Fresh Beats: Meet Electro Disco DJ Laura Lynn

By Sal Cataldi | May 19, 2025

As the daughter of a famous singer-songwriter, it’s no surprise that music is the driving force behind the life of Laura Lynn.

Laura Lynn may be best known as the co-founder of one of the Hudson Valley’s most popular dance parties, Disco Chalet, which has been popping up at sites like The Assembly Kingston and the luxurious Inness Resort. To find out the secret behind how this advertising woman by day and DJ by night keeps the dance floor busy, check out our exclusive interview below.

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

Laura Lynn: Music has always been part of my life as far back as I can remember, mainly since my Dad, Michael Martin Murphey, is an established singer-songwriter. When I was eight, I started collecting and was glued to the radio. I was constantly making mixtapes and telling my friends about new artists I would find. When I moved to Southern California for college, I immersed myself in live shows and clubs as I didn’t have much exposure to that growing up in rural New Mexico. At this time, the electroclash and dance-rock scene was in its prime and sparked my interest in electronic music. During the 2008 stock market crash, I was laid off from my job along with my roommate, who also worked for the same company. With our combined severance pay and our newly acquired free time, we invested in turntables and a sound system and taught ourselves how to DJ. As a duo, we began playing hotel and brand parties in Los Angeles with little to no experience, barely knowing how to set up our equipment and mix. I think our inflated confidence got us most of the gigs, and then it was practice after that. Just a year or so later, I moved to Portland, where things started to take off after a life-altering trip to Berlin. I then DJed frequently within the local scene and began promoting my parties, bringing DJs from other cities in and booking talent for a club. I never pursued it as a full-time career, but it consumed almost everything I did outside of my day job, which is still true today.

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 am still fascinated by the fact that electronic music is ever-evolving. My selection can be various electronic music across different eras, but I have soft spots for electro and disco, along with varying genres influenced by disco. When I play, I always consider my setting and time. I love to play in more intimate settings or in rooms with a few hundred people. That is when I can connect to the dance floor the best and ride off the energy in the room.

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

The last few years, I have been organizing and playing at an event that I founded with Sean B Nutley called Disco Chalet. It has been an incredible experience for me to connect locally with the Hudson Valley and it has inspired me to want to do more up here. I also enjoyed playing at the Stockade Faire in Kingston, the Roller Disco (and the after party!) at Skate Time in Accord, and the Future Sound of Nature Festival last summer. These have all been yearly events that I have played in, so now that I live up here, I am excited to get out and play more locally.

Fresh Beats: Meet DJ Laura Lynn

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

It is never a one-size-fits-all approach, so I’m not sure I have an answer for that!

What are your three favorite desert island discs?

This question gives me anxiety lol…But I will play along as if I had to grab them right now:

Lord Echo’s “Harmonies“ (Great for laying on a beach)
Rolling Stones’ “Some Girls“ (Nostalgic for me and a great singalong)
Kolumbo’s “Gung-Ho“ (Feels like a soundtrack to a movie, but perfect for all the other moments)

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

I was born in Taos, New Mexico and lived there till I was 16. I was then in Southern California for about 11 years, in Portland for seven, and now in New York. I moved to Brooklyn in 2018 and bought a house Upstate in Staatsburg, where I spend most of my time with my husband. We have been working pretty tirelessly on the house lately. Outside of that, we like to travel and discover fantastic restaurants. In the winter, we get up to ski or snowboard in the mountains. For my day job, I am a Director of Production at an advertising agency and have been in that industry for a little over a decade. I am also currently making music with my friend Jesse Gay, who is based in Portland. We have just finished our first track together, which has been quite exciting, as making music hasn’t been a big part of my musical journey until now.

Fresh Beats: Meet DJ Laura Lynn