A DJ can be more than a hired jukebox playing trite love songs at weddings. Some slave over turntables, mixing heavy beats with wild sounds and wind up creating a digital sound some consider the next big wave in music.

The downtown will get a look at this art form tonight when Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., hosts a group of local and national DJs at a concert titled "Time to Shine." The all-ages show will start at 8 p.m. and run straight through till 2 a.m., with tickets costing $10.

The line-up for the night will feature local DJs Daedalus and Kris P., the spinning team of Jaybird, Pete Stone and Rocket Girl, and national DJs Big Daddy Blake and Nigel Richards.

The show was organized by Bluedude, a local promotions company that has featured a show at Crowbar in the past. The group comprises past and present students that have been producing electronic music shows for several years, according to Rebecca Brumberg, one of the group's founders. Bluedude began in Philadelphia when the group was in high school together. Then as they began "moving with the educational flow" as Brumberg said, the promotions group made its way to State College and began organizing shows here.

"It's great to bring out this type of music and help people get out and dance," Brumberg said.

Recently, Bluedude sponsored a show at the Crowbar on Dec. 12. Thanks to a strong crowd response, tonight's show was planned and a third is already being talked about for February.

Brumberg hopes that these concerts will allow electronic music to be more readily available to the community here that enjoys it. Though many venues around town do not always feature house DJs, Brumberg said the demand for this genre is present even though the music is not always given the same respect as other types.

"Whether people like it or not, dance and electronic music will revolutionize music as we know it," Brumberg said.

Dave Wells, operations director for the Crowbar, said he was pleased with how good a turnout the first show got, and would like to bring more similar shows to the venue.

"It's good to keep it fresh and keep doing different things," Wells said.

Though it may seem fresh and new, electronic music has been around for several years and has built a strong community of artists, listeners and supporters.

There aren't, however, many DJs featured at local events or venues Brumberg said, and this is the reason she and Bluedude are working to help promote the genre.

"There is really a large DJ community and a lot of people are interested in hearing that talent," Brumberg said.

She is also very excited because the concert will feature some national DJs that would not normally come to the area, such as the headliner Nigel Richards, who has been a prominent DJ in Philadelphia for a few years now.

There have also been a handful of student DJs who have come under the assistance of Bluedude, one of which being Adam Weller, or DJ Daedalus as he is called.

Weller (senior-media studies) began "spinning" about two years ago when some friends with turntables introduced him to the music.

Since then, he has played various house parties and even some shows sponsored by Bluedude during past Arts Fests.

One of the featured acts at tonight's show, Weller is excited to perform his music because, as he said, there aren't many places in the area that feature electronic music. Weller, though, feels that the strong DJ community here is very supportive and, thanks to the lack of competition between them, has allowed the scene to grow.

"It's not very large, so the best thing to do it stick together and grow," Weller said. "We're pretty tightly knit, with everyone going for the same cause. It's just about trying to have a good time listening to music not readily available."

Weller is also pleased to see some national talent coming to the area because he sees this as creating a good basis for the genre and may bring more people to start enjoying the music that he loves to play.

Even though Bluedude and Weller may not be headlining huge shows at sold-out venues, they both see the potential for it to grow even more, and look forward to that.

"We're not ready to stop," Weller said.