Backyard Party Ramps Up as Pasadena’s newest Music venue

When I walked through the small front office and into the main room, I knew something was different. This didn’t feel like a “first show” at a DIY space. The lighting was sharp, the sound was dialed. The small crowd was made up of friends hugging, parents grabbing folding chairs and slices from Prime Pizza, and kids in band tees slid straight to the front by the stage (or the back, for that type). It felt more like stumbling into an all-ages speakeasy in an industrial park under the 210 freeway than a Hollywood club or corporate rock venue. The space itself is an industrial warehouse with concrete floors, clean white walls - a literal blank slate in a beige business park a few blocks from the Rose Bowl. From the outside, you’d never know that an important element of LA’s music culture was both forming and being carried forward just on the other side of the metal roll-up door.

Backyard Party (BYP for those already in the know) is the latest move from Altadena Musicians, a non-profit organization founded by musician and composer Brandon Jay, which has been putting instruments back into people’s hands who lost everything in the Eaton fires. Now they’ve claimed a permanent home in Pasadena. It’s a room with a stage (more on that later) and PA, sure, but it’s also growing into a free music store with vinyl records, guitar and recording gear and more, all donated, a recording space, and a workshop spot where you can print a zine or learn to burn a silkscreen or sew a patch onto your jacket. It feels like a headquarters for whoever’s ready to get their hands dirty and create.

And here’s the thing: it’s all ages. Not in the sense of “for kids,” but in the sense of that it’s open. Under-21s finally have somewhere on the east side of LA to play and watch music without being sidelined by the bar crowd or crazy ticket prices. Older punks, parents, and scene-lifers fit in just as well. BYP held an invite-only show on September 26th to break in the new space for around 65 friends, family, and musicians. Their first full-band punk show is on October 10th, followed by constant programming of music and events on the calendar throughout the rest of the year.

A Stage on Wheels, A Room That Works

The venue’s temporary stage is literally a trailer wagon pulled into place and lit surprisingly well. Quirky? Absolutely. But it provided some Instagrammable moments and meant there wasn’t a bad view anywhere in the room. The intimacy of the space didn’t feel cramped. It felt intentional, like every square foot mattered. The mix was clean, and the room carried every note. You could feel the energy bounce between performer and audience without losing anything to distance. For a soft opening, that’s a hell of a head start.

First Sounds

The decidedly chill opening night lineup leaned appropriately young. Paige Soto (daughter of Cesar Soto of Ministry) set the tone early, her voice cutting through the room with all of the teen angst and emotion one would expect - and then some. Elise Lamond followed up with an inspired and delicate cover of the Smiths’ “Back To The Old House” - a song that when in the context of everything that’s happened in the Altadena community, takes on an entirely new meaning. Next up were Sadie Denver and her Danish cousin, Astrid Pedersen, who literally came straight from LAX to perform! You’d never know it though, as their harmonies soared and melted together as if they’d been performing together for years, not minutes.

Gilrjockey, (Gillian Chamberlain), played a set of somber and intense songs that brought the room to a reverent still - with every attendee locked in to her every word, moan, growl, whisper, and shout. She’s a quickly rising talent on the LA scene that we should all keep a close eye on. Sydney Yates officially broke in the venue’s new (donated) piano, Valentine, with a short set of soulful covers. Sydney’s inspiring personal story was recently shared on Altadena Musicians’ Instagram - check it out.  Next up was RKT (son of prodigious punk chronicler Bryan Ray Turcotte of the Punk Rock Museum), who showed he’s carrying a fire of his own with a solo set that was full of power and softness; and Mae Mae closed the night with an otherworldly performance of her intricate and perfectly performed finger-style spacey folk songs. Nobody on the bill felt like an “opener.” Everybody owned their moment. Seeing them all back to back was an unexpected showing of force for the ‘soft opening’ of a DIY space. We’ll see if future bills pack the same amount of talent into such a small window.

Girljockey plays a solo set at the opening of Backyard Party in Pasadena, CA

By the end of the night, it was obvious: Backyard Party isn’t just giving a stage to up-and-comers. It’s giving a nascent music scene a home base.

Altadena and Pasadena have all the right elements to become the next hotbed of American music.

The story is already there: communities rebuilding and redefining themselves. The history is rich, from Van Halen’s early shows to legendary recording studios tucked in the foothills and early fanzine favorite, Flipside. The means are here too, with musicians, writers, and artists priced out of Hollywood but refusing to quit. And now, with Backyard Party and a handful of other new spaces taking shape (The Balcony, Pio Pico, Sade), young artists have several platforms to find their voices and tell their stories.

Every scene that ever blew up — Seattle in the nineties, Athens in the eighties — started with exactly this combination. Pasadena’s turn feels overdue and imminent.

Behind The Curtains (which there aren’t any of)

Backyard Party is being driven by Sandra Denver and Matt Chait — names you’ll want to remember if you don’t know them already. Denver’s been throwing banger backyard parties under the moniker “Alta/Pasa” since early ‘25 to bring the community together in various backyards around the area - including a legendary show where the bands played on a half-pipe, which she’s doing again on October 25th. Matt spent more than a decade at AAA Electra 99, a legendary Orange County all-ages venue that gave a whole generation a place to belong and launched several now-famous artists, such as The Garden. (Editor’s note: AAA Electra 99 was founded and run for 16 years by none other than InSpite’s own Dick Slaughter, then known as Richard Johnson). He’s run the board and stage at countless venues in OC, LA, and NY, and is assembling a killer modular sound and stage setup for this new venue with the support of JBL, Spectraflex, Studio Doctors, and others.

“Having a place like this when I was a teenager made all the difference. It kept me busy, out of trouble, and created friendships that I still have nearly 30 years later,” Chait told us. “Now we have the opportunity to pay it forward and keep the DIY spirit alive for the next wave.”

He and Denver see Backyard Party in exactly the same light: a chance to hand the mic, literally and figuratively, to whoever’s ready to step up next.

So, what is next?

The venue’s October and November calendars are already starting to fill up with punk, jazz, rockabilly, comedy, quiz nights, movie nights, car shows, and workshops. Bands and promoters should reach out to  hello@backyardparty.org or DM on Instagram @backyardpartyla to lock in a date.

The space is new, but it already feels necessary. If you’re local, go. If you’re further out, follow, donate, send gear, and help spread the word. Spaces like this don’t last without people showing up.