Brooklyn's Free Music Event Combines Culture With Community

BED-STUY, NY — On Friday night in Bed-Stuy, a small Brooklyn café will become something rarer than a club and more durable than a party: a room organized around movement, history and community.

Peachfuzz, a dance party series curated by DJ and host Tyler Kpakpo, makes its debut Friday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the REP Music Café, 450 Nostrand Ave., with free entry for those who RSVP. The name suggests softness, but the intention is clear and unapologetic, Kpakpo said.

“If you don’t want to dance or if you’re too cool to dance, do not come to this party,” Kpakpo said, laughing. “I’m serious, though.”

Kpakpo described Peachfuzz as an effort to build community in a city where connection can feel elusive.

For him, dance music has always been the fabric of social infrastructure, weaving together shared rhythm and collective release. The party, he said, is about finding people drawn to the same sources of joy and creating space for them to gather.

Mohammad Rafiq, who moved to Bed-Stuy from Northport on Long Island in November after taking on a new career, said dance culture can pave the way for newcomers into the city: one night at a time.

“Dance events are how I’ve met some of the people who make me feel truly connected to the city and culture,” Rafiq said. “These places, where the vibe is just to have fun, can help you find your soul tribe.”

Musically, Peachfuzz anchors itself in the underground: drawing from disco’s overlooked corners. Attendees can expect Afrobeat, rare-groove jazz, Latin records, afrofunk, house, gospel, soul and R&B. The selections move deliberately between fast and slow— songs that drive the room forward and others that let it breathe.

“It’s about reclaiming dance music across the African diaspora,” Kpakpo said.

The playlist spans decades, pulling from the 1970s through the present, treating older records not as museum pieces but as living music. It’s an approach that reflects a lineage often flattened by mainstream dance floors, where genre lines are blurred and history is compressed, he said.

The REP Music Café, a neighborhood spot known for live music and community events, offers an intimate room rather than a cavernous club, encouraging proximity and participation.

The kitchen will remain open throughout the night, serving empanadas and other appetizers, including alcoholic drinks. Attendees also must be over 21 years old to enter. DJ sets throughout the night will be handled by DONIS, BENDITO and Kpakpo himself, whose selections favor feeling over spectacle.

Co-owner of the REP Music Café, Terry Wright described the space as an “incubator for Bed-Stuy’s creative soul,” and serves as a third place for people to gather without having to spend a lot of money.

The café is currently seeking $50,000 through a fundraising campaign to stabilize its finances, citing rising rent, utilities and operating costs. The funds would be used to cover backlogged expenses, hire an operations manager and continue developing its backyard space for community programming

"It's a cultural hub that serves as an event space, bar and cafe for people to find community," Events Coordinator Tyra Bolling, professionally known as Tyra B., said.

Entry to the Peachfuzz event is free. More information and RSVP details are available here.