DDC 2.0 soft-opens today with new Ritan digs & a weekend of gigs

Photos: DDC

/WeChat

In what seems like reassuring news for the city's gig-goers and music scene, Dusk Dawn Club (DDC), the stalwart hutong livehouse has announced on WeChat this week that it's planning to reopen this Friday, following the shuttering of its former siheyuan venue almost two years ago due to the ongoing crackdowns and covid woes.

Photo: DDC/WeChat

Bidding farewell to its humble beginning in shanlao hutong, the team has been busy setting up a new home base in Ritan in the past year, next to the likes of Dada, Mango and other nightlife establishments. While still finishing the final touches, it's quite evident that DDC 2.0 is set to look nothing like its old hutong space both in appearance and scale.

As shown by design sketches posted on their WeChat account, the Ritan venue ups the antes with a rather multi-story and high-ceilinged space featuring sleek industrial design touches throughout. There's said to be a bigger stage, accompanied by a massive curved LED screen, as well as state-of-the-art audio-visual and light equipment.

Photos: DDC/WeChat

There's plenty more to look forward to in their new digs though. This weekend, DDC 2.0 is hosting a soft opening party with three days of live Beijing indie music to mark the occasion. Head down there and see the venue for yourself, while catching a gamut of new local indie acts and DJs such as the Clinic, Sweetheart Hill, Basement Queen, Sincerely Yours, W.X.M.

While the old adage 'as one door closes, another one opens' has long been a truism of Beijing’s maverick live music venues, the return of DDC feels particularly worth celebrating, as a reflection of the city's music scene that remains voracious and undeterred even in the age of covid. Go out and celebrate with them this weekend, and be part of the witness of a new dawn at DDC 2.0.

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