Webster Hall's Girls & Boys Party is Getting a $1 Million Facelift

Walking around New York City's East Village on a Friday night can feel like going on a safari tour. Over in the corner bars, watch the Duke frat brothers performing their mating rituals. Look up at the trust-funders in their shiny townhouses. Watch out, the NYU undergrads are stampeding! In this wild wasteland, the Girls & Boys party at Webster Hall is like the communal watering hole where everyone can converge, shake their bodies free of the previous week's stress… maybe meet a new mate or two.

Of course, standing in a line that juts into the movie theater next door in order to immerse yourself in a reliably sweaty and packed rager isn't for everyone. But if you can brave Webster Hall's infamously dour bouncers, the Friday night dance party has become one of the city's most reliable spots to catch the next wave of dance music—with 2,000 of your closest friends. Practically every dance music superstar, including A-Trak, Justice, Disclosure, and Calvin Harris have graced Webster Hall's marquee. In fact, Skrillex, Deadmau5, Kygo, Dillon Francis, Porter Robinson, and Tchami all had their breakout shows at Girls & Boys .

The secret to Girls & Boys' ability to spot tomorrow's headliners is the power trio who founded the party: Kenny Schachter, the co-president of Webster Hall, Thomas Dunkley of longtime New York promoting team GBH, and Alex English, who doubles as their resident DJ. This year, as Girls & Boys turns six, the team decided to give the party a major facelift—including a million-dollar L'Acoustics Kara sound system and a LED light wall. Both will be revealed at the kickoff party this Friday, headlined by the French gangsta house duo Amine Edge & Dance and DJ EZ, a pioneer of UK garage. "It will still be the Girls & Boys you know and love. We are just making it better," explains Dunkley.

With a line-up for the fall that includes Laidback Luke, Keys N Krates, Rusko, Loudpvck, Goldroom, and the New York debut of Robin Schulz, Girls & Boys is renewing their commitment to being a platform to introduce dance music to a wider audience. "Amine Edge & Dance with DJ EZ is a real nice night we are excited for. We've been fans of the G-house sound for a little while now and Amine Edge & Dance are the biggest guys in the scene," explains Dunkley of the emerging genre that puts a gangsta rap twist on deep house. "It was not an easy bill to put together—but so worth the hassle."

Girls & Boys takes place in the grand ballroom of one of New York's most storied venues (rumor has it Al Capone once owned Webster Hall). Its vintage facade, high ceilings, and winding staircases give the party an undeniable atmosphere, and the weekly party is only adding to the venue's century-and-half of history. In the twenties, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Scott Fizgerald were regulars at Webster Hall's hedonistic soirees. In the fifties and sixties, because of its killer acoustics, the hall became a recording venue where Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, and Frank Sinatra all laid down tracks. In the eighties, the venue even housed the Ritz, where Tina Turner, Prince, and the Pretenders all got their starts. When the Ballinger Brothers bought Webster Hall in 1992, it began a new chapter. Today, Girls & Boys has undeniably carved out its place in the city's electro and EDM scenes.

Despite the changes Girls & Boys party is making this fall, artists relations manager Laura Bo insists that its core is staying the same. "We are going back to our roots. It will still be the party you know and love, but you'll fall in love all over again. We have a few surprises in store."

Whitney Mallett is a writer in New York and a tweeter of good puns - @WhitneyMallett

Bonus: Because we like you, and you like to party, we're giving away two VIP passes to Webster Hall's Girls & Boys party every Friday night for a year, plus a table for six people on your birthday. Enter the contest below to win.