Mark Stefanos
“We’ve lost dancing,” Fred again.. with the Blessed Madonna mourned during the pandemic.
Well, if we lost dancing from 2020 to 2021, and 2022 was a rebuilding year, 2023 was a dance floor renaissance. It was the year dancing won.
It was the first time in a long time that there seemed to be almost too many good things to do. Anywhere you went you could find a crowd of excited people ready to mix, mingle, exchange sweat and sometimes even more.
The best parties this year all had a few things in common — anyone could go, they weren’t too pricey and the music and dancing were bar-none. And it’s what they didn’t have that set them apart — stuck up patrons, bouncers at the door side-eyeing your fit or a host trying to sucker you into buying a bottle.
If you’re looking to dance in LA, there’s no better option than the DJ party. As Angelenos, we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to nightlife and entertainment. But when it comes to pound-for-pound, bang-for-your-buck fun, nothing beats the DJ party.
Broadly speaking, DJ parties are recurring, themed music events. At risk of waxing too poetic, the DJ party’s center isn’t on the stage, it’s on the dance floor. It’s on you, and me — all of us — so long as we’re not being a lame somewhere in a corner.
The event producers and DJs that conceived these parties are true believers that all told us the same thing: they built parties that were focused on music, dancing and fun, without the headache and pretentiousness of scene-obsessed nightlife.
They were wildly successful at it. So without further ado, here are the best parties of 2023.
Junkyard Jouvert by Foreigner
Foreigner (Patrick Struys)
With paint raining, ass shaking and booming music til the crack of dawn, Junkyard Jouvert is a party that has to be experienced to be believed.
The brainchild of the multi-talented Adam Cooper, who goes by his DJ name Foreigner, brings Jouvert — a paint-infused Soca music celebration that marks the start of Carnival — from his birthplace Trinidad and Tobago to his new home in LA.
“On the surface, Junkyard Jouvert is about providing LA with the wildest Caribbean paint party experience they could ever imagine,” Foreigner said. “Digging a little deeper, Junkyard Jouvert is about stripping away the material BS that makes people hold back at a party. At Junkyard Jouvert, your outfit doesn’t matter, your hairdo doesn’t matter, your dancing skills don’t matter, there’s no body shaming or judgment on whether you’re of Caribbean descent.”
Foreigner tells us, “Jouvert — with its roots of emancipation and Black liberation — is one of the vital organs of the ritual of Carnival. It is the best, rawest, most spiritually authentic context in which to present the joyful, rebellious, liberating energies that make Soca music so incredible.”
In 2023 we learned that between Junkyard Jouvert and Roadblock (another party Cooper throws with dancing on junk cars to emulate a Caribbean street fest) you haven’t truly partied until you’ve partied with Foreigner.
Find all where to party with Foreigner at instagram.com/foreignerrrrr.
Habibi’s House by DJ Habibeats
DJ Habibeats (Alfred Farnsworth)
From a soft launch at Melrose House last year to selling out Academy this August, Ibrahim Abu-Ali, better known as DJ Habibeats, has created something we haven’t seen in as long as we can remember — a massive celebration of Middle Eastern-infused world music. With his dance-beat remixes of Arabic classics, special guests and massive dabke lines, Habibi’s House also happens to be one of the very best parties in LA.
Habibi’s House’s growth coincided with the genial Palestinian-American DJ’s mixes blowing up on social media, finding traction with Arabic music lovers globally.
“Being born and raised in the US, as a first-generation child of immigrants, it feels like this is the truest expression of putting the two halves of my brain together — in that I get to express myself through my heritage and all the sounds I grew up with from my family and my parents,” says DJ Habibeats.
With the ongoing war in the Middle East filling our social feeds with some of the most ghastly images we’ve ever seen, Habibi’s House has been a welcome counter-narrative, capturing moments of Arabs being human, having good old-fashioned fun.
“I would like to see Arabic music, and any other type of underrepresented music be just as normal in a club or on the radio as the way we hear reggaeton music from Latin America. Like, I love reggaeton music. I don’t speak any Spanish. And it’s not a question that when I hear it on the radio, it just feels like music. So I would like all the other music to feel that way. That’s my aim.”
After a sold out run of the shows in LA to start the year, DJ Habibeats, along with his all-Palestinian-American team Grass Fed Music, took his show on the road, hitting dates across the country on a Habibi’s House tour. We’re looking forward to him coming back to LA in 2024.
See where to party at Habibi’s House next at instagram.com/djhabibeats.
Electric Feels by Jeremy Burke of Loud Village
Jeremy Burke on the mic (Adam Elmakias)
Electric Feels is an indie-music dance party created by Loud Village, a powerhouse production company led by Jeremy Burke, the same team behind the 2000s rap party Echoflex.
Starting in 2017, Electric Feels has blossomed into a monthly pilgrimage for Angelenos looking to rock out.
