Alan Gibson and Erin Moody, the duo behind City Soul Bus, may be best known for bringing free parties and world-class DJ talent to the streets, but after a recent robbery cost them tens of thousands of dollars in damages and stolen equipment, something different happened.
This time, the party came to them.
For three years, the Bushwick-based City Soul Bus has hosted weekly street parties every Saturday to showcase local, national and international DJ talent. But just two days before one of their largest events of the year, the party on wheels came to a screeching halt.
While Gibson was on a trip to Tokyo, he found out through people tasked with watching the bus, that equipment had been stolen, leaving him and the rest of the team disheartened.
The equipment was stolen just two days before one of their largest events of the year, the Riddim Bus event.
“We called around to get a lot of people together who donated equipment and reached out to people who could help us out, and knew that we were hosting a ‘big deal’ event,” Gibson said. “People really came through for us when we needed it most.”
After posting a GoFundMe asking for donations from the community, the City Soul Bus surpassed their initial $20,000 goal, even garnering donations from global music icons Four Tet, Skrillex and Fred again.., artists City Soul Bus previously collaborated with on a massive event in 2023.
“We’re really feeling the love from the rave community and we’re so grateful that people have shown up for us in a matter of days,” Moody said. “What we’re putting out, we’re getting back.”
All donations will go to repairing the bus, enhancing security measures and fully replacing the stolen equipment.
“We want to ‘keep the streets lit,’ and be a place where you don’t have to fit into a bubble,” GIbson said. “The show must go on, and we’ve done just that.”
