It’s only two years later, and that first edition feels like a long time ago. In 2023, the scope was expanded to include an Ambient Stage, RA partnered for the talks, and none other than Jeff Mills, perhaps techno’s most singularly revered artist, headlined.

This year, the growth continues. Everything new from last year is reprised, but for WIRE’s third edition, there’s one major change: The Ruins open up on Sunday May 19th. What’s particularly exciting is that they’re opening up as soon as the indoor programming wraps. Knockdown Center will host its first proper 24 hour party.

Contrasting with the shadowy urgency of the nocturnal programming, Sunday represents the more spacious side of the four-on-the-floor spectrum. After basking in the devastating sonics that are the festival’s hallmark, what would feel better than a cathartic open air session with some of the best house DJs on the planet? Here’s an intro to some of the key players:

Roi Perez is one of the most exciting heirs to the classic, early house music style, in the vein of Larry Levan or Ron Hardy. This isn’t because he sounds like them, it’s because he thinks like they did. His approach to DJing focuses squarely on groove and imagination, using the former as a binding agent for the latter. Perez is an otherworldly selector and seamless mixer, and he crafts freewheeling journeys through the playful, sleazy and epiphanic with the cool-headed grace of a master.

The Carry Nation are Knockdown Center and BASEMENT regulars, and if you’ve seen them, the reason should be obvious: they’re incredible. The duo of Will Automagic and Nita Aviance have been active in the NY scene for years, hosting a long-running queer party also called The Carry Nation and playing at any venue with taste. Their deeply-rooted, comprehensive knowledge of house music is matched only by their flagrant sense of fun. My god, these two deliver the goods as they were meant to be heard. Their sets are marked by impeccable timing, a chemistry that borders on magical and a generosity of spirit that infuses the whole space.

Schacke has a reputation for closing - he wrapped up the first edition of WIRE on Stage 2, holding court to a crew of locked in dancers who would not leave until he said so. This year, he lets his hair down in the Ruins. Schacke’s music has, over the years, skirted the line between confrontational noise, banging techno and joyously cheeky eurodance. It’s the tension between these seemingly opposed poles that animates each chapter of his long, still-unfolding creative life. We’d say an open air set should really let him off the leash, but Schacke was never one to restrain himself anyways.