DKTV², an immersive music video showcase, will bring more than 20 music videos by Memphis musicians and videographers into the Midtown venue Bar DKDC, with live visuals from Memphis immersive-experience studio Infinity Stairs. There will also be performances by a variety of bands, such as Aquarian Blood and Recent Future.
The event is the capstone project for Kolby Tipler and photographer Kierstyn Laird, who are completing their internships at Bar DKDC through the National Independent Venue Foundation’s VOX program. For Tipler, who has also been working at Bar DKDC during the summer, the project grew from a desire to create an event that puts music, video, and visual art on equal footing.
“We are looking to involve more musicians and creatives, rather than just be band-focused or DJ-focused,” Tipler says. “We want to make [DKTV²] more inclusive.”
Infinity Stairs’ Graham Burks Jr. and Corbin Linebarier will transform the room with projections, original visuals, and old-school CRT televisions (aka box TVs), creating what Burks describes as a chance to be “right inside” the video. The result is a night of music, screening, and installations built around local Memphis musicians and the work surrounding them.
Infinity Stairs’ relationship with Bar DKDC goes back to some of their earliest shows, including late-night dance parties. They’re bringing their history with the intimate venue together with ideas developed through larger projects.
“We have, through the years, called Bar DKDC home base,” Burks says. “When we do this immersive experience at Bar DKDC the whole room will glow.”
The CRT aesthetic is intentional. Burks and Linebarier draw inspiration from the MTV and VH1 era, when music videos were experienced on glowing television screens rather than phones. Linebarier says the setup is meant to evoke that nostalgic feeling while surrounding the audience with visuals.
At the center of the night is Memphis’ creative community. Tipler hopes the showcase gives both newcomers and longtime musicians a chance to be seen, while also spotlighting the videographers, filmmakers, directors, and editors behind the work of the music videos.
“This is an event with more than 20 of your favorite bands playing with music videos,” Burks says, calling the event a cross-section of an active, thriving Memphis music scene.
For Tipler, the goal is to leave audiences surprised by how much local creativity is happening around them — and get inspired to create and collaborate themselves.
DKTV², Bar DKDC, 964 South Cooper St., Friday, August 28, 8 p.m., $15.
