Glow Before Dark was created by co-founders Grace Ladewig and Jenny Yoon, two lifelong friends who first met in junior high school in the foothills of Southern California.

Growing up in La Crescenta, their friendship began at Rosemont Junior High, continued through La Crescenta Valley High School, CVH and carried on into their college years at Glendale Community College , GCC. Like so many friendships formed during that era, music was always the thread that connected them.

From the moment a beat dropped, they discovered how music could unlock confidence, joy, and connection. It was the era of bedroom radios turned up late at night, cassette tapes passed between friends, and discovering new music through 106.7 KROQ, where legendary DJs like Jed the Fish and Richard Blade introduced a generation to the electrifying sounds of new wave, alternative, and dance music.

Music wasn’t just something you listened to — it was something you felt. It shaped friendships, defined identities, and created moments that stayed with you long after the song ended.

Grace and Jenny carried that feeling with them through life.

Through the years came marriage, children, careers, and everything that naturally comes with growing up. Grace eventually moved away to the Midwest, while Jenny remained in Southern California where she built her family and career. Despite the distance and the many chapters of adulthood, their connection never faded. They stayed closely connected through the one thing that had always bonded them — their shared love of music and dancing.

They held tightly to the songs that shaped their youth — the electrifying sounds of 80s new wave, 90s dance club classics, and alternative radio — while also embracing the sounds of today’s music culture.

As music evolved, so did they.

What once began with mixtapes and KROQ radio eventually expanded into a deep appreciation for modern electronic music and the powerful energy of EDM. The rhythm, the build, the release — it all carried the same emotional electricity they remembered from their youth.

And through it all, they never stopped dancing.

Grace explains it simply:

“Glow Before Dark is for the generation that grew up dancing to 106.7 KROQ. We may not want to stay out until 2 a.m. anymore, but we still want to feel the music and Glow Hard.”

For Jenny, the experience is deeply emotional.

“When the music comes on, something inside you wakes up again. Glow Before Dark is about letting that part of yourself come out and shine.”

That realization sparked the idea for Glow Before Dark.

Glow Before Dark is their love letter to the moments when you forget the rules, remember how you felt as a kid, and let your body respond to the sounds that shaped you.

Today, Grace and Jenny curate early-evening pop-up dance experiences designed for Generation X and millennials — the generation that grew up with the soundtrack of new wave, alternative radio, and dance club culture.

The events blend iconic 80s new wave, 90s dance and alternative music with modern EDM, creating a dance floor that feels both nostalgic and electric.

Guests arrive as the evening begins, dance through sunset, and leave energized rather than exhausted.

But Glow Before Dark is about more than music.

It’s about rediscovering joy.

It’s about community.

It’s about giving people permission to step onto the dance floor and let their inner glow shine.

At the heart of every Glow Before Dark event is a simple invitation:

Glow Hard.

Dance like you did when the music first defined you. Celebrate the friendships, the nostalgia, and the energy that still lives inside of you.

Because the Glow Before Dark mantra says it best: