The Day Party Everyone in LA Is Talking About: Familiar Faces
- By: Julianne Elise Beffa
Joy, community, and connection…
If you live in LA, New York, or any city with a vibrant party scene, chances are you’ve stumbled across FOMO-inducing Familiar Faces party content. The kind of clips that make you pause mid-scroll, everyone smiling, dancing, and rapping every word to Drake, Tems, or Burna Boy. It’s a mix of energy you can’t fake, and for months I’d been watching from the sidelines. Ever since I moved to LA, I’ve seen friends, peers, and acquaintances posting their monthly highlights from the infamous Familiar Faces party. Last Saturday, I decided enough was enough. It was time to experience it for myself.
The monthly Familiar Faces day party took place at The Beehive. By the time I walked in, it was already buzzing, literally. The courtyard was filled with stylish LA creatives, everyone dressed in a perfectly balanced mix of laid-back cool and bold statement fits. Sundresses floated in the breeze, designer sneakers stepped in sync with the beat, and jewelry gleamed under the afternoon sun.
If you’ve been in LA long enough, you know how easy it is to grow tired of velvet ropes and dark West Hollywood nightclubs. Familiar Faces is the antidote. It’s not about bottle service flexing or gatekeeping a corner booth. It’s about community. It’s about joy. It’s about creating a space where music, dance, and connection aren’t just background noise, they’re the whole point.
And that’s by design.
Familiar Faces was founded in Los Angeles by music producers Owen Barton, Darius Wooten, and Larce Blake, alongside graphic designer Kyrie Davis. The collective wanted to flip the script on who gets to create and profit from nightlife culture. With a mission to increase diversity in event ownership, they set out to design experiences that authentically showcase and celebrate Black culture. What started as a small gathering of 40 friends at General Lee’s in Chinatown has grown into something much bigger: a multi-city cultural movement.
Now, Familiar Faces throws monthly events drawing up to 2,000 guests per city, spanning LA, New York City, Portland, San Diego, Phoenix, Vancouver, and even Las Vegas. Each party is curated with the same intention: to create a safe, high-energy space that feels equal parts reunion and music festival.
Walking into The Beehive, I instantly felt the difference. The team was warm, accommodating, and genuinely excited to welcome guests. I was greeted with smiles, no pretentiousness, no attitude, the exact opposite of the icy “who do you know here?” energy that plagues so many LA events. Later in the night, one of the organizers, Larce, even pulled me behind the DJ booth, where I got to dance and watch the crowd from the DJ’s perspective. From behind the booth, you could really see what makes this party special: the joy rippling through the entire room. It wasn’t just a crowd, it was a community moving as one.
And the soundtrack? Perfection. The DJ lineup was stacked with talent, each bringing their own energy to the day. Rozay set the tone early, pulling the crowd in with a mix of R&B and soulful grooves that had everyone swaying. WaveIQ and Kenway Live kept the momentum climbing, dropping Afrobeats and rap classics that had the courtyard dancing. D.Woo turned things up with dancehall heat, seamlessly blending tracks that made people lose it in the best way possible. Larce and OB, two of the Familiar Faces founders, closed things out with a back-to-back set that felt like a celebration of everything the brand stands for: culture, connection, and pure joy.
One moment everyone was yelling the chorus to Drake’s “Nokia,” and the next, the crowd was moving in sync to Rema. You didn’t just hear the music, you felt it.
The crowd itself is a huge part of the magic. Familiar Faces attracts a mix of artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and people who just want to have a good time. You’ll see stylists dancing next to DJs, filmmakers vibing with designers, and plenty of familiar faces from your own timeline. That’s part of the name’s genius: you’re guaranteed to run into someone you know, or someone you’ll wish you knew.
By the time the sun started to dip, the energy only got stronger. The entire courtyard was one giant dance floor, with people singing, laughing, and embracing like old friends. It felt less like an LA party and more like a block party that just so happened to have some of the best DJs in the city.
Walking out at the end of the night, I finally understood why Familiar Faces has become a phenomenon. It’s more than a party, it’s a cultural reset. In a nightlife scene that too often feels transactional, Familiar Faces is building something sustainable: joy, community, and connection.
If you’ve been lurking from your phone like I was, here’s my advice: stop scrolling, start showing up. You don’t just want to watch Familiar Faces, you want to be part of it.
Don’t miss the next one- check out the lineup of Familiar Faces events on their Instagram!
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