Six months ago, Shae Reid was playing at Soho Garden in Dubai.
Charged with opening duties for Más Tiempo, she was part way through her set when she received news that Skepta's flight was several hours delayed and that she would need to carry on playing well beyond her scheduled hour slot.
Thoughts rushed through her head: how would the crowd react when they realised the headliner didn't start at their advertised time? Having prepped for a warm-up, did she enough peak-time tunes? Did she have enough tunes, full stop? She was out of her comfort zone.
We're in the green room at Hï Ibiza as she recalls this story. Why is it relevant? Because tonight, she's back playing for Más Tiempo. In fact, she's playing the very first set of its new Club Room residency alongside Black Coffee's award winning Saturday night.
Shae's reaction on that night last December was at least partly responsible for her landing her first Ibiza gig of the season. The bookers at Más Tiemp saw her front up and liked what they saw. Now they've chosen to bring her into the fold at an exciting time for the brand with five bookings for the starlet, including the opening and closing party.
She discloses she's feeling nervous, though she shouldn't. She already shown her adaptability in less than ideal situations. Tonight should be a relative walk in the park. Still, we emphasise. The nerves are just an indication that she cares about getting it right.
Like anybody having to drop their first track to an empty room, Shae takes a deep inbreath to compose herself before hitting play. She doesn't have too long to wait for a trickle - and then a stream - of punters to find their way to the dancefloor, as she's wooed on by those in support.
Music from Obskür and Goosey points to the direction of travel, as the tempo is slowly picked up and the room fills quicker than expected. From one extreme to another, the daunting feeling of playing to nobody is replaced by one of playing to everybody.
A murmur goes around the room. Skepta appears in the booth to survey his new kingdom. It's a fleeting visit, although he'll be back later. There's just time for a communal shot of tequila before he's whisked away to his first gig on the night at [UNVRS] for ANTS.
By this point, Shae is in the mix with laser focus. Any nerves are long forgotten. Her penultimate track is one of her own - the forthcoming Let's Dance. Keep an ear out for it.
She hands over to Deniz and Eniz of The Menendez Brothers with the appropriately titled There's A Party Going On by Harty. The room is ripe for the picking. As she comes off the decks, the smile on her face says it all, as she's embraced by her best friend Zoe congratulating her.
We have no reason to believe she was exaggerating about the nerves. The important thing is, she didn't let them show. To the contrary, it looked as though she relished every moment up there. Both things can be true at the same time. The duality of an artist still breaking through.
Being a young DJ navigating the industry, whilst manoeuvring around the various power hierarchies that exist, is no easy feat. Everybody feels the need to fight for their place. That's the nature of the beast. Things are competitive at the top and it can be a minefield.
Shae Reid has already shown tenacity and flexibility in an environment that can often seem hostile. That hasn't gone unnoticed.
Lesser DJs might have folded under the pressure. Not our Shae.
To most, she will still be an unknown name. But remember it. We think you'll be hearing lots more from her in the coming years.
You can find Shae Reid playing the Club Room for Más Tiempo once again tonight, Saturday 9 May, with future dates TBA.
Last minute tickets for tonight can be found below, along with all those for all remaining dates in the Black Coffee calendar. For a list of Shae Reid's confirmed Ibiza bookings (excluding advertised back-to-backs), please visit this page.
