The DMV’s Party Scene Writes Open Letter to Flash Club Ahead of Boiler Room Events in D.C.

Graphic courtesy of 618.

On August 27th, forty local DMV underground party organizers and grassroots groups signed a joint open letter calling for D.C. nightclub Flash to cancel both of its planned Boiler Room events this weekend or face a boycott. The letter highlights Boiler Room’s parent company, KKR, a private equity firm with investments in fossil fuels, Israeli settlements, and weapons companies implicated in ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.

It connects the wider humanitarian boycott of KKR-affiliated events to this weekend’s D.C. Boiler Room events happening at Flash’s warehouse venue, Berhta.

Part of the letter from activists reads:

“To the owners and management of Flash, we, the artists, dancers, producers, and community organizers in the DMV area, have written to urge you, Flash, to cancel the upcoming Boiler Room event you are scheduled to host.

[...] In the spirit of D.C.'s legacy of activist music culture-from punk and hardcore communities that championed social causes, to modern movements for justice-we refuse to let our cultural spaces be complicit in oppression.

Boiler Room was recently acquired by KKR, a private equity firm with direct investments in weapons manufacturers, defense contractors, and tech companies fueling Israel's ongoing assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza. In short: KKR profits from the destruction of Gaza.

[…] Local DJs, crews, and promoters signing this letter will not work with Flash so long as it partners with KKR ventures or prioritizes police suppression of dissent. Flash risks alienating the very community that built its reputation.”

Flash has not canceled, and both Boiler Rooms slated for Saturday and Sunday are currently sold out or waitlisted according to the event listing on DICE.

618, a gateway to the underground party scene, announced counter-parties on Sept. 13 and 14 as alternatives for ethical ravers and fundraisers for mutual aid in the DMV and Palestine.

See the full lineup here.