Beat Lab will celebrate 10 years of bass in Bend on June 15 at Volcanic Theatre Pub. 

Matt Wax grew up in Bend, then left to attend school in Colorado, where he fell in love with electronic music. When he returned to his hometown in hopes of finding and fitting into a similar-sounding scene, he found one that was small but resilient.

“There was really only one crew throwing electronic music shows here and that was Slipmat Science. I have to give those guys kudos, because if it wasn’t for them, I never would’ve started doing this,” he said. “They showed me that you could do it here in Bend even though the market is much smaller. They were taking a break from doing events and I was like, ‘I know I want to bring this culture to Bend in any way I can.’”

When Wax says “doing this” he’s talking about Beat Lab Radio, the venture he co-founded in 2014 that is a radio show, a concert promoter and an artists’ collective all rolled into one.

On the evening of Saturday, June 15, Beat Lab will celebrate 10 years of bass in Bend with a show at Volcanic Theatre Pub.

Determined to make electronic music happen in Bend, Wax started DJing on his own at places like the defunct downtown bar Dojo and The Astro Lounge. That’s where he was performing a decade ago when he and Shane Thomas — a local musician and sound engineer who was burning out on playing in rock bands at the time — hatched the Beat Lab plan.

“He walked in and looked at me and he said, ‘You do this? I want to do this!’” Wax said with a laugh. “We clicked right off the bat.”

Wax showed Thomas some of the basics of making electronic music, and the two started booking shows in Bend and bringing other musicians, such as DJ WelterWeight, into the fold. “Before you know it, we had this crew of people that just kind of came together,” Wax said.

As Beat Lab matured, the crew started a radio show that aired weekly on 92.9 FM in Bend for about eight years, featuring sets by rising and established non-local artists like Gladkill, X&G, Supertask, TVBOO and DJ Ride. (The show still broadcasts weekly and can be heard at beatlabradio.com.) They also started bringing nationally touring talent to perform locally, such as Zeke Beats, Great Dane, PartyWave, Eastghost, Onhell and Bend native Champagne Drip.

“The whole ethos of Beat Lab is it’s a mix of what we think is coming in the future and then also the best of right now,” Wax said. “Some of these artists are big now and it’s incredible to think back to when we had them early in their career, playing in a bar.”

As crowds grew, the shows moved into the larger Domino Room, as well as The Capitol, where Beat Lab helped establish that venue establish as a hotspot for electronic music in its early days.

“That era of The Capitol was really formative for us,” he said, “and also I think it helped put Bend more on the map for this kind of stuff.”

Eventually, Thomas moved out of town to work as a sound engineer and, as it did for all event-focused companies, the COVID-19 pandemic put a dent in Beat Lab’s activities. Wax — who says he was “ready for a break” at that point anyway — turned his focus to the radio show, which had gained an international audience, with listeners in Canada, Russia, Vietnam, Australia and beyond.

Now, 10 years into a project he never expected to last this long, Wax is ready to celebrate Beat Lab in a big way. The party June 15 features three headliners from out of town: Great Dane, Gladkill and Chase Manhattan. On the agenda: Beats, bass, more beats and more bass.

“That’s how we’ve made this sustainable and enjoyable for 10 years,” he said, “by staying true to the cause and doing it because we love it.”

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Editor’s note: This story has been edited to provide the correct date of 10 Years of Beat Lab Radio, which is on June 15. The Bulletin regrets the error.

If You Go

What: 10 Years of Beat Lab Radio, with Great Dane, Gladkill, Chase Manhattan and WelterWeight

When: 9 p.m. June 15, doors open 8 p.m.

Where: Volcanic Theatre Pub, 70 SW Century Drive, Bend

Cost: $25-$35

Contact: volcanictheatrepub.com