Jovan Heer is one of the biggest Canucks fans around, so it makes perfect sense for him to DJ the NHL team’s annual Diwali-themed game.
As DJ Heer, the Surrey-based performer will again play music during the Canucks’ Diwali Night, this time on Friday, Oct. 25 in a game against Washington Capitals.
He’ll be there with Surrey’s Jazzy B, aka the “Crown Prince of Bhangra,” and a few others with the Q-Town Productions crew launched last year.
Three hockey seasons ago, Heer helped get the night off the ground.
“At the time I messaged Ryan, who is in charge of Canucks events, and told him we should do a South Asian night, and he said it’s something they’d look at doing,” Heer recalled. “Three or four months later, he emailed me saying they have plans to do a South Asian night and said I should be the DJ on the plaza.
“I had to read that first email a few times, to make sure it was really happening,” Heer added. “I was excited. It’s pretty cool because it’s my favourite team, and it just worked out. It’s now become an event they do every year.”
Join us at @RogersArena on October 25th for Diwali Night "Hockey Night With @jazzyb " before the @capitals @canucks game. We'll be DJing on the concourse prior to the game and the night will feature a live performance by the one and only Crown Prince of Bhangra @JazzyB . @NHL pic.twitter.com/twDlwnonS1
— DJ Heer (@DJHeerMusic) October 14, 2019
That first year, Heer was a Canucks fan living in Edmonton, and he’s since moved to Surrey to be closer to more DJ-work opportunities and also Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, where the Canucks play.
Heer, 28, grew up in Kamloops and later moved to Alberta’s capital city.
“Growing up, my parents were big Canucks fans, so I was always watching Pavel Bure play, Linden, all those guys in ’93 and ’94,” he explained. “Ever since then, my passion has grown, and this year I’m finally a season-ticket holder, too, for the first time.… Doing a couple parties as a DJ pays that off,” he added with a smile. “It’s good money.”
In Surrey and surrounding areas, Heer DJs weddings, birthday parties, bridal showers, corporate events, casinos and more.
Canucks and Hockey Fans: #BringBackHoliday – Canucks Goal Song – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/5fO1TmN4wg via @CdnChange
— DJ Heer (@DJHeerMusic) October 13, 2019
CLICK HERE to enter a Canucks contest to meet Jazzy B on the team’s Diwali Night.
Across the continent on the night after the Canucks game on Oct. 25, Heer will be in Philadelphia to DJ a Diwali event at Sugarhouse Casino.
“I play Bhangra, Bollywood and hip-hop, mostly, but everything – even some pop and country,” Heer said. “Everyone has a different taste in music, so you’ve got to know it all. You’ll never know what you’ll get. I’ve done South Asian parties with just country music, right, so it just depends on the crowd. What I play will affect their mood, so I just have to avoid playing boring songs to make them enjoy the night.”
On some nights he’ll DJ until 1 or 2 a.m., and go to work at his sales job the next morning.
“Sometimes it’s tough, but no problem, I love it,” Heer said. “It’s just carrying all the equipment and setting up and taking it all down, that’s the worst part of the job.”
As for the Canucks’ Diwali Night this year, Heer is stoked.
“It should be a good game with (Alexander) Ovechkin in town. That’s always a good one,” he said during an interview a few days after the Canucks’ first game of the season.
“(Elias) Pettersson and (Brock) Boeser gotta step it up, and (Michael) Ferland, too. But we have a better team this year. We’ll be in the playoffs, for sure. I like our chances.”
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