missmia
Eugene is known for its lively house show culture, largely made up of student artists within the indie/rock genre. However, a different music scene has grown in popularity as more students have acted on their passion for DJing. UO senior Mia Caldwell is one of those students and has furthered her passion through Eugene's DJ community.
After attending her first rave as a junior in high school, Mia (known as DJ “missmia”) expanded her interest in electronic music and began DJing as a hobby during COVID. This led to playing out of her dorm room on game days during her freshman year. From there “it just stuck,” Mia said. “I kept going to shows and practicing, and then I’ve gotten a lot of really cool opportunities in Eugene and [...] it hasn’t died down yet.” One of the most notable opportunities was when she got involved in the Monster Energy Up & Up Festival during her sophomore year. Up & Up produces music festivals headlined by EDM artists for college campuses who rally enough students to win the 48-hour ticket presale.
As an Up & Up Oregon ambassador, Mia has gained many connections and expanded her experience within the music industry, opening for professional DJs like Croatian producer Matroda. Mia is also the first-ever female direct support for Up & Up Oregon, which makes opening for big-name DJs all the more rewarding. When asked how it feels to hold that title, she said, “I definitely felt a huge achievement and honestly [...] hopefully an inspiration for people to get out there and do what they love and that it is possible.” This last October was Mia’s third time opening for the festival, and she will most likely open again if Oregon wins the Spring pre-sale.
Aside from Up & Up, the blooming DJ culture has given EDM and house music more of an opportunity to be experienced outside of just the typical frat basement. Mia credits the rise of house music in Eugene within the last couple of years for helping the DJ community to be a welcoming and inclusive environment. This has led to a shift toward more wholesome EDM events like house shows.
As far as Mia’s thoughts on successful DJ sets, she prides herself in “playing for the girls.” She plays what she wants as a lover of electronic music, as well as putting her own spin on more familiar or popular songs. “I’m a people pleaser for sure, and I know that people want to dance, so you have to play the danceable things also,” Mia said. Equally as important for her is the sound equipment. As her skills have progressed, so has her equipment. She started out with a small basic controller and now owns a full size DJ board. Having good sound means having good equipment, which she said “adds to the whole experience.”
Mia hopes to put the experience she has accumulated over the last couple of years to work in the music industry after college. Of course, she would love to keep DJing - “[..] if I could continue doing this and get paid for it, that would be the dream!”
Check out Mia’s Instagram for future shows and updates!
Insta: mia.caldwell