Sammy Virji Turns a Sears Lot into a Smile Factory
If you’ve paid even passing attention to dance music in 2025, you know that Sammy Virji is exporting UKG joy at stadium scale—and yes, he already did the thing at Coachella this April, slotting the Sahara with the kind of sing-along garage that converts the curious into lifers.
Last Saturday, Virji brought the sunshine to a humbler patch of Los Angeles: the Rio Vista Lot across from the Historic Sears Building in Boyle Heights—an open-air rectangle of concrete and charisma that feels smaller than most Framework builds, but punched far above its weight once the first drop hit. Framed by the Art Deco tower that once shipped America its catalog dreams, the scene had the sweet whiff of civic myth-making—and more than a little pyro and a few fireworks to underline the point. (If you want the receipts, Framework’s photo gallery has the sweat and confetti frozen midair.)
@lifeofrellik It’s virji isn’t it?? #sammyvirji #losangeles #historicsearsbuilding #iguesswerenotthesame
The runway for Virji’s arrival belonged to DJ BORING and Conducta—a smart pairing that set up a night of contrasts. Boring kept the stage lights dialed down to “is the dimmer broken?” (maybe intentionally), making his lo-fi-leaning house feel like a basement rave that wandered into the night air.
Virji took it from there with the confidence of a headliner who knows exactly why people showed up: to feel good and move better. His catalog is built for that—happy, groovy, shoulder-loose dance songs that land cleanly on first listen and get stickier with every chorus. The evening threaded through recent staples and sing-backs: the evergreen “If U Need It,” Skepta-charged “Cops & Robbers,” the rubbery snap of “Daga Da,” and the warm rush of “Find My Way Home.” Across festivals this summer, those records have been anchors—and in L.A., they did what they always do: pulled strangers into a single rhythm.
@user194748937392 @Sammy Virji in #la
There’s also a new chapter unfolding. Virji’s sophomore album Same Day Cleaning lands September 19 with a guest list that reads like a UK bass family tree—Skepta, Giggs, Flowdan, MJ Cole, Tuff Jam, plus house heavyweights such as Chris Lake. The latest single, “925,” co-built with Lake, is a fluorescent sigh of relief from the workweek—exactly the kind of breezy hook that turns a parking lot into a chorus. If the phones that went up during that synth riff are any indication, the record’s rollout is already writing itself.
Production-wise, Framework did what Framework does: found a spot with a story and staged a party that lets the skyline sit in the mix. This summer alone they’ve bounced from California Plaza to Exposition Lawn to Chinatown’s Gin Ling Way, a curatorial flex that makes the city feel new again—like discovering a side door to your own backyard. The Sears lot might be cozier than some of those canvases, but it makes for a sweet dance floor.
@_thugnastyneil SAMMY WAS A VIBE LAST NIGHT 🔥🪩 #searsbuilding #fyp
Check out the rest of Sammy’s tour dates below when he comes to your city!
Sat, Sep 13 — Denver, CO — Civic Center Park — Tickets // Sat, Oct 4 — Austin, TX — Austin City Limits Music Festival — Tickets // Thu–Sun, Oct 30–Nov 2 — Live Oak, FL — Suwannee Hulaween — Tickets // Fri, Oct 31 — New Orleans, LA — Fright Night at Metro — Tickets // Sat, Nov 1 — Atlanta, GA — District — Tickets // Wed, Nov 5 — Philadelphia, PA — Franklin Music Hall — Tickets // Thu, Nov 6 — Boston, MA — Roadrunner — Tickets // Fri, Nov 7 — Montreal, QC — MTELUS — Tickets // Sat, Nov 8 — Toronto, ON — HISTORY — Tickets // Thu, Nov 13 — Columbus, OH — KEMBA Live! — Tickets // Fri, Nov 14 — Chicago, IL — Radius — Tickets // Sat, Nov 15 — Detroit, MI — Russell Industrial Center — Tickets
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