Project 91 Launches Playgrounds Platform to Scale Pop-Up Live Experiences

Project 91, the events company behind pop-up raves at Katz's Delicatessen with Diplo and ice cream truck meet-and-greets with Peggy Gou, has announced the launch of Playgrounds, a new umbrella platform that consolidates Project 91 with a growing portfolio of live event brands. The move is backed by Justin Kalifowitz's Klaf Companies, with Creators Partners executive David Hua also participating in the investment.

Todd Mackall and Ryan Williams will lead the Playgrounds platform, which brings together brands including Mirari, Friends in High Places, Above 10, NYC Halloween Weekend, the New York Taco and Tequila Festival, and Palma Day Club. On the bookings side, the company is bringing talent buying in-house, a move that signals real vertical integration and long-term ambitions beyond just throwing parties.

What the Playgrounds Expansion Means for Live Events

The programming slate is already taking shape. Playgrounds has events lined up with HUGEL and Alesso at Brooklyn Army Terminal, a 10,000-capacity pier venue with direct sightlines to the Manhattan skyline. There is also a Fourth of July block party on the Brooklyn Waterfront and a weekly boat series in New York Harbor called On the Decks. Every one of those settings is doing real work as part of the experience, which has always been Project 91's whole premise.

Beyond New York, Playgrounds is expanding into Charleston, South Carolina, where the team plans to throw events in industrial spaces, waterfront locations, and aboard the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier. That last one is not a venue you forget. The Charleston push follows the same logic that made Project 91 interesting in the first place: the space itself becomes part of the draw.

Mackall put it plainly in a statement: "We're growing Playgrounds by focusing on the experience first, whether that's the artist, the setting, or the crowd." Williams added that the goal is to "own more of the experience, take bigger swings and do it consistently across markets." Kalifowitz, for his part, framed the investment simply. "I'm all in on businesses that get people out of the house and off the phone."

Why Independent Creators and Event Producers Should Pay Attention

The Playgrounds model is worth studying if you are building anything in the live space. The combination of unconventional venues, recognizable DJ talent, and a scalable brand umbrella is a real formula, and the investment backing here suggests the industry is paying attention to it. As major promoters consolidate and festival culture matures, there is clearly appetite for something more specific and harder to replicate.

For independent event producers and artists looking to build their own live experiences, the Project 91 playbook offers a useful frame. Distinctive setting plus the right crowd plus artist access equals something people actually remember. If you are building events in LA or anywhere else, [submit your upcoming shows](/submit) so we can help get eyes on them.

Watch how fast Playgrounds moves into new markets. Charleston is just the first name on what sounds like a longer list.