In Bed By Ten: Behind The Dance Party

One of the hardest parts of going out at night is that you have to go out at night. One of the many victims of adulthoods is the dance party, an event typically attended by the college crowd– not because the parties stop being fun, but because being out at 2AM just isn’t feasible when there are pets and babysitters involved.

Enter Kelly Beall and Matthew Buchholz, the co-founders of Pittsburgh’s In Bed by Ten dance parties, which recently celebrated their 1-year anniversary at Spirit Lounge in Lawrenceville. In Bed by Ten promises to get you home at a reasonable time (if you want) without sacrificing the energy and fun of a late-night gathering.

Buchholz, a DJ who left Brooklyn in 2008 to come to Pittsburgh, has been kicking the idea of a new type of dance party around for some time but hadn’t found New Yorkers to be as receptive.

“[In Bed by Ten] really solidified when I was on the Commonwealth Press Beer Barge with Kelly Beall from Design Crush. I DJ’d on several of the barges, which always ended in a dance party from 8-9pm while the boat was on the river. People absolutely loved it, and loved that they could be at a dance party but weren’t out until 1 or 2 am. Kelly and I started talking about ideas.”

A year later and In Bed by Ten has proved successful, growing from an idea for Buchholz and his friends to an anticipated event by many around the city.

“It’s turned into something where we don’t even know the majority of people there.”

Having tapped into a surprisingly fertile market, Buchholz and Beall have made sure to give back as the parties have become bigger.

“Since our second event in June 2015, we’ve donated money from our event to a local charity. It’s an idea we had because both Kelly and I wanted to find a way to give back to our community on a regular basis. It’s also a great way for us to meet and work with new people and groups.”

Part of reaching new people has included age groups that had previously abandoned the dance clubs.

“Because it’s early, people aren’t usually wasted, and it’s a fun, safe space where people don’t feel harassed. It’s also a place where we span all ages, as opposed to encouraging just younger people to come. We want everyone to come!”

Whether people are looking to have fun while keeping responsibilities or avoiding the drama of the late-night scene, trying to be in bed at a reasonable time, or just have an urge to enjoy good music any time of day, In Bed by Ten is a success that Matthew Bochholz can see growing even more.

“Moving forward we’re looking at ways to expand into different cities; we’ve had a lot of interest from other areas, and we think it could be great to take this to a bigger scale,” Buchholz says. “But we’ll keep doing it in Pittsburgh too!”