DJ Cassidy Enlists Earth, Wind & Fire's Verdine White and More 'Musical Heroes' for Virtual Show
George Pimentel/WireImage; Earl Gibson III/Getty DJ Cassidy; Verdine White
DJ Cassidy is inviting everyone to take part in his 39th birthday celebration.
On Thursday at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST, the go-to celebrity DJ — who has spun tunes for the likes of Beyoncé, Diddy and the Obamas — will bring together Earth, Wind & Fire's Verdine White, Bobby Brown and more of his "musical heroes" from the '70s and '80s for his 90-minute long virtual Pass the Mic event, which will air live on Twitch.com.
"This week is my birthday week, and since I've been known to celebrate by uniting my friends in droves and surprising them with legendary performances by iconic artists, I wanted to find a way to revisit that tradition in light of the times," DJ Cassidy tells PEOPLE. "One evening, during the heat of the quarantine, I FaceTimed with my dear friend and mentor, Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire. While we were catching up, his classic record, 'That's The Way Of The World,' came on my speakers. Hearing that song, while on the phone with Verdine, put a smile on my face and brought me some much needed calm."
"I thought about how fortunate I was to have friendships with many of my heroes and how lucky I was to be able to enjoy their music in their company," he continues. "I wondered if I could find a way to share that special feeling with others, so I sat at my turntables in my living room and began Zooming with my musical heroes of [the] 1970s and 1980s, literally passing the mic from one home to the next, in [an] effort to honor and uplift the heroes around the world on the frontlines of health, freedom, and justice."
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Twitch DJ Cassidy's Pass the Mic
The result was Pass the Mic, a virtual mix which DJ Cassidy hopes "moves others as much as it has moved me."
"I am forever grateful to my musical heroes for their decades of hope, inspiration, and soul," he says. "With them, I celebrate all the heroes around the world."
Early on his career, DJ Cassidy caught the attention of Sean "Diddy" Combs while he was playing a late-night shift at a New York City nightclub. Combs quickly hired DJ Cassidy to DJ his 2001 MTV Video Music Awards party and ever since then, he's gone on tour with A-listers like Justin Timberlake, JAY-Z, Usher and Robin Thicke.
In the past, DJ Cassidy has also helmed the decks at former President Barack Obama's Inaugural Ball and 50th birthday bash as well as a slew of celebrity weddings, from Beyoncé and JAY-Z's nuptials to Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries' affair.
Courtesy DJ Cassidy DJ Cassidy
Pass the Mic streams live at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST on Twitch.com.
