How to DJ Outside: Tips & Expert Advice

DJing outside is epic!

Not only does it get you out of a sweaty room full of clubbers or even your own bedroom studio, it gets you outside in nature or in a city landscape.

To inspire you, here are some examples of How to DJ Outside:

Garden Party
Outdoor festival
Recording DJ set in beautiful location
Live streaming, DJing on a bike
Recording DJ set, walking around DJing
Kayaking and DJing at the same time

I first got inspired to write this article on ‘How to DJ Outside‘ by watching many a YouTube video from the likes of Cercle and Nora En Pure. Most recently I come across a two separate DJs, who are absolute outdoor DJing legends. First guy I spotted on YouTube was SUAT, DJing walking around the gaff with a comedic twist.

Then I found “Drum & Bass DJ on a Bike” with Dom Whiting, who in his own right is doing things his own way when it comes to DJing outside, on a three wheeler bike I may add.

I reached out to Dom Whiting and he was kind enough to answer some of my questions to help you guys for DJing outside. Mad respect Dom, much appreciated!
YouTube Here, Facebook here

Be prepared to gain as much knowledge possible on how to DJ outside, plus some great ideas on how to think outside the box DJing outside.

Interview with Dom Whiting – DJ on a Bike

I reached out to Dom on Facebook and he was super kind to reply to me with some voice notes which I’ve transcribed for you guys below.

Q: How did you get in DJing?

A: Started out DJing at a local night in my home town called Audio Venum in High Wycombe, which was a monthly night. Wanted to be a part of that night and mixing came along side it.

Q: What inspired you to DJ on a bike?

A: The thought of moving along and DJing at the same time is like the ultimate thing. There’s nothing sicker than a constantly moving background whilst DJing and listening to music. Also, a friend suggested that I do it as an idea to DJ on a bike, then the next day I was shopping around for a bike, and now we’re here [DJing on a bike].

Q: What equipment do you use?

A: A portable power pack, XDJ controller by Pioneer, wireless microphone, mic receivers, gaffa tape, cable ties, separate power pack for mobile phone to go live. Obviously a bike and custom made arm to hold camera in place.

Q: How do you deal with live streaming copyright issues on YouTube / Facebook?

A: YouTube is fairly lenient, it’s still sensitive, but if YouTube doesn’t like the track it will blank it out. It’s Facebook that’s the problem, it will just cut you off straight away.

Q: Any advice for DJs that are looking to do static DJ sets?

A: Find a really cool background, doesn’t matter what you’re mixing, if you have a cool back drop then you’re on to a winner!

Q: Any advice for DJs wanting to DJ on a bike?

A: Not sure what to suggest to be honest, I’ve had many a sleepless night as it’s very difficult to get it setup. It’s taken some time to get the camera perfect. It’s taken a lot man hours to get it to where I’ve got it, and there’s still some improvements to be made.

Q: What are your future DJ plans?

A: Aiming to ride the wave of DJing on a bike and everyone seems to be enjoying it and I’m having fun doing it too. Keeping up the momentum with live streaming DJing on a bike basically, and keep on with DJing at the local DJ night [in High Wycombe].

Q: What’s the funniest thing that’s happened DJing outside on your bike?

A: Hmmm… DJing in the snow was quite sick… and also I’ve nearly fell of the bike in Bristol recently, I suppose you can class it funny as no damage happened to the bike. But when it comes down to it, I probably won’t be laughing.

Outdoor DJing Examples

There are different types of DJing outside, garden parties, weddings and even portable DJing now such as riding around on a bike DJing, madness I know. Below are some types of DJing outside that we will consider in this article.

Garden Party

I’ve DJ’d a fair few parties in my time, and one that stood out for me was at a Hawaiian themed garden party. The set up was pretty much the same as what I’d have setup in my music man cave at home.

Extensions cable from house to garden, to get the power. Got a good sturdy table to out the laptop and DJ controller on, with the speakers below my feat to smash out the tunes. The weather was a bit hit and miss with the rain, so make sure when you’re DJing at a party outside, make some plans for poor weather.

Lessons learnt:

Make sure you get a long enough extension cable
Download your music beforehand, don’t rely on wifi to get access to you music (e.g. subscription service to Soundcloud).
Setup some sort of gazebo for protection from rain or sun. It rained slightly for me and had people hold an umbrella above my head. Thanks again Jack!
Set up a back up playlist to play on auto, if you want a break and party a bit with your mates.

Outdoor Festival / Wedding

There are many an outdoor festival, large and small, sometimes muddy but awesome.

On the odd occasion there’s a really sunny spell, it’s still just as wise to get some cover to protect against the sun. Screen glare will reduce so you can see the screens and digital displays on your DJ equipment. Plus you will be protected and not get sun stroke or melt your DJ equipment.

Lessons Learnt:

Always bring a back up of your music. When travelling to a location with lots of bags and equipment etc it can sometimes be the case you lose stuff. Having a back up of your music will be the best thing you’ve done as a DJ.
Take plenty of water, because if the weather is boiling hot, you will most certainly not want to pass out from dehydration. I mean if you do, at least put the Rekordbox on auto-playlist, only joking!
Using a laptop outside? If you’re getting screen glare, invert the colours of your screen so that you can see the DJ software.
Pack a gazebo or umbrella to protect yourself from the elements, rain or shine.

