Francisco Refuerzo
With June coming to an end, early onset Pride burnout is upon us. But if you’ve been on a dance floor in LA, you know that there’s a gay in a corner, snapping a hand fan with a flick of the wrist, blessing everyone with a “clack clack clack” any time of the year. You can’t see it, but you can feel it. That’s kind of the vibe of this list of LGBTQ+ parties in LA. This short list of parties happen all year long and represent a small glimpse into the massively diverse universe of queer nightlife in LA.
Not gonna lie, writing this gave us Doechii-level anxiety. From circuit parties to pool parties, bear-forward raves to twink-heavy afterhours, and Resident Advisor to Facebook-official events, deciding which events count as parties is next to impossible. LA’s queer nightlife is built on the backs of local legends like Evita, Bears in Space, and Club Tempo, and global divas like pan-sexual disco A Club Called Rhonda and Mexico City import Por Detroit. Let’s also pour one out for all the queer parties and venues that aren’t around anymore, Tigerheat, Gameboi, Faultline Bar. The aforementioned parties (and many more) undoubtedly played a big role in the formative years of the LGBTQ+ folks who are at the helm of queer nightlife in Los Angeles in 2025.
For this list, we focused on burgeoning LA-grown parties that have shown resilience and staying power. Even so, it is far from an exhaustive register of all the new and emerging LGBTQ+ parties in LA. Trying to make a definitive list of the best queer parties in LA is like choosing a pop diva as your fighter at a Celebrity Deathmatch drag brunch — chaotic, dehydrating, and someone coming for you in the comments. So we didn’t even try (even though Mariah Carey obviously wins in my Celebrity Deathmatch fantasy, fight me). Instead, we put together a short list featuring some of LA’s favorite LGBTQ+ parties. Collectively, these parties not only continue the legacy of LA’s storied nightlife, they represent a changing of the guard for queer culture in LA and demonstrate that the city is fully back from its post-pandemic hibernation.
We get it: pride is exhausting, Liquid IV is expensive, and someone scuffed your dancing shoes (oh no, not your new Stan Smiths!!). But only in a city as sprawling and confusing as LA — with two giant Pride celebrations in June (plus Long Beach in May and DTLA in August), and a sprinkling of smaller neighborhood Prides — are you allowed to complain about Pride oversaturation. But once you catch your breath, these parties will be here for you, bass bumping and fans clacking.
Hood Rave by Kumi James aka BAE BAE and DJ Kita
Hood Rave (Ori Davis)
You haven’t really gone out in LA until you’ve been to Hood Rave.
Hood Rave isn’t your average house party or warehouse rave — it is a full-on vibe. Its earliest iterations started in 2020, with parties happening out of unassuming venues in South LA such as barbershops and car garages. Officially launching in 2021, Hood Rave quickly grew to be one of LA’s hottest underground parties, even getting the Boiler Room stamp of approval with a full-stage takeover at Boiler Room’s LA party in 2024.
The Hood Rave co-creators BAE BAE and DJ Kita have been throwing parties since 2016, starting with a party called Love is the Plug, followed by Black Planet. Those parties focused on bringing together the Black community across all differences, including gender, class, and ability. But Hood Rave hits a little different. It’s a place where black and brown femme and queer DJs, performers, and community (be they non-binary, trans, or cis) aren’t just welcomed, they’re the whole reason you came!
Set against a backdrop of the newest electronic music and hip hop sound, the Hood Rave crew — including co-producer Bunny — wanted to give this community a platform that both celebrates their talents and also creates a safer space for partying in LA. They provide Narcan kits and fentanyl testing strips, as well as safety monitors and other support to make sure people can party safely. The team likes to keep events underground and allow their community to hold space where they are, and not have to branch out to the more gentrified areas of LA.
“Hood Rave is a place where we can be free!” says BAE BAE.
As for what’s next? Think bigger. Think, “Wait, they’re playing Hood Rave?” The team is all about booking artists that flip the script on what a rave lineup should look like — and keeping the party rooted in South LA while doing it.
Their July Summer Jam day party will feature residents and favorites, including Hourglass and Zack Fox.
Hot Dog Sundays by Gay Uncle Mario and Team Hot Dog
Gay Uncle Mario (Courtesy of Hot Dog Sundays)
End of the weekend partying is typically reserved for a tradition gays affectionately call “Gay Church,” and Hot Dog Sundays is the newest church in town. The party starts at 4 p.m. on El Cid’s gorgeous outdoor patio in Silver Lake.
Hot Dog Sundays (Courtesy of Hot Dog Sundays)
Everyone is VIP at Hot Dog Sundays. There is no guest list or reserved tables, just a social mix of people with barely a cell phone in sight. The party often has a line down Sunset Blvd. But it’s worth the wait, and you can expect an almost ceremonial entrance as you cascade down El Cid’s Spanish-style staircase. You are warmly greeted three times before even entering the crowd. Right before you step onto the main patio, you choose a colored cup — a campy game that lets everyone know what you’re into that day: red for “tops,” pink for “bottoms,” blue for those with “vers” tendencies, and black cups for the growing number of “sides.” If you’re confused, why are you even reading this article?
