Photo by Jonathan Warobick
DJ Femme Noir
DJ Femme Noir
DJ Femme Noir is an entertainer who brings a motley of music to different settings. She has been at it for about six years now and primarily bounces between venues in Milwaukee and Madison. Noir is currently a DJ for the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2023-24 season.
Originally from Rockford, Illinois, DJ Femme Noir grew up listening to a wide range of music.. “It’s always been a big part of my life,” she shares. “My family was heavily involved in the Baptist church and my father was a choir director. I grew up listening to a lot of hip hop and funk and soul from him, and my mom was all across the board with a lot of R&B, gospel and some New Jack Swing here and there.”
Noir went to college at UW-Whitewater and lived in Madison for some time before moving to Milwaukee, where she has been for about two years now. “As a transplant, Milwaukee has welcomed me with open arms,” Noir affirms. “I’m excited to continue spreading my wings here.”
She had always been fascinated by DJing, and ultimately decided to give it a try during a tough time in her life. “I was 27, fresh out of a breakup, and I needed something to do,” Noir laughs. “I took these free lessons at the former MC Audio in Madison, and from there I was hooked.”
First Official Gig
DJ Femme Noir’s name means “Black Woman” in French. She began by DJing live on social media before getting her first official gig at FIVE Nightclub in Madison in late 2018. Noir recalls, “I had known the owner of FIVE for years, and he’d been wanting to get new DJs in the club so he reached out and said he’d love to have me.”
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Shortly after, Noir landed her first residency at former Madison club Prism for their “Thotty Thursdays” college nights. She had her first Milwaukee gig at DIX in late 2019.
DJ Femme Noir describes her style, “Like my ADHD, I’m all over the place (laughs). I’m definitely open-format; I love house, hip hop and pop music and a lot of Latin genres like reggaeton and perreo. It really just depends on where I’m playing and what’s being dictated by the crowd.”
While she often plays modern Top 40 hits, Noir always throws danceable throwbacks into the mix as well. “Especially here in Milwaukee, there’s so many different groups of people that it’s hard for myself to stick to just one style,” she adds.
Noir currently uses Serato for her DJing software but hopes to get into vinyl DJing one day. “I just know it’s an expensive hobby,” she said, chuckling. “Let me pay these bills off and invest in what I need digitally first. Eventually in the hopefully-near future I’ll get into it.”
Queer Friendly
Image by Jonathan Warobick
DJ Femme Noir logo
Around Milwaukee, DJ Femme Noir frequently performs at queer-friendly clubs like DIX (most second Saturdays of the month) and This Is It. She has also done Pride Nights at Nomad World Pub, Slayground at Cactus Club, PrideFest and Hue Revue BIPOC Cabaret events. In Madison, Noir continues to frequently perform at FIVE Nightclub as well as at various spots around the Isthmus area.
She began with occasional guest spots at Milwaukee Bucks games before landing on the organization’s official DJ roster. “It’s so much fun doing them, and it’s nice to have an employer that’s LGTBQ+ inclusive,” Noir remarks. “It’s been a blessing and I appreciate the Bucks for fostering a relationship with all of us.”
Now that she feels more established in the Milwaukee scene, DJ Femme Noir hopes to begin doing events more consistently and with different time slots. “There’s folk that go out but don’t want to be out till midnight,” she reckons. “They want to go to Happy Hour and be home by 10 p.m., so I definitely want to experiment with more daytime events. I also want to do more NA events; a lot of nightlife is centered around alcohol, and I think we need more sober options for folks around town.”
DJ Femme Noir plays at This Is It for “Feel the Heat” on Saturday, Feb. 3. The event is dedicated to Tempest Heat, who recently passed away in late December and had been a staple in the Wisconsin drag scene for decades. Things kick off at 10 p.m.
Follow DJ Femme Noir on Instagram @djfemmenoir for updates. For bookings, email her at femmenoirdj@gmail.com.
