This past Thursday night I had the opportunity to attend the Bikinis and Martinis event hosted by Yin-Yoni Events in Downtown San Jose. I was told to expect a night of Hard Groove and House music, and I was thoroughly excited. The evening’s lineup also looked super good, with the opener being espurr, followed by ponydony, Sol, and SNAQ.

I don’t usually go to live events on my own, but I did go out by myself this time! Despite this, I had an absolute BLAST and met so many nice people while there!

Yin-Yoni

The entire Bikinis and Martinis event was super fun. I got the chance to talk with the DJs about why they chose to come and perform for the event and I spoke with ponydony about Yin-Yoni.

For both espurr and SNAQ, Bikinis and Martinis was their first Yin-Yoni event that they played. I asked everyone about what made them want to play this particular event, and the prevailing answer was that they wanted to party locally, in San Jose! Sol talked about how there “aren’t a lot of San Jose shows…and there’s not really many places to play here, so any chance [she gets] she really [tries to go]”. espurr talked about how she loves to support local businesses, and both she and SNAQ said that they’re mutuals with ponydony and how that was another reason why they both wanted to come and play Bikinis and Martinis.

Desi, who you’ll know better as ponydony and the owner of Yin-Yoni Events, spoke on why she created her company and what inspired the evening.

“I wanted to create a safe space for everyone. The industry is male-dominated and can be kinda predatory [for artists and attendees], so I wanted to be the person I didn’t have [when I was starting out].”

Yin-Yoni is a local, South Bay company that hosts events in the South Bay, so “you don’t have to travel for a good time”! Desi loves to theme her events and she bases the concepts on “what people are gonna be into”. When planning the event, Desi wanted to “just have a fun girl’s thing” and aimed for something “sexy and fun without sexualization”, hence the Love Island inspiration.

Before you head to a Yin-Yoni Event, Desi just wants people to know that they should “be open to meeting others and building community”. She stressed that not only are Yin-Yoni events about “more than just the music”, but that they’re safe spaces for everyone with “safety and comfortability as priorities”. At her events, she hopes that people will make friends and build community together because she “[takes] a lot of pride in the friends [she’s] built…and [she] wants others to, too”.

Venue

Bikinis and Martinis was hosted at Kaizen Lounge, which is in the heart of Downtown on the corner of South Second and East San Fernando, which is close to not just Lightrail stops, but several public parking lots, which was super great for me since I drove in for the event. Kaizen Lounge is a super nice, upscale venue with a full bar, multiple seated lounge areas, a good-sized dance floor, and a great sound system. Just for the event, there were also 2 featured cocktails: the Miami Ice Tea and the Bikini Martini. The entire event was inspired by Love Island, and Yin-Yoni made sure to keep the theme as immersive as possible, giving attendees the option to dress in theme (“sunnies and swimwear”).

The Lineup

espurr

The evening’s opener, espurr, started the evening off strong with her set and really set the tone for the whole evening. We talked after her set about her music and style of DJ-ing, and she said that this particular evening gave her the opportunity to play something “a little chiller than usual” and she was “[inspired by] the space itself. I really love the lights…the sound system just gave me a lot of energy, so later into my set I kinda dip my toes into more clubbier songs”. Towards the end of her set, she included some Jersey Club and techno before passing the baton to the next DJ.

ponydony

The second DJ of the evening was ponydony, who is also the owner of Yin-Yoni Events! Her set was crafted to be “something fun to fit the vibe [of the theme]” with a focus on House and Bass style. Her sets are often inspired by “music [she’s] currently listening to that lights the fire [in her]”, and her set included lots of fun club hits, including Tinashe’s “No Broke Boys” remix with Disco Lines.

Sol

Kicking off the second half of the evening was Sol. I definitely danced the most during her set. When we spoke about her set for the evening, she said that she was inspired by Hard Groove and House, which were the main genres for the evening, as well as “old-school Funk and Latin Hard Groove” and “high energy”. She was going for “thumpy and groovy…something where you’re moving” during her set, which definitely got the crowd going.

SNAQ

The final DJ of the night was SNAQ, who closed out the evening with a bang. SNAQ told me that they were going for a feeling of “being on a boat, wearing a big hat, while [your] sugar daddy is dying in the hospital” for their set for the evening, and they really delivered! They love to mix “girl pop and rap with house, techno, and hard groove” in their sets, and we got served a huge helping of that during the evening.

Overall, Bikinis and Martinis was a really fun event, filled with people who wanted to show that there are great events in San Jose, even on a Thursday night. If you’re in the area, I hope y’all check out a Yin-Yoni event!

If you want to see more from the DJs, you can find them at their links:

You can find espurr on Instagram at @esp_urr and @ccarissamae.

You can find ponydony on Instagram at @ponydony.

You can find Sol on Instagram at @musicdesol and Soundcloud.

You can find SNAQ on Instagram at @snaq_official and at monthly Momentum Hard Techno events at F8 in San Francisco.

You can also keep up with all current and future Yin-Yoni events on Instagram @yinyoni.events.