Credit: Matt Freeman
Credit: Matt Freeman
Matt Freeman, a longtime DJ at the alternative music dance club, will host the 2019 installment of the annual Asylum Reunion from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, Nov. 29, at Therapy Cafe, 452 E. Third St. in downtown Dayton.
>> Photos: Do you remember Asylum Nightclub?
“You have the same music, the same DJ and the same atmosphere for the night,” Freeman said. “It is kind of like ‘Hot Tub Time Machine.”
There will be a $5 cover.
“The Asylum Reunion grows in numbers every single year, with last year’s reunion being the biggest thus far with over 300 people in attendance,” Freeman said in a statement. “I can’t begin to tell you how fortunate myself and Eric Heilman are to have been a part of such an incredible club, and then 20 years later we still have the opportunity to gather.”
The bash’s official pre-party will be held 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at
The Barrel House, 417 E 3rd St., Dayton.
The party at Barrel House is for those 21 years and older.
The Therapy Cafe is 18 and up.
>> Dayton-area restaurants that will be open and serving holiday meals on Thanksgiving Day
Dayton property owner Scott Edsall opened the Asylum, which morphed into Club Fusion and Parallax, in 1993 and closed in 2005. Freeman said it was inspired by a popular New York dance club.
Credit: Matt Freeman
Credit: Matt Freeman
Its former building, 605 S. Patterson Blvd., now houses Daybreak, an emergency shelter for runaway and homeless youth.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE (Jan 30, 2017): Downtown Dayton bar being sold for nearly $400,000
Freeman started as a DJ at the Asylum in 1994. He has hosted about eight reunions for the dance club since 2014. In the early years, two reunions were held a year. Now just one is held a year.
>> From Charlie Brown to Chevy Chase, the holidays come to life on stage
Asylum drew as many as 1,500 people on a typical Friday or Saturday night, many willing to wait in long lines to get in.
“Back then, you had to go because everyone was talking about it,” said Freeman, a graphic artist.
WANT TO GO?
What: Asylum Reunion 2019
When: 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., Friday, Nov. 29
Where: Therapy Cafe, 452 E. Third St., in downtown Dayton.
Cost: $5 at the door
Online: Facebook event page link
Credit: Matt Freeman
Credit: Matt Freeman
Credit: Matt Freeman
Credit: Matt Freeman
About the Author
