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San Diego has a good reason to keep one eye on the Gaslamp from November 11–14. SideBar’s four-night run starts with local favorite ALX CRTZ, turns Thursday into the club’s 23-year anniversary celebration, then brings two Red Bull 3Style world champions—DJ Puffy on Friday and Four Color Zack on Saturday—during TwitchCon weekend. Puffy won the competition in 2016, while Four Color Zack took the world title in 2012.
The timing couldn’t be better. TwitchCon San Diego runs November 13–15 at the San Diego Convention Center, bringing three days of creators, games, meet-and-greets, live shows, and streaming culture downtown. SideBar fits that week perfectly: the venue describes itself as an intimate boutique nightclub and lounge, mixing craft cocktails and luxury VIP service with signature lighting and live DJ performances.
Wednesday, November 11 — ALX CRTZ
ALX CRTZ gets the first word, and he is exactly the kind of local selector who can make Wednesday feel intentional rather than like a warm-up. The San Diego DJ works in open format, folding hip-hop, funk, electronic music, Latin records, reggaeton, throwbacks, and current club tracks into sets shaped around the room. SideBar has also highlighted his role behind the ¡Pon Más Reggaeton! party concept, which helps explain why the Latin side of his sets feels natural instead of dropped in as an afterthought.
He has stayed active around San Diego throughout 2026. An October 10 appearance at Sessions by the Bay billed him for Latin, reggaeton, and classic throwbacks, with the venue emphasizing his crowd-led open-format approach and experience in both Chicagoland and San Diego. His public-facing social identity also keeps the San Diego connection visible, and SideBar has brought him back to the booth repeatedly this year.
For SideBar’s Wednesday crowd, that range is the hook. ALX CRTZ can move from a familiar sing-along into a darker club edit or a reggaeton run without making the night feel like three different playlists. Start the week here, and Thursday suddenly does not seem very far away.
Thursday, November 12 — SideBar 23 Year Anniversary
Thursday puts the spotlight on SideBar itself. The venue’s company profile lists 2003 as its founding year, making 2026 its 23rd year in San Diego nightlife. Twenty-three years is serious staying power in a nightlife district where rooms, trends, and crowds constantly change.
SideBar has changed with the city, too. In 2018, the venue temporarily closed after nearly 15 years for a major renovation designed to push the space in a more upscale direction, adding an elevated cocktail program while preserving its DJ-driven nightlife identity. Today, the formula is still recognizably SideBar: boutique scale, polished service, a lounge-to-club flow, VIP tables, and enough edge to keep luxury from feeling stiff.
The anniversary also lands right as TwitchCon begins moving into downtown. Official convention hours show wristband pickup on Thursday, November 12, along with a partner party from 6–9 p.m., before the main convention opens Friday morning. That gives SideBar’s anniversary a natural pre-weekend charge. Dress for the room, bring the crew, and toast 23 years in the Gaslamp.
Friday, November 13 — DJ Puffy for TwitchCon Weekend
Friday brings world-champion credentials with Andre “DJ Puffy” Parris, the Barbados-born DJ who won the Red Bull 3Style World Championship in 2016 after entering the competition as a wildcard. His official biography centers on his Caribbean roots and a genre-blending style that helped turn a Bajan perspective into an international DJ career.
Trying to box Puffy into one genre misses the point. His official 2026 mix catalog moves through soca, bouyon, dancehall, reggae, amapiano, hip-hop, R&B, Afrobeats, reggaeton, and EDM. His site currently features everything from a multi-hour Brooklyn “Open to Close” performance to Caribbean-focused megamixes and late-night R&B crossover sets.
That range makes him an especially smart TwitchCon-weekend booking. Puffy maintains his own Twitch DJ channel, extending his sets beyond nightlife venues into livestream culture. His 2026 schedule has also been properly international: listings show appearances in West Hollywood, Montréal, Birmingham, Jersey, and across the Caribbean, while SXSW London featured him among its 2026 music artists.
There are accolades beyond the 3Style trophy, too. SXSW London credits Puffy as the 2024 Caribbean Music Awards International DJ of the Year and notes his win at Red Bull Culture Clash with the No Long Talk crew. Friday should sound global, fast-moving, and unmistakably Caribbean at its core—exactly the kind of set that benefits from SideBar’s close-up club format.
Saturday, November 14 — Four Color Zack for TwitchCon Weekend
Next up is Four Color Zack, the Seattle DJ and producer who won the Red Bull 3Style World Championship in 2012. His reputation is built on technical control without the stiffness: sharp cuts, quick ideas, unexpected pivots, and a willingness to treat genre boundaries as suggestions. Serato describes his sets as leaving “no genre untouched,” tying his style back to Seattle’s underground electronic scene.
There is plenty behind the trophy. Four Color Zack has released music with DJ Scene through Fool’s Gold Records, including the Slap It Down project, and he teamed with fellow champion DJ Craze for the 2¢ mix project. His agency profile also points to experience spanning arena shows, Vegas megaclubs, underground parties, touring with The-Dream, and Twitch.
His current calendar makes the SideBar date look even sharper. SKAM Artist lists late-October shows in Tokyo, an Osaka stop on November 2, and Austin on November 7, followed later by Atlantic City, Toronto, San Jose, and Honolulu. Zack also maintains an active Twitch channel with DJ streams, videos, clips, and a stream schedule, making him a particularly natural booking for a Saturday night surrounded by TwitchCon energy.
It is a strong finale to a week that keeps escalating. ALX CRTZ brings the San Diego pulse, Thursday celebrates 23 years of SideBar, DJ Puffy adds Caribbean-global energy on Friday, and Four Color Zack closes Saturday with championship-level turntablism and an unpredictable open-format mindset. With TwitchCon bringing its creator community to the Convention Center at the same time, downtown San Diego will have plenty of reasons to stay out after the daytime schedule ends.
That is where SideBar makes sense: intimate, luxe, social, a little edgy, and close enough to the DJ booth to catch every switch in real time.
Elevate Your Night – VIP Access & Experiences
- At SideBar, we’re all about luxurious experiences. From skipping the line to bottle service in your own private booth, here’s how to upgrade your night:
- Guestlist & Tickets: Get free entry before 10 PM with a Guestlist RSVP. After 10 PM, admission is $20 for general admission or $30 for VIP skip-the-line access.
- Reserve Tables: Party in style with our VIP Bottle Services, featuring premium liquor, mixers, private booth, and dedicated service.
- Private Events: Book the entire venue (4,000 sq. ft. + outdoor patio) for up to 350 guests. With LED screens, a top-tier DJ booth, and full-service options, we’ll bring your event vision to life.