Happy New Year San Diego! As we conquer another massive New Year’s Eve five-day party-thon-weekend, San Diego’s electronic music scene has never looked brighter. With a continuously expanding scene, dance music lovers don’t seem to be overwhelmed, with plenty of fun and successful San Diego events -- whether they’re in the day time or night time!
On Wednesday, Jan. 16, the party gets flipped upside down with Daybreaker’s San Diego edition, morning party, providing a sober dance experience complete with yoga to kick off with featuring Thomas Wall and Katie B Happyy. Follow it up with a healthy dose of free kombucha and breakfast bites to nibble on (while they last), and put the stretching to work as you sweat it up to a DJ set by San Diego’s Arielle Z at Brick, the select venue for this edition of Daybreaker.
Going into Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend there’s plenty of options all ranging in the house realm. On Friday, Jan. 18, you can head down the Gaslamp strip to Omnia San Diego to get your bottle service on with Nghtmre, or roll up the hill to North Park for the 35th anniversary of House Music featuring house music legend Jesse Saunders. Saturday, Jan. 19, you can make the rounds with plenty of talent to enjoy, starting with a special Fngrs Crssd show at Hard Rock Hotel’s rooftop. The double header show brings Green Velvet back to San Diego if you didn’t have enough on his last visit, and this time he's joined by Toolroom’s Prok & Fitch. This early show goes on from 4-10 p.m., leaving you plenty of time to make it to the after party. If you’d rather stay in downtown and fancy the progressive house sound then El Camino is the spot for you at Progress featuring Brian Cid. A San Diego favorite as a kick off party to 2019, it promises to have you dancing all night.
As celebrations go, the Kava Lounge hosts a blow out party the same night, celebrating 14 years as a staple supporter of electronic music, consistently providing an intimate setting to some outstanding artists. On deck for the anniversary party are Marques Wyatt and Cris Herrera spinnin’ the tunes, as staples of the San Diego industry making them a perfect fit for your night. Continuing the weekend fun, EDM Identity and Hushhh Promotions team up on Sunday, Jan. 20, for the Westcoast Kickback, bringing the Vegas flavor experienced through one of the city's most exciting DJs to watch: Chris Garcia. The day time soiree takes advantage of the sun with Don Santino plus more, delivering hot beats kicking off at noon at El Camino.
The longest running house music night in the 619 continues every Wednesday night as Dance Klassique at Blonde. On Jan. 23, the Deep Tribe guys line up a guest set for those that are missing them in Rosarito the weekend prior. Standing out as some of Los Angeles’ top producer duos with consistently solid releases such as their most recent "Reflections," make sure to put this one on your calendar. For those following the Dirtybird sensation, one of the four founders of the camp out, aka Christian Martin, gets the disco ball fogged up from heavy hot dancing at Bang Bang on Jan. 25. Stop in early and relish on some of the best sushi in town too!
Winding down the month, Enter the Tech looks at 2019 with a goal to continue producing events in fresh, all inclusive locations. On Saturday, Jan. 26, Enter the Tech presents Daytime Delight at 3796 Fifth Ave. Arrive early to enjoy some of the delish brunch menu and stay into the evening with a stellar lineup of DJs as we celebrate Rock the Discotek’s birthday with a solid lineup already confirming Oscar P, Cris Herrera, Matthew Brian, Cristo Lopez and many, many more. For those in the Los Angeles area ready to put a dash of Ratchet in their disco, the Lash in Hollywood plays host to a special feature presentation by Vali coming off of her recent hit EP release, myself as DJ IDeaL and other surprise guests.
For those that can’t make it out this month, remember you can tune in to my mix show "In the Mixxx" on Friday and Saturday nights on ALT949’s Glow Radio on 94.9FM HD3, the Radio.com app or at our new website at GlowSD.com!
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Hope to see you on the dance floor, San Diego!
DJ IDeaL's January EDM Picks
- Jan. 16: Daybreaker SD Dance Dance Resolution from 6-9 a.m. featuring Arielle Z and Yoga with Thomas Wall and Katie B Happyy at Brick
- Jan. 18: Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend at Omni featuring Nghtmre
- Jan. 18: House Music Fridays featuring Jesse Saunders at AC Lounge
- Jan. 19: Fngrs Crssd presents Green Velvet, Prok & Fitch at Hard Rock Hotel (4-10 p.m.)
- Jan. 19: Progress featuring Brian Cid (Balance Music, Endangered) at El Camino
- Jan. 20: Marques Wyatt and Cris Herrera at the 14-year anniversary of Kava Lounge
- Jan. 20: Sun Westcoast Kickback brought to you by EDM Identity and Hushhh Promotions featuring Chris Garcia and Don Santino at El Camino
- Jan. 23: Dance Klassique featuring Deep Tribe at Blonde
- Jan. 25: Beat EP tour featuring Christian Martin at Bang Bang
- Jan. 26: Enter the Tech presents Daytime Delight at 3796 Fifth Ave.
- Jan. 30: Ratchet Disco featuring Vali, DJ IDeaL at the Lash Hollywood
Tomas Serrano, aka DJ IDeaL, is the electronic dance music correspondent for SoundDiego, covering the best of San Diego's electronic music events and culture. Follow his whereabouts on Facebook, Twitter or contact him directly.
