Earlier this month, EDM duo and hitmakers The Chainsmokers made dreams and wishes come true at Wynn Las Vegas. Hosted at Wynn by Wynn Nightlife and Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada, Sarah Hodge, an 18-year-old Las Vegas native living with cystic fibrosis, was met by the group and gifted with a MacBook Pro, her Make-A-Wish dream for the last four years. The computer was loaded with a full suite of music production and editing software, the perfect tool for Hodge, an aspiring producer in her own right.
Arriving at Intrigue, Hodge walked into a surprise party. Both halves of The Chainsmokers, Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart, greeted Hodge at the door with the MacBook in hand. Dozens of friends and family were present for Hodge and The Chainsmokers as they put on an impromptu performance.
“At first I was so surprised,” Hodge admitted. “I couldn’t put a name with a face.”
When “Closer”, The Chainsmokers’ chart-topping single, burst from the speakers, Hodge grabbed a microphone and led the crowd to sing and dance while lights and fog and confetti were cast and strewn about the room.
Diagnosed at birth with Cystic Fibrosis, Hodge has battled the disease her entire life. An only child and recent graduate of Word of Life Christian School, Hodge’s condition requires hourly medication. A life-threatening condition, her cystic fibrosis means frequent visits to hospitals as well. Music has remained a constant source of joy and fulfilment in her challenging life. Nearly four years ago, she requested her Make-A-Wish. Now, thanks to The Chainsmokers and Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada, her wishes came true.
Initially Hodge attended the event under the assumption that she was acting as a teen ambassador for Make-A-Wish. She took the night off from her job as a waitress in a sushi restaurant and was completely surprised upon entering Intrigue.
To hear her describe it paints the best picture of the “surreal” moment: “I walk through the doors and there’s a room full of people including my family. And then I looked the other way and there’s these two guys holding a MacBook Pro, which was my wish.”
“And they’re The Chainsmokers,” she adds.
With the equipment and inspiration from The Chainsmokers giving Hodge deeper production insights, Hodge hopes that with her new equipment she will find success in the music industry. The EDM duo instructed Hodge how to build the best, dance-inducing drops, as well as altering the beats-per-minute of music live and apply fade ins and outs.
“I’ve always loved music, and it was amazing how my preferences for music were really similar to what the Chainsmokers like,” she said. “I want to be behind the scenes of the [Billboard] Top 40 artists. I want to be the person who’s working on their music.”
Beginning this fall, Hodge will be studying to become a certified nurse’s assistant as a freshman at the College of Southern Nevada. Eventually she has plans to move onto nursing school. Of her experience with The Chainsmokers and Make-A-Wish, Hodge admits that her music passions have been rekindled.
After her set with The Chainsmokers at Intrigue, a limousine service brought Hodge and her family to a hosted at a dinner at Lakeside at Wynn Las Vegas.
The Chainsmokers (the star duo of Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart) are currently Wynn’s resident DJs. The duo started producing music as The Chainsmokers in 2012. Both Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart came from art history backgrounds prior to entering the music industry. The Chainsmokers first gained success with their single “Kanye” in 2014, and were signed with Sony Entertainment Group in 2015. In October of that year, The Chainsmokers released their debut EP, Bouquet, led by the single “New York City”.
After the release of their second EP, Collage (2016), The Chainsmokers released a collaborative single with the English band Coldplay called “Something Just Like This” in February 2017. In April 2017 The Chainsmokers released their first full length studio album Memories… Do Not Open.
A tour documentary series titled The Chainsmokers – Memories was released by Apple Music in 2018. The Chainsmokers second full length release, Somebody, was also announced in 2018.
The Chainsmokers have been involved with charity events and organizations throughout their career. Earlier this year, during their Las Vegas residency, the duo took part in a meet and greet for Keep Memory Alive, a fundraising benefit for Alzheimer’s disease that took place at XS Nightclub in Wynn Las Vegas. Last September they appeared at the 13th annual Songs of Hope for the City of Hope charity, along with composer Hans Zimmer and songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff. The gala event raised $3.3 million. Alex Pall remarked about his fellow attendees, “It’s cool to be honored with Max Martin and Hans Zimmer, who are two of our biggest inspirations, and Jack Antonoff is a colleague we’ve always admired.”
Along with charity causes and events, The Chainsmokers have also strove to get fans involved in social causes. In 2016, leading up to the presidential election, Pall and Taggart posted a video where they made tacos to prove how quickly one can register to vote (even quicker than making tacos).
The Make-A-Wish foundation is a non-profit organization focused on providing children and minors afflicted with life-threatening conditions. Make-A-Wish has been making wishes come true since 1980. The organization is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Established in 1996, Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada has granted almost 1,900 wishes.
Read our last article about The Chainsmokers here.
