Right in the middle of downtown Gainesville lies The Wooly, a venue characterized by warm lighting, comfortable seating and, on March 8, energetic French house music. Daft Disko, hosted by DJ Ricardo Ponce, brought in enthusiastic crowds who danced fervently for as long as the music was playing.
When the doors opened at 9 p.m., Logan Hyder, a 26-year-old UF graduate, and Jaya Patel, a 21-year-old Gainesville resident, began to greet the 10 people lined up against the building. As he checked IDs and took money, Hyder said he enjoys seeing the different types of people who attend these events.
At about 9:20 p.m., DJ Ricardo Ponce kicked off the event with his remixes of French house music duo Daft Punk. While there were less than five people on the dance floor at this point, Ponce set the mood with “Get Lucky” which engaged the crowd. By 10:30 p.m., almost all 200 people in the venue gravitated toward the center of the room and moved freely to the beat.
Two house music fans on the outskirts of the dance floor, 27-year-old Courtney Bryant and 33-year-old Valentina Zamora, said the French house music put them in good spirits for the night. Compared to other music genres like indie folk, this style relies less on lyrics and more on rhythm, which pushes Zamora and Bryant to be in positive moods.
“You are connecting more with the feeling of the beats and the music, rather than the lyrics,” Bryant said.
The Gainesville music scene revolves primarily around singer-songwriter artists, but recently, more eclectic music events have popped up that weren’t as prominent in the past, like Latin clubs and house music parties. Because of an increase in accessibility through listening platforms such as Spotify, Bryant said, more people have discovered different genres of music.
People no longer have to rely on the radio, Bryant said, resulting in more niche music interests and causing these once-small communities to grow.
As these groups continue to flourish, fashion trends associated with French house music are also expanding.
“Even getting dressed up to come here tonight, I’m like ‘Oh I want to wear something more exciting,’” Bryant said. “It feels edgier to go somewhere with house music. It gets you out of your comfort zone.”
French house music appeals to more young adults than older adults because of the feelings and styles it introduces, Bryant said, which might be why it has become so popular in Gainesville.
Zamora’s brother listens to French house music, and she said she’s seen his energy change because of it. Listening to house and electronic dance music makes people more confident, she said — from the way they dress to how they do their hair, divergent thinking pushes for more creativity in people’s personal lives and in the community itself.
“Everybody that lives into this type of music and environment is accepting of everybody,” Zamora said. “Hopefully it starts to spread more and more, because people connect with it in a way that makes us more unified.”
French house music’s ability to inspire connections between people gives an overall positive feeling to the community. In a world where people can twist lyrics to make them have different meanings than what was intended, house music allows people to enjoy a song without having to worry about what it might mean. The uplifting rhythms are enough.
“There’s no pain in [this] type of music,” Zamora said. “You can just express your own self. It makes me feel liberated.”
At 11 p.m., over 30 people lined up outside The Wooly’s entrance. Inside, the crowded room buzzed with excitement. Every inch of the dance floor was taken up by house music fans who chatted with each other and danced with drinks in their hands. Across the room from the DJ, groups of people relaxed on cushioned seats and happily watched the other crowds dynamically move.
Paula Munoz, a 24-year-old UF alum and Gainesville resident, attended the event due to her love for French house music, specifically the band Daft Punk. With her initial love for Latin music, Munoz felt drawn into house music because of how easy it can be to dance to, she said.
This genre typically includes repetitiveness and strong bass lines, exuberating a light-hearted feeling which Munoz believes is because of its roots in French pop and house music.
“I feel like American artists just copy everything off of everybody else,” she said. “[French artists] Daft Punk paved the way for a lot of the house music that I hear here, like Calvin Harris. It’s very similar, in a way, to French disco.”
The party slowed down by 1 a.m., with groups of five routinely exiting the building until all that was left was a low bass sound, red hues and empty cups, reminiscent of the passionate crowds that the venue once contained.
Contact Autumn Johnstone at ajohnstone@alligator.org. Follow them on X @AutumnJ922
Autumn Johnstone is a freshman journalism/art student and a music reporter for The Avenue. When they're not writing, you can find them enjoying a nice cup of coffee at a nearby café or thrifting for vinyls. You may find their other published work in Strike magazine, Atrium magazine and Musée magazine in New York City.
