EDMONTON -- While many Edmontonians are working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, those who work in nightlife have found themselves temporarily without jobs after clubs and pubs had to shut down.
That's why one local DJ is spinning tunes online so you can turn your own house into a dance floor while beating the feeling of being stuck inside.
Blair McFarlane, also known as DJ Junior Brown, usually fills the room at The Bower in downtown Edmonton as he's blasting beats.
At first, he assumed the order to close meant the music would have to end too.
"A friend messaged me via Instagram saying, 'Maybe we should keep the tradition alive and keep the livestream for the night,' and I'm like, 'Yeah sure, let's try it out,' not thinking anything of it," he said.
So McFarlane fired up the music from his condo, streaming five hours of music live to 11,000 people.
"After seeing all those analytics made you realize, oh yeah, we're actually hitting a lot of people. There's a lot of people that really do care about music," he said.
But since he can't see every individual person busting a move, what does McFarlane do about reading the room or feeling the energy of the crowd?
"I'm envisioning people with their families dancing, or it could be something simple like having a drink with your partner at the kitchen table, or you're having dinner."
He says despite the virtual lockdown everyone is in, people are still hungry for a good time and dancing hits the spot.
"House Night" will once again be streamed live this Saturday from The Bower's Facebook page — exactly 19 years after it first started.
With a report from CTV News Edmonton's Graham Neil
