Hidden Gems: Meet Christina Cruz of Nightshade Family

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Cruz

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Marietta and met my husband Dado in Athens in 2012 while studying at UGA. I graduated with a degree in fashion merchandising in 2016 and worked as a merchandise analyst at Nordstrom’s buying offices in Seattle for almost 5 years. But I didn’t enjoy the corporate office environment and left hoping to pursue a more creative path with fashion and be able to spend more time with my daughter. My husband and I moved back to Athens, his hometown, in 2020. In Seattle we had experienced an authentic dance music culture, and we felt it was noticeably absent upon moving back to Athens. That year I started DJing and producing under the artist name Curst. Dado had been DJing and producing for over 10 years at that time. He was the one who had the idea to start Nightshade Family in early 2021 after being hugely influenced by the music scene in Seattle. Our first official event was in March 2021, shortly followed by the label’s first release. I am currently the head of the label and marketing, while Dado is the talent buyer, head of production and events.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Finding the right spaces to host events has been the biggest obstacle, and also aligning ourselves with people who have similar intentions and goals. For us it’s all about community support and working together. Dado and I could not do this by ourselves and have had so much support/guidance/help/advice from awesome friends who have kept us going. We are so thankful for our crew.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Nightshade Family?
Nightshade Family operates as a record label, multi-genre DJ & producer collective, offering Danley sound system rentals, and throwing events in Athens and Atlanta. Many of our events are BYOB. By creating an environment that isn’t centered around alcohol sales, it promotes an overall safer space for our event attendees. We aim to throw events that are an inclusive safe space for all. We push to build an authentic community and provide an inclusive network among artists. We are known for creating an intimate underground atmosphere for big artists. Check out Nightshade Family’s latest release ‘Seeds II’, a compilation album available as a free download on Bandcamp! Our next release is the Hummingbird EP by Centauri, dropping October 18th! Pre-order is available now on the Nightshade Family Bandcamp. Check out our website for more about our upcoming events and releases! Connect with us at  thenightshadefamilyband@gmail.com

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
My mom was my biggest influence in life and my best friend, she passed away when I was 19. She taught me to always believe in myself and approach every situation with a positive attitude, and that has pushed me to try things I never thought I could achieve. I was very interested in fashion and design while growing up but I almost went to law school before I decided to study fashion. I’ve always been passionate about music but I never expected my path would lead to working in the music industry. I have learned so much and am enjoying this new adventure, and most of all I’ve loved all the people I’ve gotten to meet along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nightshadefamilyband.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightshadefamilyband/
• Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/nightshadefamilymusic
• Soundcloud: https://www.SoundCloud.com/nightshadefamilyband
• Other: https://nightshadefamily.bandcamp.com