West Philadelphia native DJ Jazzy Jeff will headline what Longwood Gardens is calling a first-of-its-kind event this Wednesday, September 9, spinning a 90-minute live set in the Main Fountain Garden as jets of water, colored lights and flame features respond to his mixing in real time. The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Kennett Square, Pennsylvania venue, and it flips the usual script for Longwood’s famous water displays.
Rather than syncing the DJ’s music to a pre-programmed fountain playlist, Longwood’s fountain designers Tim Martin and Nate Hart will adjust water jets, lighting and effects live as Jazzy Jeff mixes, according to Longwood Gardens. Most fountain shows at the gardens are sequenced in advance, but this performance is built as a live, improvisational exchange between the DJ and the operators controlling the water. As WPVI-TV reports, Jazzy Jeff’s music will be synchronized live with the illuminated fountains during the September 9 performance.
A DJ Known for Firsts Tries Something New
Jazzy Jeff, born Jeffrey Townes, told WPVI-TV he’s done plenty of impressive things in his career but nothing quite like this fountain performance. The station’s report notes he’ll headline what Longwood is describing as a first-of-its-kind event at the gardens, and that Longwood itself has said the Main Fountain Garden has attracted guests from around the world.
The DJ’s Philadelphia ties run deep. In February 1989, Townes and Will Smith made music history when their single “Parents Just Don’t Understand” won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, according to Parade. The duo famously boycotted that year’s ceremony because the rap category had been left out of the live television broadcast.
Inside the Five-Acre Fountain That Makes It Possible
None of this would be technically possible without the Main Fountain Garden’s 2017 overhaul. The five-acre space reopened after a two-year revitalization with 1,719 water jets, 30 propane flame features, 1,389 LED lights and water streams capable of reaching 175 feet, per The Washington Post. The system relies on compressed air to send water bursts into dramatic patterns…