How LA’s underground architects turned courtyards, hangars, and Hollywood Boulevard into dance-floor mythology
When it comes to throwing unforgettable parties, Framework, the LA-based event promoter, has never been short on surprises. Renowned for consistently delivering world-class house and techno DJs alongside a steady stream of rising stars, they’ve meticulously crafted a platform that not only catapults emerging talents into stardom but also deeply satisfies the most discerning underground music enthusiasts.
Their 2025 summer lineup went off with a bang. Gin Ling Way in LA’s Chinatown welcomed Mahmut Orhan, Flight Facilities, and an open-to-close DJ set from Hot Since 82, while their regular venues at LA Exposition Park and Shrine Auditorium hosted two nights of Chris Stussy and Purple Disco Machine, to name just a few highlights.
Now, as fall 2025 unfolds, Framework has released a lineup that’s arguably their strongest yet. Hollywood Boulevard will be closed once again—actually twice—for Brazilian sensation Mochakk (already sold out) and Keinemusik honcho Adam Port, while the legendary Solomun returns to the City of Angels for a season-closing set at Framework’s newest venue, Reframe Studios Outdoors. The rest of the lineup is equally stacked: Maceo Plex returns to Gin Ling Way, superstar Mau P takes over LA State Historic Park for two back-to-back shows (including an open-to-close set), and Jamie Jones‘ Paradise brand lands at the Historic Sears Building. Safe to say, for house music and techno lovers in LA, this fall season is absolutely stacked.
Framework’s calling card isn’t just world-class lineups—it’s their uncanny ability to turn the impossible into the inevitable. Over more than a decade of redefining what a party can be, this LA-based collective has mastered the art of site alchemy, transforming everything from Chinatown courtyards to UNESCO-worthy landmarks into pulsating temples of house and techno. With their fall 2025 season already delivering sold-out shows and upcoming takeovers, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the venues that made Framework legendary.
Below, your definitive ranking of Framework’s most audacious venue transformations—factual, fun, and utterly unforgettable.
10. The Spotlight (Hollywood) + Sound Nightclub (Hollywood) (tied)
Why it’s special: From the underground crucible of Sound—home base of Framework Fridays since their early days—to the velvet-gloss intimacy of The Spotlight, this Hollywood one-two punch showcases the brand’s remarkable range. Sound anchored Framework’s rise with its signature lanterns and the now-iconic Disco Shark, that shark-shaped disco ball that’s become an unofficial mascot. Meanwhile, The Spotlight arrived as a 300-capacity jewel box offering gallery-ready aesthetics without losing the underground soul.
Both venues have been instrumental in featuring world-class DJs and providing a crucial platform for rising stars in house and techno to shine, often serving as stepping stones for artists fresh off Ibiza seasons who are looking to break into the American market.
9. Historic Sears Building – “The Dock at Sears” (Boyle Heights)
Why it’s special: An immense industrial loading dock transformed into a cathedral of techno, The Dock has hosted some of Framework’s most ambitious productions. From Dom Dolla‘s sold-out Halloween spectacular to the recent Innervisions 20th anniversary celebration featuring Âme, Dixon, and Jimi Jules, this concrete expanse offers the closest thing LA has to a Berlin-scale warehouse experience. The building’s soaring ceilings and long sightlines let lasers breathe and bass bloom in ways that smaller venues simply can’t match, which really demonstrates how industrial architecture can amplify the spiritual qualities of underground music, creating moments that feel both massive and intimate.
8. Los Angeles State Historic Park (DTLA)
Why it’s special: This green lung at the edge of Chinatown has become Framework’s open-air canvas, most notably hosting the spectacular Afterlife LA debut with Tale Of Us, Adriatique, and Argy. The park’s natural amphitheater footprint and vast green spaces support cinematic LED displays and drone-friendly skies, creating a rare synthesis of underground aesthetics and festival-grade production without leaving the city grid. Framework’s upcoming two-night takeover with Mau P—including a rare open-to-close set—proves this venue’s versatility in hosting both intimate gatherings and large-scale spectacles. The skyline backdrop doesn’t hurt either, offering those perfect Instagram moments that help spread the underground gospel.
7. Gin Ling Way (Chinatown)
Why it’s special: A lantern-strung courtyard reimagined as an alley rave, Gin Ling Way embodies Framework’s genius for folding LA’s historic texture into the music. Shows here, featuring artists like Hot Since 82 with his open-to-close sets, and the upcoming Maceo Plex and Bedouin performances, create a cinematic intimacy that’s rare for outdoor events. The tight brick walls, low overhangs, and neon spill from surrounding restaurants generate those “how is this even possible?” moments that define great underground experiences.
