Space Prom: Come As You Are

For some of us, prom felt like a rite of passage. It was limousine rides to a sweaty high school gymnasium, throwing on heavily sequined gowns and squeezing four of your best friends into a PTO-sponsored photobooth. It was dreams of that movie-worthy dance with your junior-year crush, and it was making out in his dad’s Ford Expedition in a Wal-Mart parking lot at the end of the night. We had high expectations for our prom, yearning for “a night to remember.” 

As thrilling as it seemed when we were younger, prom never fully lived up to our expectations. At the end of it all, we were teenagers craving adulthood, seeking approval and trying our best to conceal our insecurities. At the end of it all, we just wanted to feel like we belonged. 

Nashville native and good-time enthusiast Nordista Freeze recognized this need for connection seven years ago and decided to run a full-fledged marathon with it. His idea? Create a new type of prom complete with an intergalactic theme, live music from the disco era and a wildly welcoming atmosphere for anyone and everyone who might not have felt a sense of belonging at their high school prom. 

The origins of Space Prom are a little off the beaten path, as the show started in a little Chinese shop called Lucky Bamboo. As a fully independent DIY artist born and raised in Nashville, Freeze spends a lot of his life looking to cultivate community in his hometown. Around the time of the first Space Prom, he’d been playing a tsunami of DIY shows around town, but he wanted to create something for other people that would be more than just a show– it would be an experience where people could connect with one another through music. 

PHOTOS BY ZAYNE ISOM

“When we tried to do our first Space Prom, I knew that none of the venues would be interested. So I went to Lucky Bamboo and asked this older couple who owns the restaurant if we could have a prom there, and they said sure. They wrote down the date in a spiral notebook, and then I was like ‘see ya!’ and left,” Freeze told Pleaser. “I was used to playing shows to, like, 25 to 30 people. When I pulled up, and my parents were there with me, we watched this room fill up completely. We were way over capacity with, like, 534 tickets.”

With the raging success of ticket sales, Freeze knew at that moment Space Prom was something special, and it’s something he wanted to continue for the Nashville community. At Space Prom, it’s highly encouraged to come as you are with no worries about what others think of you. The event was built on the backs of reclaiming prom as something fun and silly instead of serious and intense, and Nordista Freeze has successfully created an event that’s not only fun and wildly entertaining but a safe space for people from all walks of life to dance the night away dressed from head to toe like space aliens covered in glitter at prom in the ‘80s. 

Since its start at Lucky Bamboo, Space Prom has only continued to grow. It’s a staple for many Nashvillians, as many make it a point to get dressed up with their besties and go every year. Over the years, Space Prom has bounced from venue to venue, however, now the event is held at the iconic Brooklyn Bowl in Germantown. The venue holds about 1,200 people, and Space Prom was fully sold out for their “777” year. 

“It’s our 7th year, so 777. We’re taking the idea of our 7th year and we’re taking it as a year of luck and chance. Throughout the night, you’ll hear music that lyrically revolves around luck and chance,” Freeze said. 

PHOTO BY ABBIE MURPHY

This year, Space Prom has gone mobile, as well. Freeze and his team have hit the road to four major cities in the Southeast to bring Space Prom to communities outside of Nashville. From the 40-Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, to a music festival with Flipturn down in Florida, the Space Prom crew has hit several significant milestones this year. 

Honing in on the community aspect of Space Prom, all of the artists who played at the event were local. From bigger names like Danny Wagner from Greta Van Fleet, Katie Pruitt, Jack Van Cleaf and Noah Floersch to artists just getting started on the scene, there was an abundance of local Nashville representation on stage. For Freeze, it’s important that Space Prom gives artists the opportunity to play and be seen that they might not have had previously.

“That’s kind of the whole point. I wanted there to always be artists who are up-and-coming. I try to make it as inclusive as possible. For example, one person on the bill is someone I used to wait tables with, so I try to pick people from different communities. It’s not like one clique. If you go in the green room at Space Prom, these people don’t know each other, but they’re all doing their makeup together and making friends with one another. In theory, these people would probably never cross paths, but when it comes down to it, we’re extremely similar. We all love music,” Freeze said. 

Music creates community, and that is so apparent at Space Prom. Pleaser partnered with Space Prom this year to set up a DIY photo booth for people to come and go as they please and take pictures with their Space Prom besties. As patrons moved in and out of the photo booth, we talked to several Space Prom attendees who told us this was one of their favorite events of the year. We saw groovy green space aliens, girls with purple-painted skin, astronauts, fabulously tacky ‘80s gowns and an out-of-this-world amount of glitter. 

Throughout the trajectory of the night, it was clear that Space Prom patrons were able to let loose, forget the complexities of life and just have fun for a night all the while being completely themselves. It’s refreshing to see people allowing themselves to be real, original and authentic, and that’s the kind of atmosphere Space Prom provides. We cannot wait to see what Freeze and his fabulous team do with Space Prom next year.