Last Saturday Dance: Kyle Garner 🐳🩵

If you’ve never heard of LSD, don’t worry—that’s partly the point. LSD, or Last Saturday Dance, is an invite-only underground party carried out in the hallowed halls of Greenpoint’s Light & Sound Design, a space crafted by Kyle Garner and the community that orbits his gravitational force. It’s not just a venue; it’s a third-space portal built on a frequency, a feeling, and a community.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary on March 29, 2025, LSD is a protected space where its community still honors the dance floor as a sacred space. It honors the dancer just as legendary spirit-led movements like David Mancuso’s The Loft, Larry Lavan’s Paradise Garage and Takaya Nagase, Douglas Sherman, and Yuji Kawasaki’s Joy. It honors lineage, the integrity of what came before. It’s dance as devotion.

Every month, just before the event, a chosen few will receive an email sharing the lineup, the delicious menu of home-cooked meals by Eli, and a heartfelt message from the frontlines of community-building. These emails remind us of why we gather. Kyle, a soft-spoken yet willful figure, embodies the integrity, playfulness, and sincerity of this space. A man who knows that integrity lives not just in a perfectly tuned, hand-built sound system but in how a space holds people. How it feeds them. How it protects the dance floor. How it becomes an ecosystem of care.

In the kitchen, there’s always something warm coming out of the oven. People catch up over real food—never overpriced drinks. There’s no bar, just an honor-system fridge filled with kombucha and coconut water. Kyle’s strong tea is always flowing. You pour your own. You do the dishes. You wipe the counter. You care for each other. It’s unpoliced, yet fully respected.

The party doesn’t stop at 2am. Or 4am. LSD goes until sunrise—and sometimes well past that. 8am is normal. The sky changes color, the music shifts, and the energy softens. And still, the dance continues.

Nothing about LSD is trendy—and that’s exactly what makes it sacred. For ten years, LSD has held space in New York where it takes everything from you to survive and in one night, LSD gives it all back. It’s not just surviving—it’s thriving and has become our anchor. This conversation is just a small blip in the richly textured tapestry of art, design, organization, music, and community that Kyle shares with the world. Yet, it's a dense blip that sheds some light on the history and intentions behind this hidden cultural utopia.

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Richie: I’m excited to finally have this conversation on record. It’s been too long—two eternal cosmic souls who believe gatherings and businesses should be run differently!

Kyle: Not just should— they absolutely can. it all works. I’m in the process of figuring out how and why it works (and when it doesn't). My thesis at Huron is to continue pushing, experimenting, and tracking all the data. You know that if you do something in New York for five years, that's a win; get to ten, and you're lucky. You got ten out of Magick City, which I’d be surprised to hear you expected from the beginning.

Richie: I had zero expectations. I went in without a clear vision or a plan. Community architects say you need a vision or you’ll veer off track. But I didn’t build it that way. What about you—did LSD have a clear vision from the start?

Kyle: I wanted to throw a party every month. Mainly, I needed a place to keep the sound system—I was tired of hauling it around, setting up, tearing down. I wanted to build something cumulative, where each month we could improve. That was my mission: finding a home base for slow, creative growth while embracing the ephemerality of NYC.

Richie: It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff. Given the city’s challenges, what drew you to New York in the first place?

Kyle: You mentioned that the city gives us every reason not to do it. But also, all the reasons to.  The energy and cultural lineage here are why I do this in New York. I grew up here, spent time on the West Coast, and returned in 2006. This place has always felt like home. I wanted to share my vision and show that you can make it work if you stay open and flexible. Rigidity kills creativity, and I find that’s the work: being open to what the universe tells you. During a lease negotiation, I thought about walking away, but I received clear signals from the universe to continue.

Richie: I love how tuned in you are. For those unfamiliar with New York’s underground dance scene, what makes LSD special?

Kyle: First and foremost, it’s community-based. The energy here is a product of many people’s input. It’s clear that it’s not a singular vision; it’s a place for people to come, try out new things, and experiment with ways of bringing people together. This is central to everything that happens here—community and collaboration. It’s technically a business, but I maintain it to understand what it really takes to run a space like this. I’ve thought about formalizing it as a collective, but for now it’s what I call an “informal collective.” Food and music are at the center—sometimes that includes yoga, acupuncture, meditation—but food and music are the anchors.

Richie: That’s elegantly put, especially considering the diversity of experiences. Was basic survival part of what inspired you to start the LSD parties?

Kyle: Absolutely. A lot of it had to do with you and Magick City. I played a set at a birthday party there, and I realized, “Late Saturday Dance” was a cool name. I thought, “What if there was just a party once a month?”. I’d always wanted to do a monthly version of Deep Trouble, the party that preceded Last Saturday Dance. When you opened Magick City and brought in that sound system, it was clear I wanted to do this.

Richie: Amazing.

Kyle: That felt really good. After a few parties, I found a new spot and started building my own sound system. My partner Kellen arranged for our friends to chip in for my first pair of Klipschorns as a birthday gift. The momentum was building, but throwing the party became labor-intensive. We did it for years until COVID hit, which gave us all perspective. But even then, I was thinking about the next party. We ended up throwing one in a metal fabrication shop in Gowanus.

Richie: Yeah, I went to that.

Kyle: It was a dangerous space, loaded with sharp metal corners. But that summer, when nobody had partied in a year, it was a huge success. After that, I thought the next time I set up this party might be the last. I started seriously looking for a permanent home because I didn’t want to end it. Then, the Craigslist gods blessed me with 251 Huron Street. I wanted something raw and creative, where we could mess with the space. I walked in and thought, “Jesus. This is amazing.”

Richie: You really saw it.

Kyle: You were there! I brought you to see it the second time.

Richie: I felt it. If you could get people up the staircase, you were good.

Kyle: A huge part of the work is in the awareness—right? You follow the thread, but stay present. That space was a blank canvas, loud and clear, where ideas could flourish.

Richie: It still feels aligned.

Kyle: I’ve done parties where the relationship didn’t feel good, and that’s tough. I’m shouldering the responsibility of this space, but I’m surrounded by people who get it and help hold it down.

Richie: Everyone in this community feels the love you’re sharing. You just hosted Reggie Watts and are nearing LSD’s 10th anniversary. What do you envision for LSD and your family in the next five or ten years?

Kyle: I hope this project keeps taking unexpected turns. My time on Huron Street may be limited—unless someone buys this building with me, I don’t see it as permanent. But I’m open to possibilities. As long as I’m in New York, some version of this will continue because I can’t imagine not doing it. There’s so much spiritual survival in this for me.

Richie: Love that.

Kyle: Having Reggie here was another moment of awareness. By staying committed, we attract the right people. The goal is to keep connecting with those who get it. Trust the energy. Trust that the resources will come. The worse it gets out there, the more people crave spaces like this. I’m amazed by how much is happening in New York that I wasn’t aware of before. These are my comrades—people fighting to keep the community intact.

Richie: You’ve become a real pillar of this community. Thank you for this interview—and for LSD.

Kyle: It’s a two-way street. Game recognizes game.

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If you’re lucky, you’ll catch Kyle, Kellen, and baby Fiona hosting any number of wonderfully weird happenings at L&SD. Special recognition goes to Benji, Greg, Vin, Eli, Dead-Eye Dave, Farley, and all the volunteers, attendees, dancers, DJ’s, and organizers for their work on food, operations, and impeccable vibe. I sincerely hope you’ll have the great fortune of experiencing one of Sally’s “Whaleness Flows” or any gathering within this special space, where the communion with an intangible quality that lives within all of us is shared and celebrated with ease and unlimited joy.

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Rich Awn