“I moved to LA in 2006 when the type of music we play at Electric Feels was everything. I feel like the love for that music never really went away with most people. And as time goes by, more artists in this realm keep coming up, so it has both the modern and nostalgic factor. Starting the party just made too much sense,” says Burke.
Once upon a time, there was a bar in Silverlake called The Satellite that hosted the popular weekly party Dance Yourself Clean. The Satellite unfortunately didn’t survive the pandemic, and DYC has become more sporadic and less in LA.
Electric Feels takes the best qualities of DYC and adds top DJs and production value, making it a night of high-energy music nostalgia and body grooving while scream-yelling the words to your favorite chorus.
Burke explains — “Electric Feels is a party where you can hear anything from indie rock to electronic dance music. It’s a pretty wide range of fun, feel good music. The party was created from our own experiences soundtracked by this music. The friendships, the festivals, the good times. We try to encapsulate that with our music, messaging, and stage production. It’s a party with a festival feel.”
While Electric Feels has become a full-time touring operation, hitting 48 cities so far, you can still catch it at the Echoplex the last Saturday of every month.
Stay in your Electric Feels at instagram.com/electricfeelsparty.
Link Up by Andre Power
Andre Power (Mikey Avila)
LA is the perfect place for an outdoor day party. Link Up takes the best aspects of that formula and makes it church.
Andre Power, the world-class DJ and co-founder of the music collective Soulection, started Link Up as a way to get friends back to socializing after being holed up and isolated during the pandemic.
What began as a kickback at a bar in West Adams turned into a monthly mainstay, most frequently at Second Home — a lush, outdoor co-working space with a large courtyard and wine garden — a dream venue for a sunny party.
The DJ lineups are always stellar, and the dance floor is second to none. Partiers can take a break and have a glass of natural wine over a game of Connect 4.
“I love making people dance. I love making people move. I love making people smile and just kind of let loose,” Andre Power tells us. “There’s nothing like the raw energy that comes from an audience whenever you play their favorite tune.”
We look forward to grooving at Link Up’s return next year, and look out for the party expanding to cities across the globe.
Find out where to Link Up next at instagram.com/linkup.worldwide.
Perreo Wednesdays by Mezcalpapii
DJ CC Love at Perreo (Mark Stefanos)
Much like the Economist’s Big Mac Index measures global currencies, what’s happening at La Cita, the Latino downtown institution, is a barometer of the cultural health of LA.
This year, we were delighted to find the line at La Cita down the block — on Wednesdays, no less. The wait is worth it, as inside is one of the most consistently fun and perfectly curated parties we’ve danced our asses off at.
Perreo Wednesdays, created by musician and event producer David “Mezcalpapii,” started as a monthly night five years ago and is now one of the hottest Latin-music events the city has ever seen.
“One thing I really wanted to do was make Perreo an all-inclusive party for everybody — all walks of life — and very down to earth. We don’t do bottle service, so we’re not with that Hollywood stuff. We just want to make it fun, good vibes, and really built for people that want to dance,” David tells us. “It’s a mid-week release — we’re here to always be that getaway, that fun option, especially if you love Latin music.”
Perreo refers to a style of close dancing to Latin music — basically grinding. And at Perreo Wednesdays, dancing is what you’ll find from its swaggy patrons. After working up a sweat on the dance floor, you can cool off and grab tacos on La Cita’s lively patio.
As the year closes out, Perreo is growing, with a just-introduced Perreo Rave for those looking for more electronic Latin vibes.
And about that line — if you can’t get there early enough to avoid it, know that it’s long but it moves. And shit, you’ll have more fun in that line than you will at most bars in this city.
To get your Perreo on, checkout instagram.com/perreowednesdays.
Lifetime Achievement Award: 143 by SoSuperSam
SoSuperSam (courtesy 143)
No list of parties in LA is complete without a crooning shout-out to 143. The R&B party, created by Samantha Duenas who goes by the DJ name SoSuperSam, long championed “slow jams, love songs, bed squeaks.”
143 (pager speak for “I love you”) had its last nighttime party this year, leaving a legion of fans in mourning. It wasn’t just one of the best parties this year, it’s been one of LA’s absolute best parties for the past decade.
“The vibe is 90’s pager code, an homage to my teen years as a Filipino American in LA,” SoSuperSam tells us. “That time was all about love letters, homemade R&B mixtapes, kickback house parties, karaoke, and connecting with other kids through our special language of taking studio pics and sending messages through pagers and voicemails.”
Starting in 2013 at Blind Barber in Culver City, 143 grew behind the strength of the delightful Duenas until it was regularly selling out Catch One.
“143 was about letting your guard down. LA nightlife can sometimes feel uptight and self-conscious, but our party was irreverent. You could wear your best sweatpants, dance your face off, sing really loud, and eat snacks. Anything could happen at 143,” SoSuperSam explains.
After its decade-long run, 143 has taken on new life as a monthly radio show on NTS, a community driven global station. But you can still catch 143 live with SoSuperSam behind the decks at popups like ComplexCon and night markets.
Find out where 143 will be next on instagram.com/143worldwide.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.