Pulse Events founder discusses newly expanded Spring Festival 2025 [Q&A]

Born in 2023 within the historic confines of The Great Hall at Avant Gardner in Brooklyn, NY, Spring Festival returns for its highly anticipated third installment. What began as a two-day music festival celebrating the Lunar New Year now spans a total of five show dates—January 30th through February 1st—followed by two freshly announced dates on February 7th and the 8th. Melodic powerhouse ILLENIUM, DJ DIESEL, DJ Snake, JVNA, Space Laces, and Audien, among others, will tend decks during the concert series’ opening weekend. The following week, Dutch DJ veteran Tiësto will headline back-to-back nights to close out Spring Festival 2025.

Since its inception, Pulse Events, led by CEO Luffy Huang, has molded its reputation as a premiere Asian-American events company. Spring Festival aims to elevate attendees’ experience via authentic Chinese New Year celebrations, including traditional lion dancing, amidst a top-tier lineup of electronic music acts. With more than 15 years of experience in the global music industry, Huang’s vision to “to bridge the east and the west through a collective love of dance music” will undoubtedly ring true as fans from around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year beginning on January 30th.

Looking ahead to Spring Festival 2025, Pulse Events’ Luffy Huang sat down with Dancing Astronaut to discuss the festival’s origins, Asian culture’s influence on electronic dance music, and more. Browse ticket options to Spring Festival 2025 here—and read the exclusive Q&A below.

What ultimately inspired you to get into hosting/promoting dance music events?

Luffy: “I’ve always had a passion for music and was a singer and TV host more than 15 years ago in China where I grew up. Music events are a bit different in Asia and it was always my dream to bring that to the US and produce a fusion experience. I’ve seen people of different cultures embrace the grand style of shows in Asia and realized this experience was missing in the US. It became my mission to put on events that exposed fans to the traditions and dance community culture in the East. I am proud that my shows include elements like Asian night markets and traditional decorations that can educate audiences while bringing top tier artists for them to enjoy.”

Who was your first major booking?

Luffy: “My first major booking in the US was the inaugural Spring Festival in 2023, when I did a two-day event at the Great Hall with Gryffin and KSHMR headlining. Both of these artists were fitting because Gryffin is half Asian and KSHMR is Indian-American, so we were able to represent the Asian community with these two mainstream talents!”

How has Pulse Events evolved over the years?

Luffy: “Pulse Events began with the Spring Festival, but we saw that fans of all backgrounds appreciated our events mixing culture with our favorite DJs. So, we started producing other shows, including the Winter Festival and S2O in New York, which is based on the Thai New Year tradition of spraying water for good luck. We’re now on our third annual Spring Festival, have done two Winter Festivas, and we’re preparing for the second S2O. We started with a mission to bridge the East and the West through bringing Asian-inspired shows to America, but now we are actually doing the opposite as well. We are bringing EDC Korea back to South Korea in April for the first time since 2019, and it one of our biggest projects right now. We have offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Korea, so we have grown to more than 20 employees at these corners of the world.”

How do you see Asian culture(s) influencing the future of dance music?

Luffy: “Dance music is a universal language and our Spring Festival headliners are popular, not only among Asian fans, but among fans around the world. Our Spring Festival attendees are not only from New York City’s Asian community, but they’re from all kinds of backgrounds. And when they step foot into the event, they are immediately immersed in cultural elements like the night market and lion dance performances. In Asian culture, family is very important. And our Spring Festival feels like one big family celebrating music and the Lunar New Year. Asia is known for some massive events, like S2O, and by continuing to bring events like these to the US, we can keep promoting diversity in the international dance music community.”

Featured image: Chris Lavado

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