This Friday, August 9, is the Joy Division x The Smiths dance party at Club Underground. Both floors will be open at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown, where Larry G., Malvada and I will be dropping jams from 9:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. 

Click here to get your tickets now. 

As for the rest of the weekend, there’s a lot to do, including plenty of shows, parties and screenings that are budget-friendly, from Mohama Saz at the Lodge Room to classic Jamaican ska party Riddim ’n’ Brews to a screening of Caligula: The Ultimate Cut at USC. Everything listed here is under $30 before service fees and quite a few of the events have no cover. Check out the list below to see what’s happening in L.A. this week.

Disco Matinee, the day party that I do with Jus’ B, is now on third Sundays at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown, so join us on August 18, 2024 from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. for an afternoon of disco, funk, dance punk, Italo and HiNRG. Discount advance tickets are available now on Restless Nites.

Click here to get your tix on Restless Nites.

The Grand Star is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza, right next to the Bruce Lee statue. There is both street and lot parking in the neighborhood, plus, the dance club is located across Broadway from Metro’s Chinatown stop on the A Line.

Check out my set list from Disco Matinee’s first anniversary party to get an idea of what you might hear.

This is a 21+ venue and the cover will be $8 at the door on the day of the event. See you on the dance floor on Sunday, August 18, for Disco Matinee.

I’m not DJing this weekend, but put together a really quick list of DJ nights, shows and film screenings that are on my radar. Also listed in here is an artist’s market on Sunday that’s organized by the Armenian LGBTQ+ group GALAS. I’ll probably be adding more arts events in the future too. 

In case you didn’t know, I also write event listings for Discover Los Angeles. 

Click here to read GET INTO THE LA GROOVE: AUG. 5-11, 2024

My list for Discover Los Angeles is cross-genre and focuses more on the big ticket events, but I try to get some of the smaller, hyperlocal events in there as well whenever possible. 

The Happening in L.A. lists that I post here on Beatique are focused on low and no cover events on nights when I’m not DJing. I try to abide by a $30 max rule for everything listed. It also includes film screenings. I do a lot of digging just to get the handful of events listed here on account of the internet being a mess. Then I narrow it down to what I would want to check out. However, there’s always stuff I miss because, like I said, the internet is a mess. You’re welcome to send me info on your band’s upcoming gig or your next DJ night for possible inclusion. Just be sure to email it to me because I miss DMs all the time and, frankly, the less time I have to spend on social media, the better. 

Friday, July 5, is going to be amazing. Mark your calendars for Décadanse x Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club. This one-night-only event brings together L.A.’s Friday night indie dance party with monthly French pop Décadanse Soirée. Catch Larry G. and me (Liz O.) with your favorite new wave, post-punk, Britpop, indie faves and more, while DJs Pierrot and Fifi La Roux play the jams en français.

Tickets are available now on Dice and Eventbrite. Get yours as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss out on this night.

Grand Star Jazz Club is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza, right next to the Bruce Lee Statue. There is both street and lot parking in the neighborhood and the venue is located right across Broadway from Metro’s A Line station in Chinatown. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. and is 21+. See you on the dance floor on July 5.

This Friday, June 14, is Pulp Nite at Underground and I’ll be back to DJ with Larry G. for the two-room bash at Grand Star Jazz Club. You’ll hear Pulp’s hits and deep cuts, plus ‘90s Britpop and indie, on the first floor. Up on the second floor, expect to hear all that plus more of your indie, post-punk, new wave and classic alternative favorites. 

Advance tickets for Friday night are available now. Purchase yours via one of the links below. 

Pulp Nite at Underground tickets on Dice

Pulp Nite at Underground tickets on Eventbrite

I’m standing by a bin of records at Rubycon, talking to a friend, who also happens to be one of the DJs for an in-store event happening that day. She asks what records I pulled and I flip through the small stack of vinyl that I will soon purchase. I show off a 12” with wavy pink stripes and a large stick figure on the cover. The band’s name, Scream + Dance, is scrawled above the stick figure’s head in thick letters. 

Disco Matinee is back on Cinco de Mayo at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown. Guest DJ Don French joins residents Liz O. and Jus’ B for an afternoon of disco, funk, dance punk and more. Tickets are available now for $6.50 on Restless Nites. The cover will be $8 at the door (cash, Venmo) on the day of the event.

This Sunday afternoon, I’ll be DJing alongside Jus’ B and Gustavisimo for the freestyle and hi-NRG edition of Disco Matinee at Grand Star Jazz Club. I’m playing an all-vinyl set and am currently digging through my crates for gems by the likes of The Flirts, Divine, Shannon, Nocera, Lime and so much more. See my previous post about Disco Matinee for RSVP details, which will get you in for $5 before 4 p.m. We’ll be playing from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. and this is a 21+ event. The Grand Star is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza. 

Keep reading for more L.A. music events happening between February 29 and March 6.