I’ve often heard that there isn’t enough to do in the District. Well if there is one thing that this town has an overabundance of, it’s DJ nights. Thankfully, we at AON are here to help you wade through the crowds, by highlighting some of our preferred DJ night options and under the radar venues that we dig and think you should know about. The criteria is pretty simple, it’s gotta be different and it’s gotta be good.

When Sockets CDR head hancho, Sean Peoples–aka FFFF’s and 1/2 of Hand-Fed Babies–and his friend Patrick White decided to start Fatback earlier this year, they set out to throw an event that was “reminiscent of a good house party.” There are a good number of DJ nights that play funk, soul, r&b, and disco, but Sean and Patrick wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just another dance night. The focus was more on the interaction between the crowd and the DJs.

“We’re all about feeding off of the energy of the people who come out and dance,” says Sean. “It’s so much fun because the folks who come out and dance make Fatback. It’s a really fun give and take.” This is readily apparent as they make sure that the turntables are always down on the ground where the dancers are.

Fatback has now grown from two DJs to an entire collective of seven (Philippe Chetrit, Danny Harris, KC Higgins, Michael Miller, and Pete Welsch). The Fatback DJs are getting down again this Friday, October 17 at Red Lounge (2013 14th St., NW). Check out their new mix. The track selection is reminiscent of Petey Greene’s DC–where the songs are blaring on a hot, swampy, DC weekend afternoon, when the BBQ has been fired up for an impromptu block party. Check out the track listing here.