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If your childhood memories of Dave & Buster’s involve birthday parties and trying to win an oversized stuffed animal, it’s time for a bit of a reset. This summer, the arcade chain is swapping tickets for bass drops with the launch of a nationwide rave tour.
Called the Rave & Buster’s USA Tour, the series is a partnership between Dave & Buster’s and Southern California event promoter Brownies & Lemonade, the team behind many of the dance music scene’s most talked-about pop-up events. The concept will turn select Dave & Buster’s locations into late-night venues with surprise guest DJs, multi-genre electronic lineups and enough bass, house, trap, dubstep and U.K. garage to make you briefly forget you’re standing a few feet away from a row of basketball arcade games.
The tour kicks off July 30 in Honolulu before heading to Denver on August 26, Dallas on August 27, Brooklyn on September 30, Orlando on October 1, Irvine, California on Halloween and Milpitas, California, on December 30.
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As bizarre as the idea might sound, it’s hardly coming out of nowhere. Dave & Buster’s first experimented with raves in 2023 at its Hollywood & Highland location in Los Angeles, where the events sold out. Since then, the concept has expanded to cities including Brooklyn, Miami, Tempe, Arizona, Euless, Texas, and Auburn, Washington.
The rave series is also part of a much broader reinvention for the entertainment chain. In recent years, Dave & Buster’s has rolled out a revamped food and drink menu, introduced ticketed events through its D&B Unlocked platform (including karaoke nights, themed bingo happy hours and live entertainment) and looked for new ways to draw crowds outside its traditional audience.
General admission tickets are now available. Brownies & Lemonade has also teased surprise guest headliners at each stop, so the exact lineup remains under wraps—for now.
Would anyone have predicted that one of the country’s biggest arcade chains would become an unlikely stop on the electronic music circuit? Probably not. But if you’ve ever wanted to follow up a DJ set with a few rounds of Pop-A-Shot, your moment has officially arrived.