From Battery-Powered Speakers to the Pines Party Main Stage, Joey with the Mustache Comes Full Circle
Joey with the Mustache
Ask Joey with the Mustache how he feels about opening this year’s Pines Party Beach Party, and the answer arrives in a rush: disbelief, gratitude, joy and an almost impossible level of excitement.
Joey began DJing in Fire Island Pines with an itty-bitty controller, a laptop and battery-powered speakers. Now, he will open Pines Party biggest event alongside Rimarkable and Avalon Emerson on that same beach.
Ahead of Pines Party, Sainte Francis caught up with Joey about his musical beginnings, the dance-floor moments that still bring him to tears and what he hopes to create when he steps onto the main stage.
Sainte Francis:
You’ve already had a busy year. What have been some of the highlights of 2026?
Joey with the Mustache:
Oh my God, so much has happened. It is such a privilege that sometimes I have to pull up my photos or calendar to remember what the heck I’ve been doing.
A major highlight was opening for Horse Meat Disco twice, in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The D.C. show was especially meaningful because one of the first times I went out as a newly out queer person, when I was 23, was to a Horse Meat Disco party on U Street.
I heard this fabulous, upbeat music, met all of these queer people and had an incredibly positive experience. It deeply influenced how I think about dance floors and generating joy through music. Opening for them years later was a huge full-circle moment.
Sainte Francis:
What does generating joy on the dance floor mean to you?
Joey with the Mustache:
I try to find vocals or instrumentals that inspire a specific kind of groove. My background is in vocal music, jazz and brass band. I played trombone and tuba, did vocal improvisation and played piano.
When somebody else is grooving in a way that inspires you to groove too and be yourself more authentically, it creates this wonderful positive feedback loop. As a DJ, that is an unbelievable pleasure to witness.
Getting to create that on the Pines Party Beach Party stage is beyond exciting. I don’t know whether there is a word for “looking forward to,” but the most extreme version of that word is how I feel. It is an unbelievable honor.
Sainte Francis:
Take me back to your musical beginnings. How did that background lead you into DJing?
Joey with the Mustache:
I was born in El Paso and raised in Sugar Land, near Houston. I started in boys’ choirs, including the Fort Bend Boys Choir, which was very competitive. Think “Dance Moms,” but boys’ choir.
It taught me about rhythm, harmony and creating music with other people. By my early teens, I was using Finale to create Mozart arrangements and write national anthems for countries that did not exist.
I was also a marching band nerd. Standing on your toes for four hours with a sousaphone is very good for the calves. (laughs)
Years later, I had an out-of-body experience at Berghain, stone-cold sober, for the record. It made me realize a DJ could create transcendental experiences for other people.
Then, during the pandemic, I heard Alexis Tucci play this rich, instrumental set in Fire Island. It brought me back to the rhythms and sounds that inspired me as a closeted queer kid trying to understand myself through musicals, jazz and the music I was making.
At the time, I was pursuing comedy. I was very good at being funny for free, but I was not funny for money. Funny for money is a whole different ballgame. The art did not feel authentic, while music had always felt true to me.
After Alexis’s set, we sat down at six in the morning with wine and dark chocolate, because that is what we do. She asked, “Have you ever thought about DJing?” I hadn’t.
I ordered an itty-bitty controller and had it sent to Fire Island. Within weeks, I discovered how satisfying it felt to build emotion by connecting tracks. I think of sets as complete meals of music.
By the end of the summer, I was taking my laptop, controller and battery-powered speakers onto the beach. Fire Island is a pressure cooker. It forced me to ask early: What music do I love? What do I want to share? How do I build an experience?
Sainte Francis:
That's incredible Was there a moment when somebody told you that you had created one of those transformative experiences?
Joey with the Mustache:
Oh my God, you’re making me cry!
My pride and joy in Fire Island is 5HTP. After one gathering, we were putting the equipment away at three or four in the morning when somebody came up to me in tears and said, “With the music you played and that experience, I think I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
Other people have told me they repaired a relationship on the dance floor. Someone told me they came with a friend who had been considering ending their life that night, but instead chose to be with community. Being able to provide that choice to say yes to connection and yes to other people is what keeps me going. On difficult days, I think about the impact these experiences have had on people.
