The Get Down turns 7 by turning it up to 11

It’s been a busy year for Andy Noble, who’s been focused on his band Kings Go Forth and its well-regarded debut, The Outsiders Are Back. But the Milwaukee musician and DJ still finds time for his other endlessly danceable musical pursuit, The Get Down. The bimonthly dance party, which Noble hosts with fellow DJs Brent Goodsell and Opiated Black, remains one of Milwaukee’s most popular regularly scheduled DJ nights. It’s also among the most enduring, with the seventh anniversary celebration coming up Saturday at Mad Planet.

“It just seems to have such a broad appeal,” Noble tells The A.V. Club. “It's rough enough to appeal to rock ’n’ roll kids, tuneful enough for the indie crowd, and funky enough for people who grew up listening to hip-hop.”

Regular Get Downers have extra incentive to celebrate the party’s birthday this weekend: Noble and company have prepped a free mix CD consisting of recent Get Down favorites for the first 100 attendees. The Get Down DJs regularly craft mix CDs to chart the night’s development through the years. In that time Noble says he’s seen party regulars “get married, have kids, and generally stop coming out as much,” but they’re always replaced by new regulars. For that reason, he thinks The Get Down can continue for many years to come.

“Underground soul and funk music was not a ‘cool’ thing, or really even widely known about, when we started the night,” he says. “But people loved it then as much as they do now. I think that after seven years, people have begun to view The Get Down as a Milwaukee institution, for which I am really grateful.”