12 NYC day parties not to miss this summer

Tiki Disco is known for supplying a relaxed, feel-good atmosphere with offerings from a variety of genres including funk, soul, disco and house. Patrons are graced with eight hours of infectious grooves from the Tiki trio, comprised of experienced DJs Andy Pry, Eli Escobar and Lloydski, plus with tickets going for around $10, these events are also some the most affordable in the city.

The Tiki trio harken back to the days of clubbing when the scene wasn’t so DJ-centric. People would go to a club for the type of crowd and the music, not necessarily the star-power, which is an aspect the Tiki parties embody. “They may not know my name but the people know Tiki Disco is a good place to dance”, Andy says.

The casual atmosphere and highly danceable music paired with a diverse crowd makes Tiki a local favorite summertime disco. They’ve been at it for eight seasons now and Tiki fans have become like family, literally, as Andy explains. “People fall in love, and get married, there are even Tiki Disco babies.

You can join the family at Tiki Disco’s bi-weekly Sunday parties at their home base of The Well, plus a few Saturday parties on The Roof at Output. Tiki Disco’s opening party is May 14.

View Tiki Disco's calendar of events here

Since 1998, partygoers have packed the courtyard at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) PS1 in Long Island City to experience lineups with the likes of DJ Premier, Richie Hawtin, Maya Jane Coles, Skrillex and J. Cole.

The Warm Up program, which began as an experiment to broaden and diversify the museum’s audience, has become a platform for innovation and experimentation in both music and visual art. MoMA PS1’s Taja Cheek explains the initiative: “There are special relationships between the artists that are shown in our galleries and the musicians that perform in the courtyard. Like Mark Leckey, whose retrospective at MoMA PS1 just closed, and Jamie xx,who performed at Warm Up in 2012, are two recent examples”.

This summer season the Warm Up will take place in an immersive installation of photoluminescent textiles that transform over the course of a day, courtesy of young architect Jenny Sabin. Each week the team creates unique designs for the stage to suit the upcoming performance with lineups that combine emerging talent with established artists.

The Warm Up season starts on July 1 and runs weekly every Saturday until September 2.

View Warm Up's calendar of events here

ZERO began as many parties often do, quite casually. Rich Hooban of ZERO reveals a bit of the history: “It began as a friend's birthday party in a loft and just organically as friends invited friends it grew immensely”.

Their approach to parties is very friends and family oriented with an eye to forward thinking local and international talent. Past headliners at ZERO include Satori, whose live sets blend instrumentals, world and house music, and Be Svendsen known for his nomadic style of groovy techno.

The crew throws a party once a month and in the summer, they combine themed boat parties, rooftop sessions and curated festival stages to its repertoire. The first of the themed events is the Monte Carlo Boat Celebration, Richard Hooban shared his excitement for the season’s initial soiree: “Monte Carlo is maybe the most fun. Everyone dresses up in burning man meets the red carpet style, funny tuxedos, beautiful dresses, and they turn into the 1% for a few hours”.

But in the same way that parents can’t pick their favorite child, Hooban is just as excited for the Golden Sunset boat party, which is the closing event months away, as well as the popular rooftop Burning Man decompression party. ZERO starts the day party season with Monte Carlo Boat Celebration on June 10.

View ZERO's calendar of events here