In a sad turn of events for District clubgoers, Buzz, a weekly dance party that has been held at Nation (1015 Half St., S.E.) for the past nine years, has unexpectedly closed, effective immediately. Buzzlife Productions, which ran the event every Friday night, announced the closing on its website Wednesday evening.
“Nation was as shocked as we were, and this was not a decision anyone wanted,” wrote an unidentified Buzz employee on the website’s message board.
During its nine-year run, top dance DJs from across the world, including Paul Oakenfold, Sasha and John Digweed, played at Buzz numerous times. Buzz was widely regarded as one of the top club events in the United States.
According to the press release, the closing is the result of a two-and-a-half year investigation by the U.S. Military aimed at monitoring the weekend behavior of service personnel. In September, the military ordered its personnel not to patronize Buzz.
In its statement, Buzzlife also claimed military authorities and the Metropolitan Police Department joined together to target the Friday night events, resulting in the harrassment of clubgoers. It is not clear whether Buzz was forced to close by authorities, or whether the closing was to preempt further action.
It is also not clear whether the closing was related to the Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstacy (RAVE) Act introducted into the U.S. Senate earlier this year. In past years, Metropolitan Police has targeted the club as a locus for sales of ecstacy and other hallucinogenic drugs.
Despite the closing, Buzz resident DJ and Buzzlife president Scott Henry is hopeful. “With a love of electronic dance music and the people in this scene, Buzzlife will continue to bring the best music to the United States,” said Henry. “We are looking to the future.”
Buzzlife discussed no future plans or venues in the statement.