Pines Party provides that experience for so many people. It was important to the beginning of my Fire Island journey, and I’m delighted to share it with others on the beach.
Sainte Francis:
You’ve played last year’s Pool Party. What did it feel like to be asked to open the Beach Party, and where do you want to take the set?
Joey with the Mustache:
I was like, “Really? Me? What?” I was so excited.
Pines Party is produced by people I respect and trust. Knowing they trust me to start the night feels like such a vote of confidence. Sharing my love for the beach with this audience, on this stage, feels incredibly full circle.
I also think it is important to pay homage to the queer cultures and generations that came before us. I received an Innovator Award from SAGE this year for my work with 5HTP, which was an immense honor, but I felt a little silly because I did not invent music on the beach, y’all. I am standing on the shoulders of giants.
I want to bring my perspective and the sounds inspiring me today, while making sure that whether somebody arrives in their early twenties or late seventies, they know Pines Party is home for them. They can be themselves and get excited for a fabulous night.
I’m also so excited about Rimarkable and Avalon Emerson. I think they are absolutely the bee’s knees. Wow, that was an old thing to say. (laughs) But they are fantastic, and I could not be more excited to share the stage with them.
Sainte Francis:
What makes Pines Party so special?
Joey with the Mustache:
You look around and see community members intentionally building a night together. It is almost like a mandala of love and connection.
You see moments of gifting, generosity and creativity. It reminds me of the magic of Burning Man, but with this Fire Island family that anybody joins when they walk through the arch. There is no door.
Pines Party is one of the few experiences that still gives me a genuine sense of “wow.” Getting to be part of that is such an honor.
Sainte Francis:
Let’s close with a few rapid-fire questions. What is one track that works anywhere, at any time?
Joey with the Mustache:
“I Feel Love.” I have a few remixes, but man, “I Feel Love” brings a dance floor up. Donna Summer, girl.
Sainte Francis:
What is one track that is heavy in your rotation right now?
Joey with the Mustache:
Can I give you two?
There is a track by Crusy called “Kiki.” I first played it at the Pines Party pool party last year, and it creates this collective dance-floor moment that has been really exciting.
Then there is the Pamela Stanley rework by Sean Den from Polari Records’ Pansy series. Tommy Hart turned me on to it. It is so groovy. I love it.
Sainte Francis:
Fuck, marry, kill: three genres of music.
Joey with the Mustache:
Marry house. I don’t mean to be basic, but marry house.
Honestly, fuck jazz. That is what I put on in the bedroom. If I were making babies, it would be to jazz.
Kill trap, which feels harsh. I respect the artists who make it because I know it is technically challenging. I just haven’t identified with it as much, but I’m open to listening and learning.
Sainte Francis:
Any DJs, producers or artists people should be paying more attention to?
Joey with the Mustache:
This of course, is extremely difficult because there are so many people in music that I love to talk about, but here are a few that are on my mind right now.:
James Hurr (London) is arguably one of the most prolific, talented producers in my corner of house music today. He’s huge in Europe, and he absolutely crushed my party, FRUITSNAX, in New York. If you haven’t heard of him, you’ve definitely heard his tracks, and I think more DJs would benefit from studying his production style. He’s been a massive influence on my higher-energy sound.
Chimp Hardy (Berlin) just released an album, ANIMAL, which I found really fascinating. It’s such a unique, raw take on dance music. He’s also one of my favorite people to talk to because he’s so encouraging of others expressing themselves and going wild on their journeys. In a world where AI tries to imitate human expression, Chimp pushes the envelope, creating things no AI could. I believe it’s that kind of creative courage that will keep our industry pushing forward.
Mark Picchitotti (Chicago/Phoenix) is a legendary house producer and a helpful mentor of mine. As one of the earliest residents of Smartbar in Chicago, he’s been such a fundamental part of the scene’s history. He’s produced for icons like Kylie Minogue and Madonna, and I’m thrilled to see my generation of DJ discovering his work.
I feel a bit silly mentioning her because she’s already such a titan, but Juliana Huxtable is an incredibly versatile talent. She’s a prime example of how creative potential can transcend music. Her cultural impact is immense, and she consistently inspires me to push my own creative boundaries.
Catch Joey with the Mustache with Rimarkable and Avalon Emerson at Altar Ego: The Beach Party on Saturday, August 1, 10pm - 6am.