Co-founder Mario Diaz started Hot Dog Sundays as COVID restrictions started to wind down. With community safety and comfort on top of mind, he knew he wanted an outdoor space, choosing the iconic El Cid for its patio with levels and foliage. Mario couldn’t be more thrilled with Hot Dog Sundays and noted that really “the point is that we’re there to have fun, be silly and kind, and not take ourselves too seriously.”
Gay Uncle Mario has been throwing queer bashes for over 35 years and is the mastermind behind the weekly Thursday party BFD (Big Fat Dick) at the now-closed FUBAR in West Hollywood. He ran BFD every Thursday for 19 years, saying it “was the longest running weekly queer party in the country” prior to the pandemic.
As a young queer kid in the 80s, Mario and his friends learned that chosen family is everything — “Much like the ball scene in NYC in the 80’s we too had our safe spaces. The gay clubs. These were our homes. Where we had a sense of belonging and where we could really be ourselves and feel truly free.”
mariodiazpresents.com/links | @hotdogsundaysla
Ostbahnhof by Black Charmed: Dennis Haynes, Jamee Jones and Alex Jolicœur; Brandon Loyd and Victor Rodriguez.
Ostbahnhof (Kili Ku’uwehilani)
In LA’s queer late-night scene, Ostbahnhof has ascended to final boss status, the new supreme, the dance floor’s high priestess. What started as a one-room rave for 40 friends in DTLA’s Arts District in 2015 has since evolved into a full-blown cultural movement. Any questions about its reign were laid to rest two weeks ago, when none other than Charli xcx, the 365 Party Girl herself, chose to celebrate the one-year anniversary of BRAT at Ostbahnhof XL.
Described as a celebration of queer nightlife that fuses Berlin-style raving with LA’s unique flavor of diversity, glitz, camp, and cinematic spectacle, Ostbahnhof is not just a party — it’s an experience. With the tagline “The Party For Them” — the goal for Ostbahnhof’s team “has always been the same: build something that feels like home for people who often feel othered.”
The party was originally started by Derek Marshall, but today is led by a producing collective: Black Charmed (Dennis Haynes, Jamee Jones, and Alex Jolicœur), along with Brandon Loyd and Victor Rodriguez. From late-night DJ sets and fashion shows to protest fundraisers and immersive art installations, the team pushes their creativity to build dreamworlds where queer joy, experimentation, and connection meet in a city where nightlife can often feel exclusive or disconnected. Ostbahnhof parties feel both chaotic and intentional (and are often themed), where every detail is designed to help you feel free, seen and bold.
As political attacks on the queer community continue to increase in both intensity and frequency, the Ostbahnhof team felt an urgent need to create a moment powered entirely by community and queer-owned partners. Two weekends ago, the team pulled off Ostbahnhof XL, their largest format to date — a 13-hour Pride warehouse festival that drew nearly 1,500 guests and proved that queer community doesn’t need rainbow-washed sponsors to make magic.
With their 10-year anniversary around the corner, they are already dreaming up their celebrations as well as exploring ways to expand Ostbahnhof XL into something even bigger and more ambitious next summer, teasing that “the vision is Pride as rave, as resistance, and as high art.”
linktr.ee/Ostbahnhof | @thepartybyostbahnhof
Preciosa Night by Jessica “Jay” Treviño and Eden Treviño.
Preciosa Night (Courtesy of Preciosa Night)
In 2022, Jessica “Jay” Treviño and her wife Eden Treviño didn’t see a party that truly reflected their queer Latin identities and community — so they built one. That May, they started Preciosa Night, a grassroots labor of love that has become a vital and healing space in the LGBTQ+ nightlife scene.
Born in LA and rooted in lived experience, Jay and Eden dreamed of a night where queerness and cultura could coexist freely — without compromise, code-switching, or apology. “Too often, queer Latinos are asked to quiet part of themselves to fit in,” says Jay, who also DJs as DJ Preciosa. “We created Preciosa to be the party we never had growing up — where being your whole self isn’t just accepted, it’s celebrated.”
With its signature tagline “Community + Culture + Perreo,” Preciosa Night is both a party and a movement. The team is incredibly proud of how far Preciosa Night has come — holding down residencies in LA, SF, Chicago, and NYC, all without any investors. “Preciosa was our first baby,” Jay says. “Now, as new parents, we hope our son will one day be proud of the space we’ve built.”
What sets Preciosa apart isn’t just the vibe — it’s the intention. Their team produces one of the few WLW-run events that is truly inclusive of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, resulting in a rare soul-nourishing blend of live music, queer joy, and cultural pride. And they’re just getting started. Having built a national following, the team is juggling the new realities of parenthood with even bigger dreams of taking Preciosa international and reviving their festival experience.
