Image provided by Jered Petrie and Devine Entertainment La.

The idea started out simple enough: Get two bands and two DJs to play a decent back-to-school party at Game Day Daiquiris. That was a month ago.

Now, Gleaux Hard Paint Party has grown to include 18 performers on indoor and outdoor stages, black lights, pools of paint, shot girls, and everything else that will make you need the entire duration of Sunday to recover before school starts.

“It blew up over just one meeting,” said Jered Petrie, who performs under DJ Jager. “We just went, ‘Screw it, let’s go for it!’ So, we aren’t putting it on like a business aspect; we’re putting this on like fans, for us.”

Kicking off at 5 p.m. on Aug. 18 at Game Day Daiquiris, Gleaux Hard includes hip hop, dubstep, and electronic dance artists playing music while people with squirt guns full of paint walk around and spray the crowd. The bill includes DJ Jager, Nanolog, Matt Cee, AF the Nayser with Luke St. John, DJ Green Light, and P.A.P. Presale tickets are available at $9, and door tickets will be $12 with a student ID, $15 without.

“It didn’t mean to be this big, or to do what we’re actually doing, but once we called everyone and told them what’s going on, everybody jumped on immediately,” Petrie said.

Originally, Petrie joined forces with Josh Basso, who operates under a small entertainment company, Devine Entertainment La., to host the two-band, two-DJ event, with Meriwether and High Top Kicks performing, Petrie said. When they had to scrap that idea, they decided to try something new for Baton Rouge.

“We’re trying not to mimic anything anyone else is doing,” Basso said. “We’re wanting to put our own spin on a paint party. We’re doing this because it’s what the crowd loves and we just want to have fun.”

Though he’s thrown smaller events before, Basso sees this as a chance for Devine Entertainment to make a name around Baton Rouge.

“We’re not just going to do paint in the future,” Basso said. “Whatever we think of, or whatever somebody wants, we’re going to make it happen and put our own little twist on it.”

Both Petrie and Basso expressed a desire for Gleaux Hard to lead to bigger things. The two believe Gleaux Hard could become an occasional event or a festival with even more bands.

The only thing holding them back is the price. Before meeting to talk with Dig, Petrie had already spent $800 on black lights alone. Basso estimates they’ve already spent over $2,000 to put on Gleaux Hard. With around 10 people helping to throw the event and performers to pay, he’ll be satisfied to break even.

“Any kind of party like this, unless you already have a big bank roll, it takes money to make money, and it takes money to have fun properly,” Basso said.

For Basso and Petrie, it isn’t about money or business. It’s about putting on a party that people will remember.

“Yeah, there’s some business with it, but [the party] is the motivation behind everything you do,” Basso said. “Or at least it should be.”

Gleaux Hard Paint Party

Aug. 18, 5 p.m.-2 a.m.
Game Day Daiquiris
$9 presale, $12 at door with student ID, $15 without

Inside Stage
5 p.m. – Eduk8
6 p.m. – DJ Dax
7 p.m. – Imperivm
8 p.m. – Loki Cocepelli
9 p.m. – Orracle
10 p.m. – DJ A-Boogie
11 p.m. – Fantastic
12 a.m. – P.A.P.
1 a.m. – DJ Green Light

Outside Stage
5 p.m. – Nil & The Prophet
6 p.m. – AF the Naysayer X Luke St John
7 p.m. – BRNT
8 p.m. – Matt Cee
9 p.m. – Phacelift
10 p.m. – DJ_Wave
11 p.m. – AvaroniX
12 a.m. – Nanolog
1 a.m. – DJ Jager

Entertainment@DigBatonRouge.com.