DJ slams ‘absurd’ no-dance dance party at Peter Lehman Wines

A veteran Adelaide performer says bureaucrats told a populary winery it had to turn on the lights and shut down the music if someone started to dance.

Adelaide DJ Jaki J. Picture: Supplied

Baby when the lights go out … there’s a fair chance they’ll come back on again.

A nineties “dance” party in the Barossa Valley this Saturday has had strict no boogieing rules imposed, angering a veteran DJ set to perform.

DJ Jaki J, who has been spinning discs for more than two decades, said the conditions imposed on The Big 90s Party at Peter Lehmann Wines were bordering on the absurd.

He said numerous caveats had to be added to the event’s Covid plan before it was approved by SA Health, including moving an acoustic set to the end of the show to encourage people to leave without being tempted to dance on the way out, and a promise to turn on the lights and shut down the music should any enthusiastic patrons decide to ignore the rules and cut a rug.

“Common sense has completely flown out the window here and migrated to every other state of Australia where dancing is now allowed,” Jaki J said.

“And the only way the promoters can put the show on is to accommodate the whims of SA Health and ‘reverse’ the line-up of music, playing the party hits as guests arrive and culminating in a mellow solo acoustic set from a musician at the end of the night.”

The DJ has been an instrumental part of a group of music industry figures pushing back against the ban on dancing, saying it is ruining musos’ ability to earn a living. SA Health said the restrictions were in place “for different public activities due to the significant threat of Covid-19, and the ongoing high risk of potential community transmission.”