Popular L.A. club night Funky Sole stops the music at the Echo after 14 years

One of Los Angeles’ most celebrated dance nights is cutting the music short in Echo Park on Saturday after 14 years of funk, soul and sweat. Though Funky Sole was paused due to COVID-19, the club night made a short-lived comeback at the Echo in July, returning with its resident DJ Miles Tackett — the founder of the event known as Music Man Miles — and current fellow resident Hector Waluyo, plus DJs Adam Hayden, Mixmaster Wolf and Octavio Comacho holding it down on the patio of the club. As a staple in the L.A. club scene for 21 years at various venues including the Echo — its longest-lasting home — Funky Sole’s revival of rare, raw funk records made it a hot spot for locals as well as Hollywood celebrities like Billy Zane, Susan Sarandon, Ellie Kemper and the late Willie Garson, who frequently came to get down while flying comfortably under the radar in a sea of dancing funk fans, promotions and marketing coordinator Nancy Arteaga said. “Funky Soul just really exposed me to a lot of music.” For Dennis Owens, the guest DJ of Saturday’s event and creator of the Good Foot, a legendary Long Beach dance club that helped inspire Funky Sole, the club night always thrived regardless of the popularity of funk in mainstream music. That’s a testament to the fact that they play great music and people always respond to that.” Tackett says that although the club night is leaving the Echo after Saturday, Funky Sole is currently in search of a new permanent home.