Funk/Soul Night in New York Next Weekend?

December 1, 2022 7:16 AM

This London Explorer Girl will be exploring New York City for a long weekend next weekend (Thurs - Mon). Looking for a spot of dancing, ideally a funk/soul night - any night of my stay. Basically I'm after some funky music with good vibes. I'm not LGBT+ but open to anywhere with nice atmosphere! Staying in Brooklyn but ok to travel by metro. Know a good spot?

I found this previously, but it's from quite a long time ago! I'm checking the links out but I'd like something more current.

posted by london explorer girl to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

i do not go out and dance and don't have a personal recommendation butttt someone on another message board i'm on recently asked for dancing recs - these were all recommended as fun places with dancing or live music - they might be a good place to start your searching, i'm sure their websites or instas will have more info on what they have going on next weekend. good luck!
Paul’s casablancas
Tribeca grand / Roxy hotel 
Marie’s crisis
Little ways 
Le poisson rouge 
Butterfly solo 
Mr purple
The Winslow
Press lounge 
Beauty and Essex
Arthur’s tavern 
New blue
Roxy hotel in Tribeca 
Paul’s Casablanca 
Patent cafe 
The Garrett in West village
The Box
Gospel
posted by monster_a at 7:29 AM on December 1, 2022

The above list is a little odd. Most of these places are bars or restaurants that are unlikely to have a cabaret license. Places among them that might have dancing are in italics:
- Marie's Crisis is a singalong piano bar
- Little Ways is a restaurant
- Le Poisson Rouge might have some evenings of interest, although not sure I'd call any of it funk/soul
- Butterfly SoHo is a cocktail lounge
- Mr. Purple is a rooftop lounge
- The Winslow is a self-described "gin bar"
- The Press Lounge is a rooftop lounge
- Arthur's Tavern is a jazz bar
- NuBlu is a jazz bar
- The Roxy SoHo has several venues, including:
---- a jazz bar
---- a jazz performance venue
---- a cocktail bar
---- Paul's Casablanca, a nightclub with dancing
- Patent Cafe is a coffee bar
- The Garret is a cocktail bar
- The Box is a bar-cum-performance space that may sometimes include dancing
- The late night lounge at Gospel may be worth looking into, although I don't think it's geared for dancing

Some possible recommendations:
- Groove
- Retroclubnyc
posted by slkinsey at 8:12 AM on December 1, 2022

House of Yes in Bushwick
Check out music venues for funk/soul bands:
-Music Hall of Williamsburg
-Webster Hall
-Terminal 5
-Brooklyn Steel
-Brooklyn Made
-Littlefield
-Elsewhere
-Bowery Ballroom
-Rockwood
posted by jilloftrades at 10:47 AM on December 1, 2022

Well I've got a few excellent dance things on my calendar for this weekend, but nothing big next weekend. Credentials: I go out dancing most weekend to funk/soul/disco/house etc. It can be hard to find consistently as a lot of the current dance music scene is very techno-heavy. Note I don't know much about Manhattan spots or bars where there happens to be good music; I'm a club rat at heart.

Sat the 10th a friend and killer DJ (Lovie) is playing at this listening bar called Eavesdrop, worth a reservation for cute drinks and great music. Definitely funk and soul and etc. Not much dancing I think, though, given the space. link

House of Yes next weekend will be okay … it's quite the scene and can get very young and chaotic. If you go I'd recommend the friday event; tedd patterson does great classic disco and house.

Mad Tropical in Bushwick is good every weekend night for funk and soul and related. Very consistent. Still kinda young and v straight but the space is great and the music is A+.

I'll keep my ears open for more options. I may know more closer to the weekend, too.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:26 PM on December 1, 2022

great list from wemayfreezet!

perhaps also worth having a look at the schedule over at public records its also a great place for lunch or dinner in case it's near where you are staying :)
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:27 PM on December 1, 2022

Thanks everyone - in the end I was planning on going to Mad Tropical but the jetlag closed my eyes and my dancing dreams were over :(
posted by london explorer girl at 1:51 AM on January 4, 2023