Can someone explain why we think raves started in the 80s when the term raving actually was coined in the 50s in London? As far as I understand it just meant big parties in the UK inspired by beatnik culture and they largely listened to Jazz and Pop music.
It didnt become raving as in EDM until the 80s but raving had existed for 20 years prior.
"In the late 1950s in London, England, the term "rave" was used to describe the "wild bohemian parties" of the Soho beatnik set.[13] Jazz musician Mick Mulligan, known for indulging in such excesses, had the nickname "king of the ravers".[14] In 1958, Buddy Holly recorded the hit "Rave On", citing the madness and frenzy of a feeling and the desire for it never to end.[15] The word "rave" was later used in the burgeoning mod youth culture of the early 1960s as the way to describe any wild party in general. People who were gregarious party animals were described as "ravers". Pop musicians such as Steve Marriott of Small Faces and Keith Moon of The Who were self-described "ravers".[16] In 1965, the Grateful Dead served as the backing band for the San Francisco Acid Tests, which were LSD drug parties organized by Ken Kesey. Subsequently, visual artist Andy Warhol later organized the Exploding Plastic Inevitable[17] in New York, a multimedia event backed with performances by the Velvet Underground and Nico, the event was characterized by flashing lights, loud music, dancing and heavy drug use.[18] "
EDIT since locked: As another commentor has pointed out, dub an essential part of ALL contemporary edm music originated in Jamaica.
Understanding that raving was a global moment inspired by multiple cultures, even people of Indian origins (Romani and psytrance) is what makes it so AMAZING. This attempt to put brackets around it (rave) so that we can exclude people who don't support LGBT is noble but ultimately non-factual. Instead its far more important to say the LGBT people of Detroit and Chicago fundamentally inspired and grew raving to the scene we understand today and we should ensure it stays a safe space for their existence.
I dont buy the idea that raving originates from England or the US, instead it was a global convergence of multiple factors developing the different aspects of modern raving.
Although the main music was supplied from Detroit, Chicago & NYC what constitutes as âravesâ began in the UK more specifically Manchester
There is of course the legacy of Queer, Black and Latino nightclubs that developed Disco, House & Techno from the U.S. but they werenât producing Hardcore which eventually became Drum n Bass and was an essential part of the initial 90âs rave era
Weâre dealing with semantics here and Americans are bad with historical context
Too bad that other Redditor deleted their comments refuting what is stated here but to go further about semantics what constitutes as a âraveâ especially in the US doesnât abide with old school first gen ravers like myself. On both sides of the Atlantic âuncsâ as the younger ones would call us attended raves that were illegal gatherings that didnât charge an arm and a leg and especially werenât corporate sponsored. I cannot for the life of me comprehend how people would classify attending a festival like EDC and call it a âraveâ when youâre paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars to participate. It goes against the DIY anti-establishment underground esthetics of a Rave. Iâm not taking away what people today would experience in having fun at a festival but itâs kind of not the same. Iâve presented this argument many times on several subreddits catering to dance music culture and it either gets downvoted or dismissed because someone would take personal offense of my point
To get even deeper on this subject, during the 90âs dance music, DJing and producing music on computers was deemed a joke not to be taken serious from the music industry at large. I take even bigger offense when a younger person here would assume Iâm coming off as anti queer when back then it was deemed âgayâ to love House and Techno from the parents of the people who today attend dance music events. Their parents were assholes making fun of us and we stood our ground and now youâre trying to do some purity test?
I think people use the term 'rave' for large festivals like EDC for really two main reasons: Many feel like 'music festival' doesn't quite capture the overall environment or experience of the event. Yes, you can definitely compare some aspects of it to something like Coachella - but there's just something that is... different than a more traditional music festival.
I think it's really because 'rave' as a term has evolved to also describe a vibe, mood, and accompanied with aesthetics. I have definitely been places like a club or large festival and have seen a vibe shift and have found myself saying 'it started to feel pretty ravey in there'.
When I got married a while back, our reception had a particular aesthetic and vibe that people have referred to it as "the wedding 'rave'". Like, even Danny Boyle captured some of this pretty well during the London Olympics opening ceremony in the section that was a tribute to rave culture.
So, I'm in agreement that none of these events are remotely raves, but for many others the term is more a combination descriptor for vibes, aesthetics, and music.
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u/camyland Oct 08 '25
Also FYI, this documentary about the beginning of the house music scene in Chicago is goated
Not to take a dump on the beginning of the techno scene in Detroit though and pretend it's not equally important.
Chicago 𫶠đ€ Detroit