Elizabeth Henderson is a DJ, artist, and educator based in San Francisco.

Being known for genre-bending and crowd-pleasing, Elz has mastered the art of reading the crowd by setting the mood with tasteful dance music. Growing up listening to breakbeats, techno, and house music and discovering classic rock, jazz, hip-hop, the 80s, and funk music, she learned how to incorporate all of these elements together to create some serious flavor.

Her parents were opera singers, so they raised her with a great appreciation and passion for music and vinyl. She studied piano and violin throughout her youth and sang with her High school jazz band. She got interested in electronic music by going to local underground raves in San Francisco and saw her first female DJ perform and immediately became inspired to learn how to use turntables herself to express her love for music.

Her first DJ gig was in 1998 in a large warehouse space called 2nd and Jackson in Oakland. Soon after, she started playing for many legendary San Francisco long-running events, including 2nd Sunday, Sister SF, Feel Good, Sonic at 1015, Mixed Elements, and The Gathering. In March 2008, Elz graduated from Ex’pression College with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Sound Arts. After graduation, she spent the summer interning for DJ Shadow, assisted in preparation for the launch of DJ Shadow Digital (DJ Shadow Digital Store), and processed sound samples for the store. She has releases on Muzimo Records, Harlum Muziq, Look Out Records, and has just joined the Tech House label Laser Native as their newest resident artist. In 2015 she studied Ableton at Sequence One in Oakland and then went on to work as a Music Curator and Audio Engineer at the DJ app, Crossfader.

She has performed gigs at the SXM festival in St. Maartin, BPM festival in Mexico, Tulum, Coachella, WMC in Miami, in New York, Los Angeles, Vegas, Seattle, Burning Man, Day Breaker, Sunset Campout, Boiler Room, E Komo Mai Festival in Hawaii, and all over the Bay Area at clubs such as The Midway, Public Works, Halcyon, The Great Northern, Monarch, 1015 Folsom, The End Up, DNA Lounge, Ruby Skye, Temple, The Clift Hotel, and Audio. She has opened for such acts as Bob Moses, Thugfucker, Hoj, HOSH, Hot Since 82, Detroit Swindle, Huxley, Terry Frances, Giom, German Brigante, Justin Martin, Christian Martin, Demuir, Doc Martin, Colette & Heather, Fred Everything, Sonny Fodera, Session Victim, Mood II Swing, DJ Dan, DJ Sneak, Jesse Perez, Richey Ahmed, Mikey Lion, Galen, and Solar to name a few.

She was a resident with The Kazbah for many years and is currently with the Disco Knights Burning Man crew. Elz was also a resident DJ at the Virgin Hotel in San Francisco at the Everdene Rooftop bar and the Common’s Club from 2019-2020.

Elz is currently a DJ instructor at Blue Bear School of Music and teaches therapeutic beat-making workshops for elementary and middle school children using Ableton and the Push with the nonprofit Today’s Future Sound throughout the Bay Area. Her mission is to use music as a tool to heal people by giving them a safe space to be themselves while injecting them with positivity via dancing to the best music.

ELZ

Biography / Listen / Support /

ELZ

elz@bluebearmusic.org

Biography /
Listen /
Support /