Porter Robinson

“In the beginning, Porter hadn’t really even seen or been to any live DJ shows at all,” said AM Only’s Alan Gary, who has been booking Robinson, now age 20, from the start. “At the time, he viewed himself as more of a producer than a live artist,” creating nearly all of his music in his bedroom “studio.”

The crash course with Skrillex proved valuable. “It took that first two or three months of touring to figure out where he wanted to go and to realize how much he enjoyed it, and he’s been going strong ever since,” Gary said.

Going strong indeed, supporting the likes of Tiësto and doing major festivals including Ultra and three Electric Daisy Carnival stops.

Next up are co-headline dates with Zedd for a run of clubs and festival appearances through mid-October. 

Robinson has not released an LP, but constantly releases new music to keep his shows fresh. It’s a level of artistic freedom not always afforded to those on major record labels.

“Electronic dance music doesn’t really need a label,” Slush Management’s Aaron Greene told Pollstar, adding that Robinson is unsigned although not for lack of interest. “The basic fundamental purpose of a label is to help fund the cost of recording, but with Porter, he pretty much does it in his bedroom.

“As far as building Porter as an artist, we worked on keeping everything clean and consistent and working on overall branding and imaging,” Greene said. “And kind of focusing on getting in front of the right crowds and right people. It was a great move to get him on tour with Skrillex and Tiësto, which did a lot for his career.”

Expect North America headlining dates in early 2013, as well as a run at the Congress Theatre in Chicago Dec. 30-31. Also in the works are Asia and Australia.