Michael Hooker plays Roosevelt on Friday the 13th

The Phoenix house and techno DJ behind Re:Sound Music takes over the Roosevelt Row lounge on Nov. 13.

Phoenix's house scene has a habit of turning up in unexpected places: rooftops, pool decks, back rooms that don't look like dance floors until about 11 p.m. This Friday, one of the people most responsible for that habit is playing a downtown room built for listening.

Michael Hooker plays Roosevelt in downtown Phoenix on Friday, Nov. 13, at 9 p.m. Tickets are through Speakeasy. Friday the 13th on the calendar, a hometown DJ in the booth: it's a good excuse to stay out.

Hooker's route to Phoenix was a long one. He grew up on Jersey, in the Channel Islands, and spent several years in Birmingham in the U.K. building connections before relocating to the Valley on a music visa, according to his Resident Advisor biography and a profile in Jersey's Bailiwick Express. He has called Phoenix home for about a decade, and he plays here more than in any other market in our records.

In that time, he's become a fixture. Hooker runs Re:Sound Music, which EDM Identity describes as a multi-dimensional house and techno platform. Its Re:Sound Music & Friends parties have made a point of using unusual spaces, including rooftops, pools and underground bars, the kind of events that built a loyal local crowd one Saturday at a time.

His records travel further than the Valley. Hooker's releases have landed on respected labels including Renaissance, Yoshitoshi, UV, Desert Hearts Black and Global Underground, and veteran house DJ Danny Howells has called him "one of the best DJs I have heard in a long time," per Electronic Groove. One review has described his sound as dark, hypnotic house; another profile promises uplifting house whatever the week. Both are probably right: the best sets of this kind move between the two, deep and rolling early, brighter as the room fills.

The best sets of this kind move between deep and rolling early and brighter as the room fills.

The room fits that approach. Roosevelt sits at 815 N. 2nd St. in the Roosevelt Row arts district and describes itself on its OpenTable page as a restaurant, listening lounge and cultural destination where food, cocktails, music and art come together. It's not a warehouse, and that's the appeal: a DJ who's spent years playing rooftops and pools gets to work a smaller space where the sound and the crowd are close together.

Practical notes: the 9 p.m. listing means the night is just getting going then, so eat first or plan to eat there. Roosevelt Row on a Friday is busy, so give yourself time to park or grab a ride.

If you've been meaning to see what the local house crowd is about, this is a friendly door to walk through. Go late, stay longer than you planned, and see why this guy kept Phoenix after he found it.

Sources: Michael Hooker biography (Resident Advisor) (ra.co); Jersey-born DJ (Bailiwick Express) (bailiwickexpress.com); Michael Hooker interview (EDM Identity) (edmidentity.com); Interview: Michael Hooker (Electronic Groove) (electronicgroove.com); Roosevelt Phoenix (OpenTable) (opentable.com); Michael Hooker tickets (Speakeasy) (speakeasygo.com); Michael Hooker at Roosevelt (JamBase) (jambase.com)