Hast du Feuer (HdF)
Hast du Feuer (HdF)
Hast du Feuer (HdF)
Co-founded one of the DMV's fastest growing independent music and cultural event series.
Year
Year
2022-Present
Scope
Creative Direction
Marketing Strategy
Event Design
Idea
The DMV's (DC-Maryland-Virginia) music scene is one of the most vibrant in the country and one of the most overlooked. Built on deep musical heritage and generations of promoters, the area's scene has always had more to offer than it gets credit for. HdF was founded to contribute to that change by cross-pollinating scenes that had rarely shared the same floor and putting the DMV's own next to the best from outside the region.
What started as single-genre deep dives grew into large-scale multi-room festivals merging electronic and live music across genres with panel discussions, vintage markets, tattoo artists, and more under one roof.
In under 18 months, HDF grew from 200 to 3,000 attendees, produced nearly 40 events, and programmed over 125 performers.
The Washington Post described it as "connecting the dots of underground dance music" with lineups that tripped "along the spectrum of American soul music" - and that was the point. A space that didn't just celebrate the DMV's creative depth but made it impossible for anyone, locally or nationally, to ignore.
The DMV's (DC-Maryland-Virginia) music scene is one of the most vibrant in the country and one of the most overlooked. Built on deep musical heritage and generations of promoters, the area's scene has always had more to offer than it gets credit for. HdF was founded to contribute to that change by cross-pollinating scenes that had rarely shared the same floor and putting the DMV's own next to the best from outside the region.
What started as single-genre deep dives grew into large-scale multi-room festivals merging electronic and live music across genres with panel discussions, vintage markets, tattoo artists, and more under one roof.
In under 18 months, HDF grew from 200 to 3,000 attendees, produced nearly 40 events, and programmed over 125 performers.
The Washington Post described it as "connecting the dots of underground dance music" with lineups that tripped "along the spectrum of American soul music" - and that was the point. A space that didn't just celebrate the DMV's creative depth but made it impossible for anyone, locally or nationally, to ignore.
Brand & Visual Identity
Developed the brand identity and visual language for HdF with co-founder Kabir Khanna, leading the visual research, direction, and early poster design. As the platform grew, took full ownership of the creative direction developing the visual system across all posters, merchandise, and event design. The name Hast du Feuer means 'do you have a lighter' in German, a conversation starter in the most literal sense, and a double entendre: do you have the fire or passion to get what you want done.
Marketing Strategy
Built the marketing strategy from the ground up including teaser campaigns, video documentation, and organic hype-driven rollouts.
Event Design & Programming
Designed the event environments - lighting, sound, stage, and spatial flow - to create immersive multi-room experiences built for exploration. Shaped programming alongside Kabir, designing lineups that deliberately crossed genre and creative scenes across the DMV.
Developed the brand identity and visual language for HdF with co-founder Kabir Khanna, leading the visual research, direction, and early poster design. As the platform grew, took full ownership of the creative direction developing the visual system across all posters, merchandise, and event design. The name Hast du Feuer means 'do you have a lighter' in German, a conversation starter in the most literal sense, and a double entendre: do you have the fire or passion to get what you want done.
Marketing Strategy
Built the marketing strategy from the ground up including teaser campaigns, video documentation, and organic hype-driven rollouts.
Event Design & Programming
Designed the event environments - lighting, sound, stage, and spatial flow - to create immersive multi-room experiences built for exploration. Shaped programming alongside Kabir, designing lineups that deliberately crossed genre and creative scenes across the DMV.
INITIALIZE Festival
INITIALIZE was the first in a planned series modeled after the stages of a hard drive, each exploring a phase of the creative process. The concept governed every decision: digitalization-themed motion graphics, patchwork graphic design, patches as merchandise sewn onto attendees' clothes by on-site seamstresses, programming rooted in DMV music history - go-go, punk, Baltimore club, a grounding panel discussion, and a set design built from lantern slides projecting archival photos. Every touchpoint pointed backward before the music pushed forward.
The Washington Post's review put it plainly: Robert Hood, the visionary Detroit techno architect, next to the proud, steamrolling go-go of DC's own Trouble Funk. Three dance floors offering "some of the most inspired rhythm music being made right now, old and new, near and far." DC's indigenous rhythms measured against the rest of the planet's. That was the point from the beginning, and INITIALIZE was the night it became undeniable.
INITIALIZE was the first in a planned series modeled after the stages of a hard drive, each exploring a phase of the creative process. The concept governed every decision: digitalization-themed motion graphics, patchwork graphic design, patches as merchandise sewn onto attendees' clothes by on-site seamstresses, programming rooted in DMV music history - go-go, punk, Baltimore club, a grounding panel discussion, and a set design built from lantern slides projecting archival photos. Every touchpoint pointed backward before the music pushed forward.
The Washington Post's review put it plainly: Robert Hood, the visionary Detroit techno architect, next to the proud, steamrolling go-go of DC's own Trouble Funk. Three dance floors offering "some of the most inspired rhythm music being made right now, old and new, near and far." DC's indigenous rhythms measured against the rest of the planet's. That was the point from the beginning, and INITIALIZE was the night it became undeniable.
Creative Collaborators
Co-Founder, Programming Direction: Kabir Khanna
Dance Curation: Beth Cohen
Lighting: Artemis
Media Documentation: Benjistills
Graphic Design: Giorgi Grdzelishvili, Beka Bekaia
Set Design: Charlie Mai, Indigo Hempest, Kabir Khanna, Pierre Edwards, Syd
And nearly 40 events worth of DJs, performers, artists, visual collaborators, and cultural partners across the DMV.
Co-Founder, Programming Direction: Kabir Khanna
Dance Curation: Beth Cohen
Lighting: Artemis
Media Documentation: Benjistills
Graphic Design: Giorgi Grdzelishvili, Beka Bekaia
Set Design: Charlie Mai, Indigo Hempest, Kabir Khanna, Pierre Edwards, Syd
And nearly 40 events worth of DJs, performers, artists, visual collaborators, and cultural partners across the DMV.