A great mitzvah DJ understands one thing before anything else: this is not a wedding. It’s a mitzvah.
The kids are there to have fun. That’s the whole point of the party. Of course the parents and their friends are there too, and they want to have a good time. But if the DJ only plays to one side of the room, you always see the other side upset. Either the kids are bored or the parents are miserable, and neither one is okay.
A great DJ knows how to make everyone happy. They read the room, they know when to bring the kids to the dance floor and when to give the adults their moment, and they keep the energy going for both.
And please, keep it clean. It drives me crazy. Families build these absolutely beautiful ballrooms, and then someone plays songs with profanity in a room full of thirteen-year-olds and their grandparents. It is definitely not appropriate.
A mitzvah DJ has to make the kids and the parents happy. Not one or the other.
Here’s my other pet peeve. It is not appropriate when a DJ, an MC, a percussionist, a guest or anyone else takes the mic and starts singing. It is not open mic hour. The mic is for running the night, not for a performance nobody asked for.
So when you’re choosing a DJ, ask them how they handle a room of kids and adults at the same time, ask for their clean versions, and ask who uses the mic and when. The right answers will tell you everything. And if you’re working with me, I’ll already know who gets it right.
BTW, WHO’S PLANNING YOUR EVENT? #THEVENTBAR
