The 23 best club nights in the UK in 2025

Glasgow and beyond

At the end of 2023, Glasgow said au revoir to Bonjour, a co-operatively owned club and bar offering an essential safe space for the city’s trans and queer community. Ponyboy – a hair salon and club night prioritising trans and non-binary people in both line-ups and policies – is carrying on this crucial work, delivering highly curated events at venues across the city including EXIT and Stereo. Taking its name from SOPHIE’s sexy, deconstructed banger, every Ponyboy night is unique. Each delivers high octane club kid looks from performance artists, DJs, hosts and attendees, while emerging and established talent is platformed on the decks. Whether it’s nurturing new talent or throwing fundraiser parties, there’s a strong community ethos to the Ponyboy project. Others are starting to take note: the team was chosen to host one of FKA Twigs’ EUSEXUA raves and has linked up with London’s queer techno rave Inferno to throw parties in Glasgow and London.

Bristol

Bristol’s music scene has long been celebrated for its deep love of bass, with trip-hop and drum ‘n’ bass shaping the city’s sound in the ’90s. Today, the club night and record label Club Djembe is carving out a new lane, pushing a fresh percussive movement with styles like amapiano, gqom, dancehall, and a modern take on UK funky – one that goes far beyond its mid-2000s foundations. Whether at The Love Inn, Strange Brew, or Trinity Centre, their nights always feel like a celebration. They’re vibrant, rhythmic, and globally inspired while keeping that West Country grit. They’re not just throwing raves; they’re reimagining sound system culture and keeping Bristol moving forward.

Leeds

Ask any well-informed smoking area about the hottest night out in Leeds right now, and you’ll likely hear the name GBOSA. A pulsing global bass night, GBOSA has a bulletproof track record of diverse lineups which combine Leeds’ rising stars with established DJs. Founded in 2022, the collective’s parties in 2024 featured sets by their founder, Coco Bops, along with residents Hyken, plus a whole host of innovate DJs of colour such as IHATENOISE and Brussels’ Blck Mamba. Beyond fortifying the current (long-overdue) upsurge in Leeds club nights that unapologetically prioritise and celebrate minorities, GBOSA is pushing the envelope musically. With lineups that make GBOSA a sanctuary for previously underrepresented genres in the city like amapiano, gqom, and afrohouse, the club night’s three-year run has cemented its status as a reliably electric trailblazer. Leeds’ airtight reputation for nightlife is hard to live up to, but GBOSA has the chops to break through the noise.

Manchester

There must be something in the water up here. Maybe it’s Evian Christ. Because Manchester can’t get enough trance right now. The second city is currently playing host to a string of nights dedicated to the euphoric ‘90s dance music genre, tempting us out the house for some hard house. Alongside the likes of Trancendance and Kylie Goes Berghain is the excellent Tranceform. Taking place at the Derby Brewery Arms (or the DBA for short) — a Joseph Holt boozer that also moonlights as a queer cultural hub and club space — it celebrates unabashedly ecstatic bangers with reach-for-the lasers melodies. It’s currently on every few months, giving you just about enough time to recover from the last rager. Expect highly-friendly BPM-fiends decked out in ‘90s clobber dancing to the likes of — wait for it — Trance Penine Express. Chew chew!

Cardiff

The New Moon is a Cardiff institution that has been completely reborn. This friendly basement haunt kicked off a new era when it formally reopened earlier this year, after its previous owners closed the doors last November. With the intention to breed grassroots creativity and culture in the Welsh capital, here, events are run by local heroes, making it a hub of collaboration that’s accessible to any artists who may be finding their feet. Free weekly showcases see fresh talent of all genres descend on this laid-back space. It’s popular with soul music fans but welcoming to everyone, with performances from spoken-word acts and DJs to bilingual rappers. Nights are usually thrown by emerging promoters, while the venue is operated by the team behind Bunkhouse, a dedicated drum ‘n’ bass bar and hostel just minutes away from The New Moon’s prime central location. It’s low-ceilinged and loud, too – just how things should be.

