Beyond Seguin Borders: Subtronics brings the bass to Cowboy’s Dancehall

Beyond Seguin Borders is a column written by Seguin Daily News staff members. We all love Seguin, but we also know it’s normal to travel outside Guadalupe County. This is a lifestyle feature column exploring our staff’s adventures Beyond Seguin Borders.

Column by Lizz Daniels

(San Antonio) — Whatever it is you think you know about Cowboy’s Dancehall –– it is wrong. At least it was when DJ & producer Subtronics took it over for a night of electronic dance music (EDM) back on September 3. Most people know the San Antonio spot for its country music, not EDM, but Cowboy’s hosts much more than just country nowadays and coordinated with Disco Donnie Presents to bring this event to town. As a fan of the genre and Subtronics, I was excited to be invited on behalf of Seguin Daily News to experience and review the event.

Subtronics is widely known within the EDM community for his bass-filled dubstep-style beats. Typically, he’s an artist you’d see on a festival stage, not a small local venue. The turnout was massive, and people from all over the state drove in for the show, packing the venue.

Concert-goers were adorned in rainbows of color, and I saw a few people dressed in literal neon cowboy hats that glowed. Despite those hats, however, it is safe to say that the crowd looked nothing like a usual weekend at Cowboys Dancehall. Bucket hats, shawls, hand fans, and colorful bead bracelets were the dress-code, and even some of the bartenders dressed in their best rave-style outfits.

Down on the dance floor, where the two-stepping would usually take place, was instead a massive crowd, and yes, there was even a moshpit –– multiple, actually. Prior to the headliner taking the stage openers beastboi., Prosecute and Level Up (the only female DJ of the night) took turns hyping up the crowd to bass-driven beats and incredible visuals projected before the crowd.

Right around 12:30 am Subtronics took over, and the crowd’s energy felt ready to burst. Over the next hour and a half, he dropped mixes we knew, new music he hadn’t released, while we jumped and danced the night away. The crowd became so thick when he took the stage that moving around the venue at all began to feel like a video game side quest as we bopped around to our friends, to the restroom, and back to the dance floor, weaving our way through the masses. The crowd ultimately enveloped the entire building from front to back, side to side– a sea of people headbanging in unison.

It was my first time seeing Subtronics, and I had high hopes for the night I would have. It exceeded all of them. Witnessing this performance in a small, local, massively crowded venue felt more intimate than being on a sprawling festival field. The stage fog and lasers filled the building from bottom to top, surrounding us in the shared experience, and by 2 am, the show ended, but not before a special reminder from Subtronics to love each other, drink some water, and not drive intoxicated.

My friends warned me before the event that the vibes at Cowboys might be off for a show like this, but I think we all agreed at the end of the night that it was a seriously great time. My only critique is on the distinct unpleasantness of the Cowboy’s door security before entering the venue. After that, it was all good, music and good vibes –– a night I’d repeat if Subtronics ever comes back to town.