“I won’t pretend it’s been easy juggling a newborn while producing events across the U.S., but the truth is, our community needs this,” says Jay. “And every time someone comes up to us with gratitude in their eyes, telling us how much Preciosa means to them, it makes every sleepless night and stressful moment completely worth it.”
preciosanight.com | @preciosanight
Putería by Ricardo-Sebastian and Nabor Arias
Putería (Photo by Iggy)
When the Precinct opened its doors in Downtown LA almost ten years ago, owners Thor Stephens and Brian McIntire approached their friend Ricardo Sebastian with the idea of throwing a party. “I hadn’t thrown a party since the ’90s,” he admits. He initially turned them down, but nightlife has a way of pulling you back in.
Cut to a year later: Ricardo’s friend Nabor Arias was making waves with his bar parties, and the itch returned. The two teamed up, planned one party, and named it Putería. Just one night, they said. Just a little get-together. Flash forward to now, and they’re gearing up for Putería’s 9th anniversary on July 19, 2025, still throwing down every third Saturday of the month at Precinct.
More than a club night, Putería is a house party — a joyful, raucous, inclusive explosion of queer Latinx pride where everyone is family. It’s the kind of party where “your mom, tía, primos and friends all mix together and get tipsy and laugh and dance. Young, old, Latino or not — everyone is welcome,” Ricardo says. Puteria mixes generations, genres, and vibes into one sweaty monthly ritual. Ya tu sabes.
Over the years, it’s been hosted by everyone from Shawn Morales (original Ru Paul’s Drag Race Pit Crew) to influencer Alberto “Albondigotas” and ChiChi, a fierce queer community leader. The team has expanded to other Precinct events, throwing the popular Que Perra Latin Drag Cabaret every first Saturday. But Puteria remains the crown jewel.
The motto says it all: “¡Que viva la Putería! ¡Todos a bailar!”
QNA by Jonathan Crisman, Howin Wong, Louie Bofill, Paul Morales and Ly Tran
QNA (Courtesy of QNA)
On any given night, QNA might look like a dance floor packed shoulder-to-shoulder, a DJ booth on fire (literally), or a gallery transformed into a site of queer Asian healing. That’s the magic of this LA-based collective.
Depending on who you ask, “QNA” is a clever play on words — Queer and Asian, with a nod to the familiar “question and answer.” But ask the founders, and they’ll tell you that QNA isn’t an acronym at all. “That way we aren’t limited by what it can be,” they say. And honestly, that tracks.
Born from an art show and a particularly sweaty afterparty in 2019, QNA has since grown into a full-blown creative collective throwing some of the most art-forward, freaky-fun, high-concept parties in LA. One time the DJ set was so lit a speaker literally caught on fire. (Don’t worry, everyone was fine. But still. Iconic.)
QNA co-founders Louie Bofill, Jae-an Crisman, Paul Morales, Ly Tran, and Howin Wong were all in attendance at that 2019 art show which showcased artwork by film director Andrew Thomas Huang and Tom of Finland artist-in-residence Phuc Le. Jae-an actually moderated a Q&A discussion between the artists and Howin DJ’d the after party. They saw a disconnected community in LA hungry for culture, they just needed a place where they could sit down and eat. Inspired by the night’s success, the group started talking about throwing similar events in the future.
The first QNA party was at El Cid for Lunar New Year 2020. I actually remember being on the dance floor and getting a breaking news alert announcing the first known COVID cases in the US. QNA hosted several virtual events over Zoom later that year, providing opportunities to collaborate in global Pride projects that could be programmed at any hour of the day and streamed live from anywhere in the world. Collaborators included other queer parties such as Elephant from the Philippines and Bubble T from New York, as well as queer Asian icons Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster.
These days QNA throws parties on a (more or less) quarterly basis. QNA is constantly challenging its own creative expression, reimagining how its platform looks and how its gathering space feels. They want to tap into the team’s various creative talents to go beyond the typical club night into other experiences like day parties and interactive pop-ups, or even explore other products such as fashion, art, and lifestyle.
For one such event, QNA partnered with the Museum of Contemporary Art to produce Eternal Spa at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Little Tokyo commemorating the one-year anniversary of the tragic 2021 Atlanta spa shootings. Through the metaphor of Asian spas, the multi-sensorial experience engaged questions of embodiment, sexuality and sex work, self-care, and identity, critiquing how Asian bodies have been othered and exoticized. The event reclaimed a collective ability to heal and to commune, featuring artists in different vignettes throughout the venue’s expansive space.
Even as QNA expands its cultural footprint beyond nightlife, QNA never loses its pulse: the party is always the heartbeat. Maybe that’s why QNA doesn’t define itself with a tidy acronym. It’s not just Queer and Asian. It’s not just Question and Answer. It’s something — a platform for expression that’s always asking what else it could be.
The June 20, 2025 cover of LA Weekly (Photo of Ostbahnhof by Kili Ku’uwehilani; Cover design: Mark Stefanos)