Rock music afficionado can immerse themselves in a specially designed holiday pop-up that proves that emo was never a phase. Hosted at Arlo Williamsburg throughout November and December, Emo Christmas is a celebration of all things emo and will include dark and dramatic decor along with themed menus and events.
Derek Berry, a self-proclaimed “elder emo,” created Emo Christmas after finding success in a similar rock music-themed experience. In 2021, he launched Emo Brunch in a handful of cities across the U.S., and after seeing a ton of success from the event, he branched out to holiday-themed pop-ups.
“I wanted to create a spot that my friends and I would go to. Bucketlisters curates a lot of different experience, and after we created our Holly Jolly Christmas bar, I always wondered if there was some kind of anti or unexpected version of a seasonal bar,” Berry said. “We wanted to create a Christmas bar look like that doesn’t feel cheesy, but somewhere you’d be proud to post about going to,”
Bucketlisters has an in-house team that worked on the creative direction of Emo Christmas. Decorations are sourced from various holiday decor companies that offer unique pieces that can be customized to seamlessly blend in with the dark and moody vibe of the pop-up.
“People have really loved the eight-foot Emo Santa, the black cocktails that come in ornaments, and all of the small Easter egg band moments that are dotted around the venue,” Berry said. “We are adding new moments for this year,”
At first, the team hoped that the entire venue would be a monochromic winter wonderland, but after some trial and error, they realized that they needed to find a balance between the traditional and non-traditional.
“There was a time when we wanted all black Christmas trees, and to make it dark,” explained Berry. “After the first day of setting up, we realized we did need a little more of the traditional decorations, but with a twist.”
In addition to fun decor and music Easter eggs throughout the space, Emo Christmas offers a whimsical menu of curated cocktails with fun names such as “Welcome to the Black Parade,” “I’m Not Okay” and “Ocean Avenue Punch.” There will also be special themed nights throughout the season, featuring singalongs and guest DJ appearances.
Emo Christmas pop-ups run on select dates until the end of December in select cities across the U.S., including New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago.
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