House Hats Collective is redefining Florida’s electronic music scene, one beat at a time. House Hats Collective has been making serious noise across the Sunshine State, blending House and community into something that feels more like a movement than a brand. What started as a shared love for the dance floor has grown into a platform for connection, creativity, and pure energy.
We caught up with the founders for an exclusive interview to talk about how it all began, the culture they’re building, and why Florida’s house scene is just getting started!
What is the House Hats Collective all about?
As House Hats prepares for its largest event to date, a sold-out Prospa takeover inside an aircraft hangar at Sheltair Aviation in Tampa Bay, Florida, the moment serves as a snapshot of a collective that has spent years building culture through music, community, and creative experiences. Headlined by UK duo Prospa, fresh off the release of their debut album featuring collaborations with Cloonee, Kettama, and Murda Beatz, the event marks their first-ever performance in the Tampa Bay area market. The show will also feature House Hats Records artists Murphy’s Law and Edd b2b Goosey, while serving as the second annual fundraiser for Beats Give Back, the nonprofit initiative dedicated to building music studios and providing music education opportunities for foster care youth. Following last year’s successful studio transformation at Joshua House, this year’s fundraiser is on pace to nearly double its charitable impact.
The hangar show caps off a remarkable start to 2026 for House Hats. The collective opened the year with an international label takeover in Costa Rica alongside Ocaso Festival, sharing the stage with artists including BLOND:ISH, Vintage Culture, RSquared, Lightleak, and Discip. From there, the team brought a House Hats takeover to Vail, Colorado, featuring Sem Jacobs, while also making appearances at Okeechobee Music Festival and throughout Miami Music Week.
What began as a local movement has evolved into a platform spanning events, artist development, record releases, and community impact initiatives. With momentum at an all-time high, House Hats continues to expand its reach while staying rooted in the culture and connections that helped build it. Before the collective’s biggest weekend yet, we sat down with the team behind House Hats to learn more about their story, mission, and what’s next.
In Conversation with House Hats Collective
seradopa: What is the origin story of how House Hats Collective came to be?
Jensen Diaz: Our model back then, and the community that we were really involved in and looked up to was Dirtybird. They were doing a really good job at connecting with fans, having them support through merging different group chats and barbecues.
There was a lack of house music around the college markets and amongst the younger crowd in Florida. They hadn’t been shown the genre [house] yet at all. On one of our first tours, we did Cloonee and all four cities in Florida, like Jacksonville, Tally, Gainesville, and Tampa. For a lot of people, that was their first house show in the state of Florida. Some people’s first house show would have been the Beltran and Prospa Hangar parties, and an experience like that changes their lives.
As they grow older, many people who saw Cloonee or those other individuals end up graduating from college and moving to Miami, where they can see those shows. However, there was an absolute lack of a brand or community at our age and in our circles at the time. So that’s what we wanted to create the group for, and also give people a chance to get involved in the music industry. We never really had a playbook – we figured it out along the way.
The growth has been steady over the years, and now it feels like a snowball effect is in motion. At first, we didn’t have all the answers, and we involved a lot of people from the industry, learning about the various jobs that exist in throwing events and managing a label. Now, many of those people can get jobs and pursue music later, and you know, thank us for their involvement. So that’s been special, too!
seradopa: What is House Hats Collective’s mission statement?
Jensen: We’re a collective of creative minds that are coming together to advance house music as a genre. Our community connects different genres of house with friends from around the world. We had friends who liked different styles, so we wanted to offer a variety of styles. We’ve developed a distinct identity and sound.
However, at first, it was a collective; we are now House Hats Records, but it was a collective of individuals coming together. There are a lot of things going on that point to house being extremely popular, for the long run, and dance music in general being at the forefront of all the genres right now.
seradopa: What would you say was the turning point for House Hats’ rise?
Jensen: The first thing that flashed to mind was that we did an EDC after party and it was our three-year anniversary. We got lucky, and after EDC, we had Cloonee, John Summit, and Dom Dolla do this B3B in this underground warehouse. We really caught a wind on social media, like, “Oh, these guys are really doing cool shit,” even though we had been doing it for a few years.
But that felt like a turning point. By that point, too, we were first talent buying and throwing shows, like we did hit getting Cloonee early, but you know, we didn’t really have the access or the money to get those big artists yet. We had to prove ourselves, over the years, putting people on that have been around for a while, that we had access to – like Cut Snake and Lubelski, and then over time, we can throw bigger shows now, like Prospa, Max Dean, and Ranger Trucco, so maybe we can continue creating bigger experiences that attract more people to the shows and introduce them to House Hats and house music.
seradopa: Have you seen the impact of being made amongst developing artists in the Florida scene?
Jose Lopez: We’ve really seen the Florida scene, especially in Tampa, start to grow in a big way. For us, it’s always been about giving opportunities to talented artists who have great taste and who want to contribute to the community. That’s the core of what we do, building something that feels like family in the house scene. Every year, we meet new artists to add to our lineups, not just in Florida, but also in places like New York City, Austin, and Washington DC.
It’s been amazing to watch that growth. Like Rello, who started as a college student in Tallahassee playing a few small sets, and now he’s headlining shows in Tampa. Or Slugg, he’s been supporting us since day one, and now he’s playing in Ibiza, but still shows love to the label. Even Cloonee, I remember booking him years ago at a small 300-capacity spot in Tampa, and we thought, “This might be the last time we get him at this price.” Watching all these artists evolve while staying connected with us has been incredible.
At the end of the day, it’s always been about that family bond first, the professionalism came after. We’ve built a vibe people trust: good energy, good music, everyone feeling comfortable and part of something real. That’s the atmosphere we’ve created in Tampa, and it’s what keeps this community growing.
seradopa: How has the community that you have built been with House Hats? Do you all see familiar faces at all your events? How are artists alumni coming back, giving you all praise?
Jensen: It’s definitely a lot of familiar faces. Friends who were there from day one. That’s how it all started: a small crew, all connected through music and this idea of just making hats that said “house.” That’s literally where the name House Hats came from. Over time, seeing those same hats pop up at festivals or on people we didn’t even know — that’s when we realized it was growing into something bigger.
The community has always been the heart of it. Even when people move away, to Austin, LA, wherever, they still connect through House Hats, that’s what keeps it special. We like to keep that connection alive, whether it’s through our events or even just sharing photos of people having fun on our socials. We’d rather sell tickets to our community, people who actually care about the music and the vibe, than spend money on ads for random clicks. Our goal has always been to create an elite experience, a sexy, high-energy show that makes people want to come back again.
Jose: One thing we’ve always done really well at our shows is hospitality. Making everyone feel welcome. Even though Manny and Jensen are the owners, we don’t act like we’re above anyone. We’re all friends, all part of the same vibe, and I think that’s what sets House Hats apart.
We’re for the people, always.
That sense of openness and connection has built the community we have now. People don’t just come for the DJs; they come to hang with the team, to see familiar faces, to feel at home. That energy has been a big part of our success. It’s what keeps people coming back — the music, the people, and the genuine vibe we’ve created together.
seradopa: You’ve built significant momentum over the past year. As you look toward the future, what are the biggest opportunities you’re most excited about, and what can the House Hats community expect to see next from the collective?
Manny: One of the things we’re most excited about right now is the launch of House Hats Management, our new division representing North American bookings and artist management. Our roster right now includes RSquared from England, Edd from Malta, Caleb Jackson from Australia, and Tyke from the U.S.; stay tuned for more from them! The genre is growing rapidly, and we take pride in discovering and supporting emerging house artists with forward-thinking, high-quality sound!
Keep up with House Hat Collective
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