Recording in a Beautiful Location

YouTube brings us some amazing things online, and one of them is Cercle. They host DJs (and musicians) to play DJ sets in the most amazing of locations and formats around the world. For example, Ben Bohmer DJing on a hot air balloon.

Cercle is a great example of showing that there are no limits or place on earth that we can’t DJ outside. Be inspired for sure, this could be you one day DJing on Cercle in some mad location, maybe even outer space in the future?

Live Streaming DJing on a Bike

If you watch my YouTube channel you may know that I love Drum and Bass music. So when I come across “DJ on a Bike” DJing Drum and Bass I was totally on board.

Live streaming, answering peoples big ups, cycling and mixing all at the same time, how does he do it? Check out Dom cycling around Oxford below.

Dom Whiting is the official DJ on a bike. What a legend!

Recording DJ set, walking around DJing

If you like music and comedy, then SUAT is your man. Watching SUAT made me laugh for a solid 30 minutes on one his videos where he’s walking through a forrest DJing. The amount of times SUAT has DJ’ed walking outside is massively impressive and also appears to be a back breaking task, fair play SUAT!

Check out SUAT DJing live out and about, but this time kayaking down the River Thames.

Equipment for Outdoor DJing

The way I see it is you’ve got two options for equipment setup, static versus portable setup. Below highlights the common equipment that you need for both types of setups.

Equipment Setup

Power options

Firstly if you’re looking to do a static DJ set outside here are a couple of options:

Extension cable from mains
Generator – I’ve heard on DJ forums that the Honda battery generators are pretty good, also ECOFlow look insane, they even have a solar panel to re-charge the battery. Product example here: https://eu.ecoflow.com/collections/bundle/products/ecoflow-river-pro-160w-solar-panel

Portable DJ sets require you to have a battery pack that at least lasts a few hours. You might need a couple of battery packs depending on your setup, for example, one for your mobile phone if you are streaming and another for your DJ Controller.

Battery pack

A great tip to consider when understanding the amount of power that you require is by looking at the consumption of your devices / DJ equipment. That way, if you’re going to use portable battery power, then you can select the appropriate battery power and type for your setup.

Battery Pack to Consider

According to John Simmons, he tested out the HALO Bolt battery pack, and it powered a laptop and large speaker which lasted 2 hours in total. The take away from the test is that you’re not going to be blaring out music if you’re DJing outside walking or on a bike, but if you are turning up the music volume then hopefully 2 hours should be long enough for you to DJ.

Buy HALO Bolt HERE.

DJ Controller

My advice is to use an All-In-One DJ Controller. Mainly because you don’t require the need for a laptop and it’s simply one unit to DJ with. Especially helpful if you’re on the go and require portable equipment, like SUAT and Dom Whiting.

If you’re statically DJing in a garden party for example, then it’s less of need to have an All-In-One DJ Controller. You can pretty much use any setup you have to DJ with, but remember, less is more. Less equipment you have to deal with the better. A simple DDJ-400 controller, laptop and Yamaha HS50 speakers is what I’ve used in the past to DJ garden parties.

All-In-One DJ Controllers:

Pioneer XDJ (Check out Pioneers range here)
Denon Prime Go <— Internally battery powered, lasting up to 4 hours. Awesome!

DJ Controllers:

Pioneer DDJ-200 – for a small setup which will be great as the DDJ-200 is small in size. Connects to a mobile or tablet to run the DJ software. Great overall small DJ setup.
Pioneer DDJ-400 – great for garden parties where you can have a laptop to power up

Check out my recommended DJ gear if you’re in the market for DJ equipment.

Speakers

I use Yamaha HS50 speakers which are powered speakers, great for a party outside. However I’d imagine if you want to pursue DJing on the go, such as DJing on a bike and walking around DJing you’d need much smaller and lighter speaker(s).

Battery powered speakers
Powered speakers

Headphones

My advice would be to prioritise either over ear headphones mainly for the noise cancelling qualities OR light weight headphones if you’re on the move DJing.

I advocate getting hold of either of the below headpphones, tried and tested successfully.

Sennheiser HD-25
V-Moda Crossfade M-100

Check out my recommended DJ headphones if you’re in the market for DJ equipment.

Optional extras

For really pushing the boundaries of DJing outside, some extra equipment that you might need includes:

Tent / Gazebo
Drone
Modified / custom bike
Customised setup to help you DJ anywhere e.g. table, bike etc

DJing Outside Top Tips

DIY your own setup: Check this guy out, DJs from a suitcase, WTF!!! Awesome!!! https://paulknox.net/briefcase/
Plan ahead what you need and make plans for contingencies e.g. battery pack.
Don’t be boring. Pick an amazing background setting for your DJing session outside. Think outside the box like Dom Whiting and SUAT.
Don’t fall off your bike while DJing.
Go live on air e.g. YouTube or Facebook, then post the recorded version on your YouTube and other social platforms.
Always seek to improve your setup, especially for improving the technology aspects of camera recording.