The original Bassment party started on the Lower East Side of NYC at a tiny spot called King's Cross. Known as The Slide back in the day, the space was celebrated as one of the first LGBTQ bars in New York City — and it was the perfect home for something new. Tucked down a steep flight of stairs and below sidewalk level, it created a natural sound barrier made for beat-heavy house. Combined with their love for all things bass, the name "Bassment" felt exactly right.

Word spread fast. DJs, artists, and primarily queer locals with like minds found their way down those stairs, and the room filled with the kind of people who show up because they genuinely love the music — not to be seen, but to feel something. That energy, brought by the crowd as much as anyone behind the decks, became the heartbeat of the party. Before long, the space couldn't hold what Bassment had become, and it was time to move.

Enter the Monster, where history would be made. Lineups including Michael Magnan, Carry Nation, W Jeremy, Christy Love, Sammy Jo, Johnny Dynell, Gant Johnson, Rich King, Joe Usher, Austin Downey, Eugene Tambourine, THE Lady Miss Kier, and many more turned the space into something people still talk about. And holding it all together were hosts Edwin "Q-Raider," Ricky Jones, Mykki Blanco, Xander, One-Half Nelson, Celso and Jamil, Adam Hendricks, and more — the people who made every person walking through the door feel like they belonged there.