6. Red Studios Hollywood (ex-Desilu Soundstage)
Why it’s special: When Framework transformed this 100,000-square-foot film soundstage—once home to Lucille Ball’s Desilu Productions—into a mega-club for Duke Dumont, Rampa, and others, they proved that Old Hollywood and warehouse-grade dance music make perfect bedfellows. The towering ceilings, catwalks, and professional rigging points allow for arena-level lighting installations without sacrificing the industrial grit that makes underground music special. It’s the rare venue where production history and laser arrays coexist, creating an atmosphere that feels both nostalgic and futuristic. The space’s natural reverb, originally designed for capturing dialogue, adds an unexpected acoustic dimension to sets.
5. Atlantic Aviation Hangar, Thermal — “Framework in the Desert”
Why it’s special: During Coachella weekend, Framework converts this active airport hangar into a neon-jetway experience that has become the stuff of legend. Dom Dolla, John Summit, deadmau5, Chris Lake—the list of headliners who’ve played these three-night runs reads like a who’s who of contemporary dance music. The surreal juxtaposition of private jets idling nearby while 20-foot truss walls pulse with sound inside creates a sci-fi nightlife experience unlike anything else. Drawing over 14,000 attendees across three nights, this event has become a ritual pilgrimage for artists and fans alike, offering the freedom of headline-level performances away from festival time constraints.
4. Union Station (DTLA)
Why it’s special: LA’s 1939 Beaux-Arts masterpiece becomes a techno cathedral when Framework takes over, most memorably during their “Knee Deep In Los Angeles” showcases. The cognitive dissonance of rail hub by day, rave sanctum by night, turns every drop into pure cinema. Artists consistently rave about the natural reverb and surreal echo of crowd cheers under the celestial ceiling, while attendees experience the rare thrill of dancing in a landmark that usually hosts commuters, not club kids. The technical challenges—transit police, heritage-site protections, overnight load-ins—make the payoff even sweeter, creating shows that feel genuinely once-in-a-lifetime.
3. Savaya (Uluwatu, Bali)
Why it’s special: Perched 100 meters above the Indian Ocean, Savaya represents Framework’s international ambitions manifested. Their curated programs here have featured Black Coffee, Monolink, and SG Lewis, against limestone cliffs and infinity-blue horizons that defy belief. Think of it as Framework’s vision exported: the same attention to sonic and visual detail that defines their LA events, but with a breathtaking backdrop that elevates house and techno into something approaching the sublime. Their New Year’s “Law of the Jungle” programming, stacking world-class talent across 48 hours of cliff-top euphoria, demonstrates how the Framework aesthetic translates across cultures and continents. It’s become a must-visit destination for house and techno lovers vacationing in Bali.
2. Hollywood Boulevard (Street Shutdown)
Why it’s special: Shutting down LA’s most iconic street for house and techno block parties represents Framework’s audacity at its peak. Fisher & Chris Lake’s “Under Construction” drew approximately 12,000 people; subsequent takeovers featuring Michael Bibi and upcoming shows with Adam Port and Mochakk have turned the Walk of Fame into the Walk of Bass. Historic marquees provide backdrop as lasers ricochet off Hollywood and Vine creating the most quintessentially “LA” electronic music spectacle imaginable. The multi-agency coordination required—LAPD, FilmLA, StreetsLA—makes these events bureaucratic marathons, but the result is pure magic: DJs literally raving on a movie set while tourists and locals unite on the same dance floor.
1. Yuma Tent (Coachella)
Why it’s special: Since 2013, Framework has curated Coachella’s black-box not-so-speakeasy, the Yuma—an air-conditioned minimalist sanctuary where underground heroes become festival legends. It will be a long list to list all the artists that have graced this stage where techno and house music blasts from start to finish. Artists have used this stage as a launching pad to global recognition. What makes Yuma special isn’t just the artists or the cutting-edge PK Sound system, but the paradox it represents: an authentically sweaty, focused club experience nestled inside a mega-festival. The hypnotic light shows and immersive atmosphere make festival attendees lose track of time once they enter this desert sanctuary.
The Disco Shark migrated to this tent from Sound, and presides over sets that feel both intimate and massive, creating a mythic room that festival veterans plan entire weekends around. It’s Framework’s most sustained influence on dance music culture, proving that underground aesthetics can thrive even in the most mainstream contexts.
Did we miss anything?
From lanterns to jetways, Framework’s venue history proves that setting truly shapes story. With their fall 2025 season already delivering moments like the sold-out Solid Grooves event and Solomun’s upcoming debut at the new Reframe Studios Outdoors, Framework continues writing the handbook for transforming impossible spaces into dance-floor mythology.
Next time you find yourself at a Framework event, take a moment between drops to appreciate not just the music, but the alchemy that made it possible. After all, anyone can book a nightclub—it takes true vision to turn a Chinatown alley into a cathedral.
By Eric B. Thornton | Edit by Bernadette