16 JUNE 5-11, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Two Canadians spinning EDM for massive crowds may not sound like your typical Fourth of July celebration, but for fans of Zeds Dead, it’s become something of a tradition. The duo, made up of Hooks (A.K.A. Zack Rapp-Rovan) and DC (A.K.A. Dylan Mamid), started the Deadbeats Backyard Jam- boree to offer their loyal Den- ver fan base a whole weekend of events in addition to their annual Deadrocks shows at Red Rocks. The Jamboree is a giant backyard bbq, complete with dunk tanks, yard games, a hot dog eating contest hosted by HEYZ!, bouncy castles, and multiple stages chock full of today’s hottest EDM acts, hand-selected by Zeds Dead for maximum party vibes. We sat down with Zeds Dead’s Hooks to talk Fourth of July, white whale remixes, and what to .................................. of their Deadbeats Backyard Jamboree. Westword: Zeds Dead has al- ................................ ................................. ................................ ............................ ............................ ..................... Hooks: Denver crowds are second to none. [It’s] been one of our favorite places to ............................... There’s a well-established bass music scene here and people travel from all over to see shows at Red Rocks, so it’s kind of a perfect place for us to do these events. ............................. ................................. ............ We just really love the movie Independence Day. ................. ..................... .................... ...................... .................. ................. ...................... .................... ............... Our sets at Red Rocks are more of a journey, you might say. The Fourth of July party is more of a party. It’s less seri- ous. ..................... ................. ................................ ................................ .............. Yes, most of the time we don’t even repeat songs. It’s a lot of work to prepare for each year! ............................. .................................. ............................ ............................. We try to get artists we play in our sets and release on our label as well as ones we think would be exciting for our fans. ............................... ...................................... ............................... ............................ ........................... ................................... one I see for one. If someone .................................. have to stop them and say, “No it’s a high 5 for 5 years in the Mile High.” ................................ ................ Yeah, for sure! I’m very much looking forward to that, it’s a great time hanging in the park all day and painting. ............................... ............................. .......................... No, I never have. It’s something our agent Cody came up with. That’s his baby. ............................. ..................... I think we’ll have to do rock, paper, scissors for that. .............................. .............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. ............ There’s some songs that I hold in such high regard that I’ve never been able to do a remix that I felt was good enough. “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt, for one. ............................... .............................. ......... So many, but just off top to name a few: Tape B, Cool Cus- tomer, Levity, MPH, Bou, and Imanu, ............................. .................................. ............................ ........................... Maybe an acoustic set at a small bar or something. ........................... Backyard Jamboree hosted by Zeds Dead takes place Friday, July 4 at Denver’s Civic Center Park, with doors opening at 2 p.m. This is an all ages event, but children ten and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Gen- eral admission tickets start at $79.96, with an optional Quick- Pass add-on for $20 to skip the general admission entry line. VIP tickets include access to a special viewing section, a private bar and restrooms, a shaded area, and more. Art- ists’ set times will be posted closer to the event date, or you can sign up online to have the schedule texted to you when available. LIVE MUSIC ADVERTORIAL A Q&A WITH ZEDS DEAD’S HOOKS AHEAD OF THEIR FIFTH ANNUAL DEADBEATS BACKYARD JAMBOREE
