14 brilliant, real-life club nights to book this summer

Pre-pandemic, Bristol was having a bit of a moment – with a whole load of innovative producers making techno interesting again. The Timedance label is one of the top names to come out of the city, and they’re taking some of their sweat-inducing selectors to the capital for an intimate showcase. There’ll be jabs of bass, electro-laced acid cuts, and lots of broken-beat techno. From £10. 

Expect to hear: 'Curved', Batu & Lurka. 

Capacity: 200

Three words: outdoor disco party. At the end of the month, The Ministry of Sound is throwing a daytime dance in their courtyard with the institution that is Horse Meat Disco. Born in London in 2003, HMD have since toured the globe with blends of house, soul, and (you guessed it) disco selections. Dress-code wise, think sequined flares and dodgy psychedelic-print shirts, and don’t forget to dust off your dancing shoes. From £16. 

Expect to hear: 'You Can Win', Bileo.

Capacity: 400.
 

Signed to Ninja Tune along with the likes of Bonobo, Bicep, and Peggy Gou, Romare’s musical production is a sort of refined house, meets world music, meets jazzy soul kind of vibe. In other words, it’s groovy, and he’ll be playing a disco special for only a fiver in an East London strip club. Where better for a night of debauchery and mischief? £5. 

Expect to hear: 'Gone', Romare.

Capacity: 650. 

Fabric’s legendary Friday live sessions bring bass-centric dance music to some fiercely high-energy crowds. For this one, Digital Mystikz – the South London dubstep duo consisting of Mala and Coki – will be heading the lineup, joined by other UK heavyweights including Sicaria Sound, Sully, and Om Unit. The BPM won’t be anything less than 130, so make sure you wear something to sweat in. From £10. 

Expect to hear: 'Anti War Dub', Digital Mystikz.

Capacity: 1600. 

Everyone was a scene kid of some variation in their earlier years. If you claim you weren’t, you’re lying, or you still are one. Either way, Make Emo Great Again promises to blast My Chemical Romance, Blink 182, Paramore, and Fall Out Boy in a space big enough for you to belt the lyrics at the top of your lungs next to thousands of other nostalgic punters. Black eyeliner is optional. From £5. 

Expect to hear: 'Teenagers', My Chemical Romance. 

Capacity: 4,921. 

No cardio will ever compete with the full body workout you get in a boozer, singing and dancing to pure, cheesy, filth. A certain Swede pop group has a back catalogue so huge that The Birds in Leytonstone is throwing a dedicated ABBA night of hits, mixes, and re-edits. What’s more, profits will be donated to Choose Love, a charity that raises funds for refugees. You may not be 17 anymore, but a dancing queen? That’s up to you. From £9. 

Expect to hear: ABBA, ABBA, and more ABBA. 

Capacity: 250. 

Watch the sun go down with the return of one of London’s favourite queer club nights, Little Gay Brother. This party crew will be putting on a rave-inspired shindig complete with decor and dancers in the space that was previously home to the beloved Mick’s Garage in Hackney Wick. The line up is still TBA, but it promises ‘queer excellence’: previous nights have seen Joshua James, Michelle Manetti, and residents Maze & Master take to the decks. There’s no rules here: just lots of self-expression, lots of dancing, and lots and lots of colour. From £10.

Expect to hear: 'Marlene [PH97]', Joshua James. 

Capacity: 250.

Born as an underground music and streetwear blog, Keep Hush soon evolved into a musical platform and member’s club with an exciting roster of emerging UK talent. To celebrate it’s return, they’re throwing a three-stage day festival of garage, breaks, and anything clubby, in Tottenham’s (arguably) coolest venue, The Cause. In case you get hungry from all that skanking, there will also be food stalls on hand for refueling purposes.  From £12.50.

Expect to hear: Lots of rumbles and rhythms.  

Capacity: 400+.

Phonox is really pulling out the stops. As well as some impressive four-week residencies coming up with Max Cooper and O’Flynn, stellar house selectors Jayda G and Ruby Savage are taking to the decks for the club’s reopening ‘do. Jayda’s 2020 EP, ‘Both Of Us / Are You Down’, was nominated for the best dance recording at the 2021 Grammys, just in case you needed approval from the big guys. You’re in for an eclectic mix of good vibrations: funk, soul, house, up-tempo tech and everything in between. From £5. 

Expect to hear: 'Don’t Go Lose It Baby', Hugh Masekela.

Capacity: 550.

Even if you were never a huge club-head, you’d probably still recognise Gerd Janson’s 2017 summer anthem, ‘Surrender’. The man behind the music – who runs the respected Running Back imprint – is coming to Loft Studios for the August bank holiday weekend, in a series that asks DJs to exhibit the full breadth of their record collection. For Janson, that could mean anything: jazz, balearic grooves, northern soul or stripped back techno. If you’re into all of that immersive stuff, his set will be complimented with a bespoke visual light show. From £12.50.

Expect to hear: 'Don’t Go - Re-Work', Gerd Janson and Julie McDermott. 

Capacity: 500.

Some might say that intelligent dance music and ambient techno is pretentious and chin-strokey. But maybe they just don’t get it? Laurel Halo and Hodge are genuinely really good, and a B2B set in none other than Corsica Studios will probably spur at least one or two dancefloor revelations. The crew running the event, Cabin Fever, also have a commitment to reducing the environmental impact of DJ bookings – so they’ll be charging a £1 ‘green tax’ to go towards carbon offsetting. You can’t really argue with that. From £8. 

Expect to hear: 'Blue Violet', DjRUM. 

Capacity: 350.

Canvas is a new, tight-capacity venue from the team that brought you Oval Space and The Pickle Factory. It opened just weeks before the first lockdown in March last year. Now finally in action, Studio Barnhus label founder Kornél Kovács promises to christen the new space by filling it with all of his favourite dance music, loud and proud. He’s known for largely uplifting electronic sets and a boundary-free attitude to genre – but you can definitely expect variations of house, new and old. 

Expect to hear: 'So Sunshine', HNNY. 

Capacity: 300.

The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show, with the big man himself, is returning to its long running Saturday residency at Brixton Jamm. He’ll be spinning early funk ‘n’ soul classics as well as newer releases, but you probably already knew that. To celebrate the end of summer, the crew are throwing a day-to-night party with the option to book private outside booths, just in case you’re looking to save your energy. You could probably bring your mum along to this too. From £8.

Expect to hear: 'I Say a Little Prayer', Aretha Franklin.

Capacity: 750. 

If you like dancing to warped synths and bass distorted to the point of sounding like a sci-fi soundtrack, the 27 Aug mega warehouse party at E1 is probably for you. German DJ duo FJAAK will be headlining the Black Studio, meanwhile DJ Stingray is set to splinter some broken-beat electro for the rest of the night. Both artists are well-known for their nitty gritty sets and hours of relentless dancing: if you’re going to this, it’s very much go hard, or go home. From £10.

Expect to hear: 'Swift Gathering (Skee Mask Remix)'.

Capacity: 1600.