Marie Davidson has something few artists carry so clearly. Her music is smart, dark, funny, physical, and unlike anyone else’s. It does more than work on a dance floor. It says something.
Photo credit: Marie Davidson – Facebook
That is part of what makes her upcoming AIONIA appearance at Elsewhere Rooftop on May 29th feel so special. This is not simply a rooftop booking. It is an AIONIA party taking place at Elsewhere Rooftop, built around a rare Marie Davidson appearance and an even rarer open-to-close set.
A short set never quite made sense for an artist like Davidson. Her world needs time. It needs pressure, space, humor, tension, and release. The daytime format gives that idea a natural shape. The party begins in the light, then lets the music grow darker as the city does.
Ahead of the show, we spoke with Marie Davidson about reading a room, serving the dance floor, freedom, memory, and the strange magic that happens when a crowd is truly ready to let go.
EG: Hi Marie, welcome to EG. Where are you right now, and what kind of headspace are you in today?
Marie Davidson: Thanks for the invite. I’m on Road 214 in Quebec. My dad is driving me back to my studio in Montreal.
EG: When you step into a room to DJ or play live, what is the first thing you try to understand?
Marie Davidson: The first thing I do when I step into a room, whether it’s to DJ or play live, is feel the energy. I try to understand where people are at in their evening. I read the room to see if the mood is warm, cold, sexy, tense, playful, or boring. This tells me if the beginning of the gig is going to be a treat or a fight. That being said, I don’t mind a little bit of fighting. Most of the time, I know how to handle a crowd and bring them to another level.
EG: What tells you that the crowd is ready for you to take more risks?
Marie Davidson: If I find myself moving, smiling, and laughing a lot as I play, if I feel like I’m enjoying myself rather than being at work, I know this means I’m free to try anything in that moment. This might make me pull out unexpected moves. This is when we, the crowd, and I are ready to surrender to the sounds we hear and respond to them.
EG: What makes a party stay with people after it ends?
Marie Davidson: To me, a night that leaves a mark has much more to do with the whole party than just the DJs and the tracks that were played. A night that leaves a mark is one people will remember as a moment where they truly connected with others on the dance floor and in meaningful conversations.
EG: In an open-to-close set, how do you think about pacing, pressure, and letting the room breathe?
Marie Davidson: I’m not the best at letting things breathe for a long time, to be honest. I tend to try to keep the energy up as long as I can, but naturally, I will give some release when and where I feel it’s needed. I like to plan my sets with an opening, a peak, and an ending. When I started DJing, I watched an interview with DJ Jazzy Jeff where he said that a set needs a takeoff, a flight, and a landing. This has never left my mind.
“I read the room to see if the mood is warm, cold, sexy, tense, playful, or boring. This tells me if the beginning of the gig is going to be a treat or a fight”
EG: What kind of record can change the temperature of a room immediately?
Marie Davidson: I find that records with a strong vocal, or vocal sample, have the most power to change the temperature of a room. People love to be addressed.
EG: Do you see dancing more as release, connection, or self-expression?
Marie Davidson: It depends. Some people seek dance floors to release negative energy. Some people go out to connect and express joy. I personally go both ways. I do believe that anyone dancing is expressing themselves, no matter what.
EG: What is the word that best describes the moment when a set and a crowd truly meet?
Marie Davidson: Magic.
EG: Does underground club culture still have room for outsiders?
Marie Davidson: I don’t know. It depends on which club culture we’re talking about. Underground club culture, by this I mean what exists outside of corporate and branding culture, still does to me. I like to think of it as nighttime social culture. It feels broader than the term club culture. If you want to talk about misfits and outsiders, you’re more likely to meet them where it’s unexpected than at some corporate party.
EG: What has DJing taught you about responsibility?
Marie Davidson: DJing taught me to be at the service of the people dancing. When I started DJing at small parties, I sometimes played with people who were much better producers or mixers than I was, but they didn’t have the skills to keep a dance floor alive. I saw people destroy dance floors that had demanded much effort to build, just by playing a track that made no sense in that specific moment. I learned a lot from that. You can play as many different music genres as you like, but you have to do it for the people.
“A night that leaves a mark is one people will remember as a moment where they truly connected with others on the dance floor and in meaningful conversations”
EG: What does freedom mean to you now?
Marie Davidson: Freedom means doing what you want to be doing, consciously. Not acting carelessly out of selfishness, but asking yourself what you really want out of life and doing it. This is freedom to me. Not everyone has the chance to experience that in the world we live in.
EG: What keeps inspiring you outside of music?
Marie Davidson: The people I meet in real life.
EG: What do you say to your younger self when you look back at the path you have taken?
Marie Davidson: I try to do this exercise every now and then. I send the message to my younger self that I’m alright, that I’m doing well with the cards that were given to me, and that I’m not wrong to pursue the dreams that I had. Then I do the reverse exercise and ask my younger self to give some words of advice. It helps me stay aligned with who I am and reminds me why I do what I do in life.
EG: What do you hope people feel after spending this much time with you on the dance floor?
Marie Davidson: I hope they feel confident to be themselves.
Marie Davidson’s open-to-close DJ set at Elsewhere Rooftop is set for Friday, May 29th, 2026. Grab your tickets here.
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