CHICAGO: The B96 Summberbash was held on Saturday June 15 as a yearly concert in Bridgeview, IL at Toyota Park which showcases performances from the Nation’s top Pop and hip/hop artists. The 2013 Summerbash consisted of acts from NE-YO, Demi Lavato, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Avril Lavigne, Afrojack, Cher Lloyd and many more.
Prior to the show, The Pre Bash Stage at the B96 Pepsi Summerbash hosted the Boom Entertainment & B96 National DJ Competition, where DJs from across the nation, squared off to be the number one contender to represent their city after submitting their entry videos for selection.
After hundreds of entries, five were selected to qualify into the Semi-Finals. The competitors were Kwest (CA), B (IL), So-Real (IL), Midas Touch (TX), and Mr Shaw (IL). The Semi-Finals round took place live at Toyota Park in the presence of Celebrity Judges such as DJ Flipside (Jumpsmokers & B96 Mixmaster), Trentino (2013 National Redbull Thre3Style DJ Battle Winner), DJ Speed, Marquee (Jumpsmokers) + many more.
The enthused crowd of 5000+ screaming fans applauded the top two contestants remaining. Once the competition was over, one DJ that walked away as winner was Chicago idol, DJ Shaw – Sahaj Shah, an Indian youth.
Talking to the media, Sahaj Shah said that born in Chicago to Indian origin parents, he was proud to be a Chicagoan. Sahaj had come second in last year competition and he observed “the last year experience helped me prepare better this year and the presence of my family members proved a big motivating factor too.”
He observed that the stereo type image of Indian Americans “is that of doctors, lawyers, computer professionals – good at math, and science and here I am a DJ, reflecting my passion for music. Winning this battle is a way to tell people that we can excel in other areas too.”
He profusely thanked Boom Entertainment and the entire crew for making this event a success on a grand scale.
Surendra Ullal
