My daughter’s a world-renowned DJ at just 10 years old --[Reported by Umva mag]

Welcome back to How I Parent, the series where where we get a glimpse into how families are raising their kids.

This week we speak to Sarah Clay, whose daughter Lily is an internationally-renowned DJ at the tender age of just 10 years old.

The pint-sized performer regularly goes viral online, as people share, like and comment on videos of her DJ sets.

And, while Sarah supports her daughter’s passion, she says Lily’s privacy, education and wellbeing are always the top priority.

Sarah, 43, who lives in Los Angeles, USA, says, ‘This has gone further than we could ever have imagined. It shows parents should always be open to any passions their kids have, however unconventional they may seem.’

Project manager Sarah, and investment adviser Brian, 46, always knew their daughter was musical, a love she’s inherited from her dad.

Sarah says, ‘When I met Brian, he didn’t even have a dining table, he had turntables.’

The couple, who have both always loved electronic music, remember watching their two-year-old daughter rocking to dance music instead of Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Sarah adds: ‘When Lily was seven she asked for a DJ set for Christmas. We thought she might change her mind, but she didn’t, so we decided to give it a go.

‘She was really excited when she received her mixer, but we saw quickly there was a steep learning curve between Brian’s vinyl turntables and her electronic mixer.

‘We knew we needed some help, thankfully we found a talented DJ coach who we still work with today. He and Lily have a very special bond.’

By the age of eight, Lily was the proud owner of a mixing deck and had chosen the DJ name LC Danger. She soon began producing music and creating her own tracks.

Sarah says, ‘When Lily got the hang of her equipment, I started posting videos of her, mainly for our family and friends.’

Lily’s early videos were often taped before bed, with the little girl DJing in her pyjamas.

Sarah says, ‘People loved it – the juxtaposition between the pyjamas and the grown up music she was playing. She’s now outgrown her DJ PJ days, but I look back on those days with a lot fondness.’

But one video caught the attention of a DJ, Disco Lines, after one of Lily’s followers tagged him in a video. Disco Lines reposted it, and it went viral – receiving almost nine million views.

‘She had an Instagram account of about 50 followers and then she jumped up to 10,000 followers over a few days,’ explains Sarah.

‘We received so much support in those early days and lots of DJs reached out with kind and inspiring messages.’

Soon, Lily started getting enquiries for gigs. Her first was a basketball game – and soon, she was performing for tens of thousands of people.

Now, Lily now 196,000 followers on social media, but she puts school at the forefront and is proud owner of her dog Coco.

Sarah says, ‘She almost has a dual personality, she’s so confident and dynamic, she owns the crowd on stage, but at school she is very lowkey and doesn’t like the fanfare.’

And Sarah insists that education is the priority.

‘Our focus is school,’ says Sarah. ‘She’s so young that we don’t want her to burn out or to fall behind.

‘School comes first and DJing comes second. When she has a gig coming up, we really instill that preparation is key, and we encourage her to practice until she’s completely confident with her set. But outside of that, we don’t push her. We hope it’s a passion which lasts for a long time.’

And whilst she’s playing in front of huge numbers of people, Lily doesn’t let the celebrity encounters affect her.

Sarah says, ‘Disco Lines, the DJ who made her viral, invited her to a festival in LA called ‘Hard Summer’ in August 2023 and she smashed it. She went out there, got on a microphone in front of thousands of people and was amazing.

‘We had incredible backstage passes, but after her portion of the show, she told us she was ready to go home.

‘She was only eight at the time and it was a good reminder as parents to always check in and see how she was feeling and go from there. She is always the priority.’

Sarah and Brian are protective of Lily whilst she’s in a gig environment.

Sarah says, ‘We are really careful about the things we book for her. We make sure she’s away by 9pm and gauge as parents what’s appropriate for her.

‘We shield her as much as possible, even with the music itself as we’ll make sure she’s only listening to and playing music with age-appropriate lyrics. And we turn down opportunities which aren’t a good fit. We also monitor her social media accounts, and she never sees any comments.

‘We do get some backlash online – people think we are exploiting her and making money off her, but we laugh because they don’t know how much of an investment this is for us, it’s not a cheap hobby.

‘Lily does get paid for her gigs, but she saves it – some goes into a college fund, and another into a savings account – and we allow her to spend some of it too.

‘Ultimately, it’s Lily leading the charge, we’re simply here to support and help her grow her passion. For every negative comment there are one hundred amazing ones.’

Lily has even been recognised while out and about.

Sarah says, ‘Once Lily and I were at a nail salon and a college girl looked over and asked if she was “the little DJ”.

‘Her whole sorority were really big fans. Lily’s eyes grew really big and I think it made her feel special.

‘She was even recognised on holiday in Mexico.’

Lily has big dreams including playing in front of up to one hundred thousand people at a huge European festival. Sarah says, ‘She wants to play the main stage at Tomorrowland – it’s hard to get higher than that. It’s good to have a goal to work towards.’

Meanwhile, she has travelled across the USA for gigs.

Sarah says, ‘We hope she will stick with it, but at the end of the day, she’s a kid and if she decides to take a break, or go in a different direction, we will be supportive.

‘I would encourage other parents to be open about passions and hobbies which may be unconventional and outside the box. Parents learn so much from their children – we are proof of that.’

Listen to Lily’s music on her Instagram page.

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