechet.

Shortly after Kelly Gassert began dancing in early 2007, she attended her first swing dance exchange.  She recalls the advice of a fellow dancer: “Avoid the blues room.”  She’s glad she didn’t listen.  Now she’s on the constant search for more blues music and dancing.  She’s honored by the invitation to DJ in the beautiful city of Charleston and looks forward to playing music that will make you feel all warm and squishy inside.

LadyBlues (a.k.a. Hether Samuels) has been a part of the social dance scene since 1998. Whether it's jazz, blues, soul, R&B, Reggae or rap, LadyBlues enjoys being transported through music. That's why she decided to get in the DJ mix. She continues to develop her music collection and has DJed these national dance events - VBLX, Dirt Cheap, Charlotte Cheap Thrills; Soul, Swing & Blues, Orlando Lindy Exchange, SoFlex, NYC Blues Blaze, Holy City Blues, Connecticut Lindy Exchange, and Baltimore Blues Summit. 

Her DJ specialty is music for blues dancers. She also DJs for lindyhop and soul-swing. 

She is the founder and organizer of JookJoint Shimmy Blues Dancing Events in New York City (http://www.jookjointshimmyblues.com), which coordinates NYC Blues Blaze

A regular DJ at Dance Blues Friday in Durham, NC, and host of the world-renowned Dave's Lounge podcast, Dave Warner is thrilled to be back at Holy City Blues for the second straight year. Dave's constant search for new blues and fusion releases that appeal to dancers has helped him notch repeat engagements at VBLX and Dirt Cheap Blues in Virginia Beach, a successful stint at Cheap Thrills in Charlotte, multiple gigs at Blues in the Back Room in Washington, D.C., and an invitation to play at Blues Blaze in New York City. Dave plans to light up the soul and fusion rooms again this year.

Travis Willert has been dancing for 5 years in the norther Colorado region and is a recent addition to the Charleston scene. Travis' passion for music overflows into every part of his life and by his own admission when he puts together the perfect play-list it actually makes him "giddy". With Travis DJing your sure to hear a good mix of the classics as well as some new alternative music. Hopefully you will dance a song that makes you invent a new new move or just loose the world around you, but most of all, have fun! The only thing he asks is that the follows, save him a dance!

Blues music has been in Rat Barse’s life since he was a kid. His first concert was James Cotton, at the age of 13. Growing up listening to the greats like Stevie Ray Vaughn and B.B. King, gave him a feeling for the music. When he learned how to blues dance, it brought a whole new appreciation and relationship. Rat came to Charleston with a new found love for the dance and he coined the name for our blues club: “Holy City Blues.” Rat has DJed for swing for over four years and has DJed for blues for a year. He enjoys playing everything from the standards to more contemporary jams. The only struggle Rat has is choosing what songs he should dance to, and which ones he should take a break during! (Good thing there’s slow blues!)on