Fresh Beats: Meet Hudson Valley Fashionista DJ Bailey

Bailey Leiter, aka DJ Bailey, is another recent arrival to the Hudson Valley—a Florida-raised, now East Village refugee living in Saugerties NY. She is a style maven with a penchant for spinning classic sounds and wearing the funky 1960s and 1970s garb she sells through her other business, Hello Banana Vintage.

Bailey’s career as a DJ began when she was fired as a doorperson, and then she talked her way into being re-hired to curate sounds at an East Village nightspot. She has since spun at high-profile venues like MoMA and The Rainbow Room, as well as local hotspots such as the Salt Box in Kingston and Saugerties’ Lady Odd Fellows. 

Read on to learn how she keeps a party going and the role opera and ballet play in balancing her busy life.

INSIDE+OUT: When did you first become interested in music, and how did you start your DJ career?

Bailey Leiter: I’ve been into music all my life. I started playing the piano at the age of five and the bass at the age of thirteen. When I was a kid, my parents listened to oldies and quizzed my sister and me on the artists we were listening to in the car. We usually guessed wrong, but it’s cute that they did that. 

I started DJing about eight years ago. It’s a long story. I was working the door at a nightclub in the East Village and called out sick on a winter Saturday with the flu. The new manager wanted to make an example out of me and fired me. A couple of months later, I went to see a show there, and that same manager approached me and said it was good to see me. I was a couple of drinks in and feeling spicy, so I told him it was NOT good to see him, that it was wrong of him to fire me like he did, and that I was still looking for ways to make up for the money I lost from that gig. He felt terrible and asked me if I knew how to DJ. (I didn’t) But as every savvy New Yorker knows – fake it ’til you make it! So, I told him I did, and he offered me a Monday… for $75. The slowest night of the week. My best friend, who happened to bartend there on Mondays, said, “Dude, let’s just blow this up!” So, I taught myself to DJ on a laptop, and we started making flyers and promoting it like a big party. I played a bunch of ’60s French Yé Yé, girl groups, soul, and garage that I ripped from YouTube. It grew every time we did it to the point where we were selling out… always on a Monday!

Describe what makes you unique in the DJ space, your favorite music to spin, and your favorite kind of place or event to work.

I spin vinyl and specialize in rare soul and funk 45s. I like to curate events that create a space for people to dress up and wear that one crazy thing they never get to wear in their closet. 

What have been some of your favorite experiences DJing in the Hudson Valley?

I only moved here from The City last year, but I’ve been gigging a lot and did an enjoyable holiday event at a secret pink ballroom in Saugerties, where I live, called Lady Oddfellows Temple. My friend B.A. Miale created these incredibly psychedelic visuals, projecting them over all the walls. It was incredible! We did another one on February 15 to mark Valentine’s Day.

What is your go-to song to spin when you need to pump up a crowd that’s not feeling it?

People could listen to an entire ABBA music set and be stoked on it. Donna Summer also usually does the trick. James Brown usually gets the job done if I play soul or funk. Those are artists, not songs, that people lose their minds over. ABBA’s “Dancing Queen“ works 99% of the time. I think every DJ knows this. 

What are your three favorite desert island discs?

Nothing I’d DJ. It would be things to keep me sane: an Elliott Smith record like either XO or Either/Or and Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Then maybe something a little bit weird, like Boards of Canada’s Music Has a Right to Children or Geodaddi. Find my Camptown | Dj Bailey Spotify playlist as an example.

Give us a mini-biography – where you were born, where you live now, and what you may do outside of DJing.

I was born in Ohio but raised in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg, Florida. I lived in NYC for 15 years before moving here, where I had a weekly residency at Soho Grand/the Roxy Hotels and The Mulberry. I’ve DJ’d around the world, including at some bucket list locations, such as the MoMA and Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, where the fountain is situated. In April, I was spinning records at the ever-iconic Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center, which has always been a dream of mine.

I used to own a brick-and-mortar, highly curated vintage clothing boutique in the East Village called Hello Banana Vintage @hellobananavintage. It comprised lots of colorful and funky 60s and 70s pieces. We closed suddenly due to building complications with the landlord. I miss the sense of community and happiness it brought to people. It was an extension of myself. I still sell here and there through Instagram—outside of DJing. I’m naturally into record digging. I’m a foodie who loves good wine, so I enjoy cooking and trying new restaurants. I love to travel and am always plotting my next trip. I love getting dressed up and going to the ballet or the opera. 

Photos courtesy of DJ Bailey + Lauren Krohn + Steve Celestian + Stacie Joy

Follow/Connect with DJ Bailey via Vinyl DJ Instagram | Hello Banana Vintage Instagram

Contributing writer Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and former publicist living in Hudson Valley NY.

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Fresh Beats: Meet Hudson Valley DJ Sarah van Buren (SVB)

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