Just a few weeks before the COVID-19 shutdowns started, my wife Liz and I took our 7 and 9 year old daughters, my brother, and his husband to the 50th Anniversary of The Loft, the iconic invitation-only party that contributed to the rise of disco, hip hop, house music, and more. Indeed, when The Loft’s host, David Mancuso, first threw a quasi-legal rent party in his Broadway apartment on Valentine’s Day, 1969, he cast the model for what we today think of as a DJ night or dance party.
Once inside, we almost immediately heard one of the evening’s DJs, Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy, play The O’Jays’ “Family Reunion.” It’s an Loft classic, and for good reason: like most of The Loft’s sound, it centers connection with each other and conveys a sense of love and warmth. Of home.
Though known for its invitation-only door policy, this wasn’t done out of Studio 54-style snobbery. Exclusivity meant safety. Since its founding four months before Stonewall, attendees of The Loft have come from different classes and backgrounds, with about 60% of them being black and 70% gay.
Once you have the different economical groups mixed together, the social progress starts to kick in. You have people from all walks of life coming together. […] We had all kinds of music being played, from one end of spectrum to the other, and people found out that, “Hey, I like Led Zeppelin and I like James Brown. […] People just want to have a good time. They want to feel safe and have a good time. That’s always rule number one for a place, to be safe. David Mancuso, Red Bull Music Academy.
And if it might be exclusive, once inside the ethos of the party is passionately egalitarian.
They don’t sell alcohol or charge for the coat check. A buffet dinner is served early/mid-party and water, lemonade, fruit, and snacks are available throughout the night.
Imagine the most amazing church social you’ve ever been to, except there’s great dance music played on an incredible sound system and the people next to you on the dance floor are a straight 25yo white girl who lives in Manhattan and a 75yo gay black man from Queens and they’re both really kind to your kids.
From the beginning The Loft has been run as a non-profit, with no liquor license. It’s not a nightclub, but a party.
“I wanted a situation where there are no economic barriers, meaning somebody who didn’t eat that day or only has a few dollars in his pocket can eat like a king. […] “There’s no difference if you have a lot of money, or a little.” — David Mancuso, The Guardian.
This is what I find so inspiring about The Loft ethos as Mancuso expressed it: the mindful focus on building positive, diverse communities through music and shared experiences.
The sense of home and fellowship that you have when you’re dancing with those that you love and care for is a profound gift. Mancuso spent the first 6 years of his life in an orphanage, but remembered the nun who cared for him and how she took every opportunity to throw a party for the kids in her care. To give them a sense of home and warmth, of family.
That’s the spirit that I throw my parties in, and what I hope to give to you, too.
