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DJ Marti Frieson Talks ‘HEAT’ at National LGBTQ Task Force’s Annual Winter Party Festival 2023

March 1, 2023

As part of the year-long 50th anniversary celebration of the National LGBTQ Task Force, Winter Party Festival 2023 will return to Miami Beach from March 1 – 7. Winter Party Festival is an annual dance and music festival with a week-long series of events benefiting the local and national LGBTQ community. The festival is a celebration of community, produced by the Task Force to raise critical funds for the LGBTQ movement and will feature a diverse mix of people, music, and entertainment. Winter Party Festival brings in over ten thousand attendees annually, with twelve signature events and twelve international DJs hosted in seven exhilarating world-class Miami Beach venues.

The National LGBTQ Task Force donates a significant portion of the proceeds raised at Winter Party and its sister event, the National LGBTQ Task Force Gala, to like-minded community advocacy groups in South Florida through the LGBTQ+ Equity Fund, a philanthropic collaboration between the Task Force, Our Fund, and The Miami Foundation. Since 2005, the Task Force has given back more than $3.3 million and supported over 90 community organizations in South Florida and will directly fund social justice causes locally and nationally. Winter Party brings nearly $4.2M in revenue to Miami, supporting over 800 local jobs in hospitality, food & beverage, retail, recreation, and entertainment.

It was a pleasure to sit down with DJ Marti Frieson, who will be DJing the Heat Party on Friday night at Studio 60, for this exclusive Hotspots interview.

When did you realize you wanted to be a DJ?

I always had a passion for music as I play guitar and I sing and write music. However, in 2017 I was bartending and one day it clicked that I wanted to do what our resident DJ was doing. I then asked him to teach me how to mix and he taught me for a few months and once I felt comfortable, I got some local gigs and then my DJ career took off

What was your first residency, and how did that feel?

It was where I was bartending, at Rich’s, which is one of the oldest venues in Houston. It’s been around forever, and it goes through different phases, sometimes its straight and sometimes gay and it has had many different names. Since I had bartended there, they trusted me to give me my first residency.

What separates you from other DJs?

There are not too many bi-racial circuit DJ’s, and my name doesn’t match what I look like. In addition, I am masculine but play many feminine songs. Its my versatility and my contrast combined with my sound that makes me stand out from other DJs.

What are some memorable moments from the DJ booth?

Recently, I had the opportunity to play in Mykonos and Rio, places I had never been to to….it was a dream come true. That is the most memorable to me.

Describe yourself in 3 words?

Eclectic, ambitious, and real!

Other than DJing, what do you like to do for fun?

Besides working out, I love traveling. If I was independently wealthy, I would be traveling and bouncing from place to place. In addition, I love eating food!

Are you single or taken?

Currently I am not available, but an ideal match for me would be, someone who is confident, open minded, adventurous, and they need to be stable.

What should our readers expect from your set at HEAT, on Friday night at Studio 60 Nightclub?

For this set I really want to give a little bit of all the circuit flavors. I will close it out with some grungy and aggressive stuff. I try and make everyone happy throwing in my flavor.

What does the future hold for you?

I don’t know, I have been working really hard, and I am really proud of myself that I got booked for Winter Party as its one of the most recognized brands. I want to keep sharing my sound and name with more festivals and traveling abroad.

For more information on DJ Marti Frieson follow him at: Instagram.com/martifrieson or Facebook.com/martifrieson

For individual event tickets and multiple event passes, visit: winterparty.com/tickets-passes/.

Marti’s Top 10 this Week

Peter Rauhofer – Musica Electrica
Mark Knight – Your Love
Deadmau5 – Sex Lies Audiotape
Tyler The Creator – Goblin
Tyler The Creator – Garbage
Shade – No Ordinary Love
Erykah Badu – Next Lifetime
No doubt – Don’t Speak
Fear Before the March of Flames – What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas
Nicki Minaj – Stupid Hoe

Featured events for Winter Party: