An Evening with Swoop

Name: An Evening with Swoop
Start: 2026-05-16T19:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-05-16T23:00:00-04:00
Location: 120 Division Ave S, #127, Grand Rapids, MI

Schedule

Sat May 16 2026 at 07:00 pm to 11:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

120 Division Ave S, #127, Grand Rapids, MI | Grand Rapids, MI

We are proud to announce our next show. We will have Swoop. He will play a four hour set in our gallery.
Hailing from Roswell, John's earliest memories of music stem from "four 15's in the trunk" New Mexico bass culture. He was drawn to hip hop in the mid 80's, and counts Erik B & Rakim's Paid in Full and Strictly Business by EPMD among the most formative albums of his youth. John, a.k.a. "Swoop", whose first job was at a local radio station, eventually landed in Tallahassee, FL. Influences like the legendary Florida trio Rabbit in the Moon began to shape his musical interests. He also was immersed in 90's hip hop, with Redman emerging as his favorite MC. In the early 2000's, after another cross-country move, Swoop found himself mixing Rap and Nuskool breaks records in Metro Washington D.C. This experience only furthered his drive to seek out and discover more unique sounds. Atlanta and Dubstep.fm were next. Swoop credits Dubstep.fm and the many gifted members of that community with helping to contribute to the development of his style.
Since his arrival in Grand Rapids in 2009, Swoop has become a local favorite in the underground and mainstream scene. He cut his teeth as a founding DJ of the iconic BassBin series, then orchestrated by local legend Andrea "SuperDre" Wallace. This resulted in multiple residencies and performances at venues and events around the midwest.
Relationships with other influential DJ's, producers, and event coordinators like Matt "Sylock" Perrin, Adam Ortiz, Shane Bugai, and Randy "DJ Silence" Visser furthered Swoop's talent and pushed his sound to new levels. His Sunday patio pop ups with Greg Smalley and Jay Arthur, and his occasional yet impactful bookings of out-of-town acts have helped cement his reputation as a local leader who is committed to the electronic music culture of Grand Rapids.
Swoop's style on the decks is a unique mix of UK Garage, 2Step, Breaks, Dubstep and even a little Downtempo that his colleagues often referred to as "Swoopstep."