CBS News recently ran a story on John Anthony: the nine-year-old DJ who performed at Sunset Music Festival in Tampa last week. In light of the segment, we can’t help but ask the question: why are 9-year-olds DJing at festivals in the first place?
The title for the CBSN video reads, “Nine-year-old DJ taking the dance music world by storm.” We certainly use our fair share of hyperbole when talking about artists like Carl Cox or Eric Prydz — there’s no doubt about it — but mind you, these are DJs who have been perfecting their craft for over two decades. The caption for the video goes farther, referring to him as “one of the biggest, and youngest sensations to hit the electronic dance scene.”
Now I’m not trying to dismiss the abilities of young John or derail any dreams here, but isn’t this a bit much? Has electronic music become so watered down that a nine-year-old with a bit of training can perform on the main stage of a festival? Let alone share that stage with Skrillex and Tiësto?
It feels a bit absurd, but then again, people are entitled to see what they want to see. For all we know, young John Anthony could be a nine-year-old mixing prodigy. In fact, from the short video clip, he even appears to have some semblance of mixing technique.
Watch the epic video below of this awesome 9-year-old DJ here:
