As the month of love kicks off, the San Diego music scene hits February strong with lots of musical options and plenty of dancing to help you keep in line with those New Year’s resolutions.
Get out your beads and masks as the Gaslamp Quarter’s 21+ Mardi Gras parade & festival comes early on Saturday, Feb. 6, taking over the streets of downtown with Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys headlining, along with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Minnesota and many more -- including an interactive silent disco stage! With the party ending at midnight, you can shimmy over to Omnia, which feature a double-headliner night with Benny Benassi and Eric DLux. For those looking to venture outside of the Gaslamp, "In The Hoody 4" will be featuring Madam Filth for an all-night, all-drum-and-bass party at a location to be announced hours before the event.
If that wasn’t enough for you, Super Bowl 50 celebrations will be popping off all over the city and a couple of downtown nightclubs will be opening up during the day to join in on the fun, so if you’re up for it, make it over to Hard Rock’s 207 or Parq nightclub! Continuing on the bass movement, Organized Grime celebrates six years of bass-filled events at AC Lounge on Monday, Feb. 8, for you to decompress from the weekend with a quality cocktail while supporting your local bass scene.
On Mardi Gras day, Bassmnt explodes back on the calendar with a fantastic booking of one of the hottest names on the electronic dance music scene. Now an 18+/21+ nightlife venue, Bassmnt welcomes everyone to enjoy JAUZ and experience one of his explosive sets in a very intimate experience. On Thursday, Feb. 11, Bang Bang comes through with a very exclusive event with a DJ set from Tycho, and Omnia hosts their Las Vegas resident 3LAU in San Diego.
This leap year, you have the ability to take out your better half any day of Valentine's weekend or go on the hunt for your date at the climatic event of the month (which lands on Valentine’s Day): LED’s Anniversary V shebang happening at Valley View Casino Center. With festival season in the air and lots of talent getting ready to make the rounds, this lineup will be featuring some amazing artists like Showtek, Dotcom, Ookay, Shaun Frank, SNBRN and a special after-party at Fluxx with Trippy Turtle performing at both events -- making it yet another LED event you won’t want to miss.
Friday, Feb. 19, Fluxx hosts the dynamic duo known as LOUDPVCK. Expect a night of pure trap and bass as the two are a fusion of hip-hop and electronic music backgrounds. Having collaborated with various artists from Nervo to Paper Diamonds to Dada Life, their handling of the dance floor will keep you hyped all night long. If you’re seeking the big-room sounds, Dzeko & Torres land upon Omnia on Saturday, Feb. 20. Having originally been inspired by Tiesto to join the dance-music realm and releasing their first official track on Chuckie’s Dirty Dutch label, the two have been going nonstop since and will keep you dancing till your heels fall off. The same night, SD Union hosts Total Science for their Secret Sessions line of events, happening at an undisclosed location to be announced the night of the event.
Closing out the month's highlights, Canadian musicians and bandmates Keys N Krates make their way to House of Blues for a special Sunday night show. San Diego favorites, their events have always gone off and this Midnight Mass Tour they’re bringing, which goes through the end of March, will be no different. Make sure to get your tickets for what should be a sold-out show! And lastly, if you’ve yet to hear of Amtrac, this is definitely a show to make it to: The multi-talented artist will be delivering one of his driving, funk-filled DJ sets at Bang Bang on Feb. 26. Accompanied by Hotel Garuda, it’ll be a night guaranteed to leave you a sweaty mess from all the dancing.
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That’s it for now, stay posted as March is already warming up with plenty of dance opportunities on and off the dance floor!
February's EDM highlights
- Feb. 6: Gaslamp Quarter Mardi Gras ft. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Minnesota, Mix Master Mike, and more
- Feb. 6: "In Da Hoody 4: A DNB Experience" ft. Madam Filth (location TBA)
- Feb. 8: Organized Grime 6 Year Anniversary feat: Clash of the Titans @ AC Lounge
- Feb. 9: JAUZ: "The Friendzy Tour" at Bassmnt
- Feb. 11: 3LAU at Omnia
- Feb. 11: Tycho DJ set at Bang Bang
- Feb. 14: LED Anniversary V ft. Showtek, Dotcom, Ookay, Shaun Frank and more at Valley View Casino Center
- Feb. 19: LOUDPVCK at Fluxx
- Feb. 20: Dzeko & Torres at Omnia
- Feb. 20: SD Union Secret Sessions: Total Science (location TBA)
- Feb. 21: Keys N Krates: "Midnight Mass Tour" at House of Blues
- Feb. 26: Amtrac and Hotel Garuda at Bang Bang
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.
