{"id":349058,"date":"2026-09-17T06:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/349058\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T06:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:47:19","slug":"hanging-with-sza-after-sneaking-into-bc-new-yorks-hottest-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/349058\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanging With SZA After Sneaking Into BC, New York’s Hottest Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

When trying to get into a club with no sign, an address known by next to no one and a rumored performance by SZA happening later that evening (the seven-time Grammy winner had posted the location on her IG story hours before the event), it helps to have some plugged-in friends.<\/p>\n

That is, it helps to know these types if they\u2019re willing to acknowledge your existence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, I received the following two texts last Wednesday night from my plugged-in friend upon my arrival outside BC, a club somewhere below 14th Street (I promised I wouldn\u2019t share its exact coordinates) that might well be New York City\u2019s new hardest door. Their first text: Oh you\u2019re here! Their second: Act like you don\u2019t know me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not exactly the VIP treatment I was hoping for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tail between this cub reporter\u2019s legs, I retreated to the bar next door and commiserated with the bartender. While he didn\u2019t exactly empathize, he did supply me with a free shot (I told him that I, too, tend bar), and then, according to code among service workers, he swept me downstairs, through tunnels and back rooms and \u2014 via what is presumably the club\u2019s service entrance \u2014 into BC. It felt like my very own Goodfellas moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Isaac Elias, Stephanie Cora and Ryan Mettz<\/p>\n

BC soft opened this past June, but it\u2019s taken until Fashion Week to blow up. People, it would seem, are ready for it \u2014 that is, a brand of velvet-roped nightlife that doesn\u2019t exactly smack of inclusivity. It does feel like it\u2019s been an impossibly long minute since the city has given us night owls anything that feels genuinely impenetrable. My generation knows all the stories. Where is our Studio 54? Our Max\u2019s Kansas City? Bungalow 8? Beatrice Inn? Lot 61? Is BC their long-awaited heir? In a city where nightlife is perhaps not what it once was (or maybe that\u2019s just my Gen-Z nostalgia), it does feel like a ripe time for a revival. <\/p>\n

One needn\u2019t look further than the decor to understand BC\u2019s lofty ambitions. The subterranean spot boasts all the trappings you\u2019d expect from a club cosplaying as the type of glamorous early-aughts joint Kate Moss might\u2019ve been seen chain-smoking Marlboro Lights in. Cocktail tables? Check. Blood-red banquettes? Check. A pink marble bathroom straight out of a Gianni Versace Miami Beach fever dream? You bet. As for the barmen, they were impeccably attired, draped in white double-breasted dinner jackets like those you see at Torrisi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Decor aside, BC is intimate \u2014 i.e., not the sort of spot you\u2019d expect to rub elbows with SZA in (more on that below). As for this particular evening\u2019s crowd, it checked the right boxes. Marc Rebillet<\/a> and Michael Miracco<\/a> were in attendance. Ravyn Lenae<\/a>, Anthony Blue<\/a> and Siobhan Bell<\/a>, too. (Clavicular<\/a> was rumored to be stuck in line upstairs, but if he was, he didn\u2019t make it in. Thankfully.) There was also the requisite gaggle of photographers, videographers and a trio of tatted-up skaters who seemed like the most excited people in the room. My personal favorite had to have been a sound engineer, whom I quickly befriended. It\u2019s predictable how \u201cindustry\u201d people (aka service workers) routinely end up drawn to other industry people. After all, the real keyholders that make things happen are the people working the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the DJ booth, Heron Preston<\/a> and Venus X<\/a> tag-teamed tunes, followed by Kaytranada<\/a>, another Grammy winner \u2014 sandwiching this appearance between a sold-out August set at Pacha Ibiza<\/a> and his upcoming October return at Pacha NYC<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So many bold-faced names. Does this mean clubs are back? They might be.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

BC at 3 a.m.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Michael Miracco and Jamie<\/p>\n

As for me, I was starting to worry I\u2019d fail my dual missions of both meeting SZA and being in bed before 4 a.m. But a hero in the shape of a hand appeared on my shoulder while I was sidled up against the wooden DJ booth. It was the sound engineer, who could at least quell my worries about timing. In my Notes app, I typed \u201cWHEN SZA?\u201d and faced the screen at him. He held his hand up at me with four fingers raised. Ah, 4 a.m., my witching hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few moments later, however, SZA floated towards my end of the booth. Normally, I\u2019m above fangirling over celebs. But SZA is different. I took my chance to meet her, waving my hands into hers. She posed for me, flashing a gorgeous, bright smile.<\/p>\n

I looked at my phone. 3 a.m. Uggh. I had work the next morning at 9 (I got in at 10) and as I\u2019d already chatted SZA up and got some photos, I felt secure making for the exit, even though she wouldn\u2019t go on for another hour.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Kaytranada<\/p>\n

I exited through the front doors, weaving through a marginally smaller crowd of rabid SZA fans. The doormen held strong, not moving an inch of their bodies or their faces for the still-pleading mob.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe next time, folks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All photos by Dani Brand<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Dani<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tDani Brand<\/p>\n

Dani Brand is InsideHook\u2019s Nightlife Editor, as well as an adjunct journalism professor and bartender who slings drinks and occasional wisdom. Many of her patrons use her as a therapist.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tMore from Dani Brand \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore Like This<\/p>\n

This article appeared in an InsideHook newsletter. Sign up for free<\/a> to get more on travel, wellness, style, drinking, and culture..<\/p>\n

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