In May, Junction 2 joined a long list of festivals called off due to COVID-19. Organizers pivoted to what looked to be the most expansive virtual event in techno – but they postponed once again as Black Lives Matter protests erupted worldwide. J2v Virtual Festival will finally take place July 11th-12th, 2020, and set times have been announced in full.
The July 11th lineup will be distributed across four stages. Carl Craig has curated The Mainframe: Say It Loud Stage with fellow Detroit mainstays like Derrick May, K-Hand and Terrence Parker. The Console and The Vault will cater to fans of more commercial techno with headliners like Adam Beyer, Maya Jane Coles and Nina Kraviz, and The Hex will showcase the likes of Âme and Maceo Plex.
The second day will offer a much different experience. Appearing in “Panels and films exploring the roots and future of our scene” will be artists Darbak, Derrick Carter, DJ Dar, DJ Holographic and Sama’.
Following Through
Junction 2 have made a concerted effort to correct their course as recent events have brought the conversation on race and dance music. Organizers paired their announcement of the new dates with the addition of the Say It Loud Stage as a “direct response to a process of reflection and education within [their] team over recent weeks.” The lineup comprised entirely of Detroit artists boasts as many names as those of the other three stages combined.
To the discerning fan, however, the Say It Loud Stage’s set times may smack of performative activism. Every artist on the stage’s lineup has been allocated only 20-30 minutes, scarcely enough time for a techno artist to tell a compelling story through set building. Side by side with the one-hour-minimum time slots given to the acts billed for every other stage, the move might come across less as an effort to elevate black artists and more as an attempt to leverage their names.
J2v Virtual Festival’s organizers still appear to have taken more accountability than many electronic music brands. Adding to their logistical undertaking is a donation portal for organizations like Black Lives Matter UK, Care Workers Charity and Refuge. Comparatively, calls to diversify the Awakenings Online Weekender lineup were met with radio silence.
J2v Virtual Festival can be accessed directly from the Junction 2 website. Find the set times (listed in BST) below.
July 11th:
The Mainframe: Say It Loud Stage
18.00 – 18.05: Jessica Care Moore
18.05 – 18.30: Amp Fiddler
18.30 – 18.55: Jay Daniel
18.55 – 19.20: Kyle Hall
19.20 – 19.45: DJ Holographic
19.45 – 20.05: Al Ester
20.05 – 20.25: DJ Dez Andres feat. Moodymann
20.25 – 20.45: DJ Minx
20.45 – 21.00: Waajeed
21.00 – 21.20: Rick Wilhite
21.20 – 21.40: Terrence Parker
21.40 – 22.15: Kevin & Dantiez Saunderson
22.15 – 22.45: K-HAND
22.45 – 23.15: Stacey Pullen
23.15 – 23.45: Carl Craig
23.45 – 00.15: Derrick May
00.15 – 00.20: Jessica Care Moore
Visuals by More Eyes
The Console
18.00 – 19.00: Joel Mull
19.00 – 20.00: Bart Skils
20.00 – 21.00: ANNA
21.00 – 22.00: Alan Fitzpatrick
22.00 – 23.30: Adam Beyer
Visuals by More Eyes & Fade In Fade Out
The Vault
18.00 – 19.00: Sama’ Abdulhadi
19.00 – 20.00: Maya Jane Coles
20.00 – 21.00: Anastasia Kristensen
21.00 – 22.00: Daniel Avery
22.00 – 23.30: Nina Kraviz
Visuals by More Eyes & Wearemidnight
The Hex
18.00 – 19.00: EFFY (UK)
19.00 – 20.30: Saoirse b2b Shanti Celeste
20.30 – 21.30: Jossy Mitsu
21.30 – 23.00: Âme (live)
23.00 – 00.30: Maceo Plex
Visuals by More Eyes & Blinkinlab
July 12th
18:00 Panel 1 – Say It Loud
19:00 Film 1 – Detroit, The Blueprint of Techno (JUNCTION 2 ONLY)
19:00 Film 1 – My House, Episode 1 (VICE UK ONLY)
19:30 Panel 2 – Techno, Music of Unity and Resistance
20:25 Film 2 – Dance or Die
21:00 Panel 3 – Deeds Not Words
21:55 Film 3 – I Was There When House Took Over The World (JUNCTION 2 ONLY)
