DJ collective asks for money after being cited for over-300 person party near Spooner

Emerald Bass is a collective of local “bass Dj’s and Producers” based out of Lake Tahoe. Throughout the year, they often throw parties and music concerts that attract crowds of music and art lovers.

While others have chosen to postpone events during the time of COVID-19 and the recent spike in cases in both Nevada and California, Emerald Bass decided to go ahead with its Saturday party and received hefty fines and arrests after over 300 people showed up.

The party was held on public land above Spooner Summit on King’s Canyon Road, which the party-organizers did not announce publicly but instead issued invites based on private messages from attendees, according to their Facebook page.

Douglas County sheriff's deputies along with a Nevada State Park ranger were dispatched to the scene to disperse the crowd.

One of the DJ’s hosting the event was taken into custody for a failure to appear warrant in Tahoe Township Justice Court, and the DJ claimed responsibility for the event.

Since then, Emerald Bass has created a Go Fund Me to raise funds to pay the citation and bail out those who were arrested. As of Tuesday morning, $1,479 of the $3,000 goal has been raised.


“We at Emerald Bass would like to thank all of you for another night that will resonate throughout for plenty of time to come,” the organizers of the Go Fund Me stated. “Your donations allowed us to bring you the best party possible. This was one for the books, no doubt! Although, we are sad to say that everything did NOT go off without a hitch. While cleaning up, after being told we would not be recieveing (sic) a citation, enforcement decided to give us a citation anyway. Our brother, Austin, who was taking the fine personally, was escorted off property to be held till further notice. We're asking for help from anyone who enjoyed themselves at our event, and may have not been able to donate during, to please help us cover these extra cost that we're being slapped with right now.”

According to their Facebook page, this is only one of several parties that Emerald Bass has thrown this month, with other parties happening on July 2, July 9, July 13, and the party held on Saturday.

“We honor freedom by respecting that the freedom of others be treated with utmost respect-that one’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s will alone (the freedom of choice),” said organizers. “Freedom to express oneself physically, spiritually, and emotionally; free from judgement, stereotypes, stigma, social status or hierarchy. To encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own freedom.”

On Monday, the group appeared to backtrack a bit after an outcry from the public accusing the group of endangering the community, and issued the following statement on their Facebook page:

Hey there, bass fam. We would like to state that we understand Covid is very real. We request and encourage everyone to continue safe health practices. Self-quarantine for 2 weeks (if possible). Wear your mask and wash your hands frequently. We strongly recommend getting tested as well. If you feel any symptoms or find yourself with a positive test result, we ask that you reach out to us so we can take necessary precautions to prevent any further spread.

Our mission goes beyond creating a platform for incredible DJs, producers, visual artists, and performance artists to share their work with the Lake Tahoe community. We whole-heartedly believe in the powerful psychological and spiritual healing our gatherings can provide. The collective trauma our community is experiencing through recent events has inspired us now more than ever to create this space for community healing.

That said, we realize that Covid presents a complex moral and ethical dilemma to us all. We are absolutely not taking a reductionist approach to examining this issue in our decision making processes.

This gathering brought way more people then we could have ever expected. Given the way things transpired, we have decided that continuing to follow public health guidelines will not be enough. As much as we believe in the current need for these gatherings, we will be taking a break untill further notice. Once things are safe again, we will return.

Peace & Love,

The Emerald Bass Family

While organizers are asking for $3,000 on Go Fund Me, they also stated they don’t know what the citation amount is. It is unknown why $3,000 was the amount chosen.