Central on Air, a gathering place and performance venue for DJs, has livestreamed 24/7 since opening in June 2025, with all sets uploaded to YouTube and the Central on Air website. Every weeknight from 5 to 9 p.m., and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., DJs stand in the studio at 425 Massachusetts Ave. and face out of the glass storefront as passersby look in.

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In 15 months, “we’ve had a thousand shows,” said Erik Sarno, program director for Central Square Business Improvement District, which founded Central on Air. “We’ve had 500 different DJs, and we’re just continuing to build off of that.”

The studio was built from reclaimed materials from a previous event space, Starlight Square, and designed to reflect Cambridge’s character. The warm, glowing red interior is framed with metal piping, and a cozy corner spot lets performers’ friends and family hang out during shows. 

“Vibe-wise, we tried to make it Central by honoring the music culture that exists here,” Sarno said. “We tried to bring elements of Central here. That’s why it’s red — like the Red Line — and there are things like scaffolding that reflect things that you might see walking up and down Mass. Ave.”

Central on Air’s directors say that the goal of the program is to forge community connections and make space for up-and-coming musicians.

DJs who perform at the station do so for free, which can be an advantage for many, especially newer DJs looking to get a foot in the door.

CSBID program manager Connor Donovan said he’s excited for what the space can do for New England DJs.

“There’s not like another program like this in Boston, where you can get an hour slot to play whatever you want to play, stream it live, and (it will) send you all your files after,” Donovan said.

Sarno and Donovan, both musicians, said working for Central on Air has been a dream come true — they can pursue their passions, contribute to the community, and DJ on the station from time to time.

“I’m a producer, and I started when I was 16,” Sarno said. “It started as a hobby, and as I was trying to take it more seriously, post-college, I was coming to Central Square and bringing beat CDs and hanging out outside of the Middle East after shows, trying to meet famous rappers to give them my beats. That’s how I got my start.”

‘Music is my passion’

On a windy Friday night, people walked past the booth as James “DJ Cakewalk” Walker and Joe Wilkes took turns mixing beats. They played an electronic remix of The Doors’ “People Are Strange” and spacey grooves that Catherine Armistead, a friend of the DJs, described as “spooky.” 

“I think it’s such a wonderful use of a space that would otherwise be storage space or not publicly accessible,” Armistead said. “I’m really impressed with the team that’s running it, and I think it’s so great to have a free space for all these DJs to practice their craft and be in community together.”

Walker danced as he and his friend stood behind the boards and smiled at the cameras for YouTube.

“I can play tracks here that I would never play at a club, so it’s a great place to spread your wings,” he said.

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His DJ career blossomed when he was at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire. Although he’s always loved music, Walker said college was an opportunity to hear new sounds and start experimenting with DJing — beginning on a humble laptop.

“After that I just fell in love with it,” said Walker, who has been a teacher, caretaker and community advocate for men’s mental health.

He said one of the kids he cares for, a neurodivergent boy, will join him in the Central on Air studio next time he spins records. 

“It’ll be a lot of fun because I know all of the tracks he loves, so I can’t wait to see his reactions,” Walker said. “It’s a beautiful thing.” 

Wilkes, the second DJ of the night, said DJing has been an enriching side gig outside of his software career.

“Music is my passion,” Wilkes said. 

“I try to play with as many sounds as I can, and across a wide spectrum with any set,” Walker said. “I gravitate towards big club basslines, a lot of breaks and polyrhythmic techno — the weirder, the better.”

His biggest inspiration: his mom. He said she is an avid record collector who owns over 1,000 vinyl records and called her “my biggest musical influence and my number one music source.” Wilkes added, “She even just sent me a picture of her DJing in ’99 or 2000.” 

Central on Air’s space is a freeing creative outlet for him, he said. “There are a lot of places that do radio shows and streaming, but rarely do they let anybody and everybody come play the way that Central on Air does,” he said.

The Central on Air studio makes DJing, which usually requires a good amount of self-promotion and marketing, accessible to anyone with a passion for music.

“It removes the barrier for a lot of people, and it’s a good outlet for any creator to come and play anything that they want for an hour — no fear of judgment,” Wilkes said. “They’re like, ‘We love all music, so just come and play it.’”

See their set here: Cakewalk and Friends: B2B w/ Jordan Graham & Joe Wilkes.

Central on Air has big ambitions. “We’re trying to grow this and make it truly global and have folks tuning in from all over,” Sarno said. “I’m hoping it comes to a point where folks are reaching out to us when they’re in town, like, ‘Oh, I’m playing a gig in Boston — I have to do Central on Air.’”

This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.

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