Party like a (sober) rock star

Inland Society Events brings rock star status parties to local youth without the dangers of party scene trappings.

Co-founder Dallin Dance may only be 18 years old, but his company is doing big things.

Dance and his partners, Jared Woodlief, 21, and Sean Madrian, 17, were wholly unimpressed with local events for young people. They got to work turning up the youth event scene in the Inland Northwest without the promotion of drugs and alcohol.

The DJ and event production gurus focus on events for ages 17 to 21.

“Our goal is to provide an opportunity for young adults to come out, get out of the house and come together and meet new people, make friends, and make memories,” Dance said. “One of our big priorities is to keep all of our events clean, safe, and dry — no alcohol. Just a place where you can feel safe and comfortable.”

Their last party, a New Year’s Eve bash, attracted about 1,500 attendees. Held at the Hub Sports Center in Liberty Lake, the party featured a full concert-style production and included a massive balloon drop and huge confetti cannons.

Inland Society doesn’t just put on your average party. They go big, with full audio and visual production, lighting, trussing, staging, fog machines, geysers, lasers, spotlights, and smoke machines. And they're always expanding their repertoire.

Future event plans include foam parties, and they’d like to produce a “chalk festival” this summer, Woodlief said.

“We’re trying to switch up events every time,” Woodlief said. “Bringing in something new makes it more exciting for people.”

Most events are themed because people love to dress up, Dance said.

All of Inland Society’s events include full security detail. Contracting with Crowd Management Services, a security company in Liberty Lake, all events are well-staffed. Guests are patted down, no bags or backpacks are allowed on the premises and once a guest leaves, they can’t re-enter.

These are events that parents can feel comfortable allowing their children to attend, Woodlief said.

Dance has been into music since he began playing the piano as a child. Now a senior at Coeur d’Alene High School, Dance began to explore music production about six years ago and has since worked with several top-charting, hip-hop artists. Dance has produced songs with Yungeen Ace, Lil Gotit and TreCinco. He's become a full-fledged DJ in his own right.

In March, Dance will be joining the electronic music and DJ trio Cheat Codes, based out of LA. With a show planned in Spokane, Dance will join them on-stage to perform a DJ set.

“We’re trying to make the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane area a place where artists can come,” Dance said. “We want to eventually be able to bring big artists in and build the music industry around here. There isn’t much of a performing arts scene in the area.”

Inland Society uses Instagram to spread the word about their parties, but word of mouth among local teens has brought a lot of interest too, Dance said.

Woodlief, a student at Utah Valley University in Provo, is studying business management and communications while managing several event projects. Woodlief has been in the event production business for about the past 5 years.

Active on Instagram, Woodlief came across Dance, who was throwing popular and successful garage parties locally. Madrian, a friend of both Woodlief and Dance, provided the connection and the three met up to consider producing local events together.

“I told (Dallin) he could make a good business in this area, with sober, dry events,” Woodlief said.

The collaboration was a hit for them, and for party-goers too.

“The New Year’s Eve party was one of my favorite parties in a long time,” Woodlief said.

Formerly a student at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Woodlief remembers attending his first homecoming dance at 16.

“The event was not very good, the music was really bad, and I knew it could be better,” he said.

After that, he approached school officials, who allowed him to produce their proms and other events while he was a student there.

Woodlief, who handles concert lighting and is a DJ himself, has aspirations to produce monthly events with Inland Society.

“I like giving people something to look forward to each month,” he said.

In the future, keep an eye on Inland Society to produce even bigger things, like concerts and music festivals.

A Great Gatsby themed party is in the works for March or April. Connect with Inland Society on Instagram or visit inlandsociety.com for updated information.