Liverpool

There’s not much that can rival Liverpool’s CHOP.LIFE, where energy is the name of the game. The party has been flooding the streets with immaculate selections of amapiano, house, baile funk, garage, you name it, for the last three years. In fact,
make it to a Chop night, and you’ll soon forget all those think pieces proclaiming the death of the dancefloor. These nights, cooked up by DJ Papu Raf, are hosted at 24 Kitchen Street in the Baltic Triangle, a district of ex-industrial warehouses on the fringes of the city centre, and consistently draw a dedicated set of disciples ready to move. The summer yard parties are infallible, while the recent addition of more intimate mini Chop sessions hosted around the corner at Lost Art keep the energy high in between. Come prepared to grove.

Ullapool, Scottish Highlands

Baile/Baile, meaning ‘village’ in Gaelic and ‘dance’ in Spanish, may not be the convenient party to get to – it is, after all, in a tiny 1600-population fishing village, a four and a half hour drive from Edinburgh. That said, it might just be one of the most exciting, since it makes sense to roll a visit into a wholesome sightseeing road trip via the Highlands’s stunning mountains, gorges and lochs. But onto the night itself: the event takes place in a function room turned nightclub, decked out with lights, smoke and a 2am licence. Music wise, expect heavy-hitting electronic from cutting-edge UK DJs, including techno producer LWS, garage duo DADs and longtime Sub Club resident Telford. There’s a real community feel here – locals count down the days to the next event, and adventurous club heads travel from far and wide to tick it off – and the crowd speaks for itself. Parties take place monthly and usually run in the winter season, from November to March. Check out their Instagram for all of the details.

Read more: the rise of the really remote club night

London

There’s just something about Fold. A 600-capacity club slap-bang in the middle of a Canning Town industrial estate, it’s one of the very few London venues which maintains genuine community vibes. And then there’s their in-house party, Unfold, which has become a bit of a legend in and of itself. Starting at midday on Sunday, it’s a 12-hour dance marathon for daytime ravers. With a killer soundsystem blasting squelchy acid, thundering techno and splintering breaks for hours on end, the line-up is kept secret and tickets are only available on the door. You’re also not allowed to take photos, meaning you’re free to make a complete tit of yourself and not worry about discovering your arrhythmic bopping on your mate’s Instagram story during your Monday commute. 

Glasgow

If there’s a club night that’s guaranteed to make you feel a little better (in whatever way), it has to be Glasgow’s Healthy. With a commitment to inclusion, diversity and general good vibes, Healthy nights consistently combine world-class music – spanning everything from house and hyperpop to leftfield electronica and industrial – with a welcoming, friendly neighbourhood feel. Since growing out of subterranean club The Berkeley Suite, it seems there’s no venue Healthy can’t transform into a night out to remember, whether it’s full-scale all-nighters at The Art School, intimate get-togethers at community space Civic House or a knees-up at a little known working men’s club or disused function room. Claire Francis

Sheffield

Walk past Bal Fashions during the day and you’d likely think you were walking past a row of boarded-up shops rather than a thriving independent nightclub. Well, technically that’s true. It’s a small club located in an old clothes shop next to the site of a demolished market. While a somewhat unglamorous location, it’s home to some of Sheffield’s best nights, including Apricot Ballroom. Hosted by hi-fi geeks Joi La Frique and Nonna Fab, the night is inspired by NYC loft parties and plays slow-burn disco, synth funk, jazz, soul and Balearic beats through their own customised audiophile soundsystem. They pull in guests from across the country to get intimate and (very) sweaty in a little upstairs room, cultivating a vibe that manages to feel both laid-back and fruity. 

Glasgow

Glasgow has long upheld its reputation for high-flying house and techno, and Jamaica Street’s Sub Club is arguably one of the reasons it’s still going so strong. Subculture is the flagship resident party happening every Saturday night at this buzzing basement venue, and it’s been around long enough to have learned a thing or two about throwing a party. Trusted resident DJ duo Harri & Domenic are on hand week in, week out, spinning the finest cutting-edge club music alongside regular guest appearances from fiery-hot selectors.

Cardiff

Headed up by founders David J Bull and James Teak, this long-running Cardiff party offers up the unique chance to dance in the basement of an antiques emporium. One of the most respected underground club promoters in Wales, TEAK has brought massive names like Motor City Drum Ensemble and the late Andrew Weatherall to the space, as well as trusty residents playing the best from the realms of house, techno, disco, acid and more. 

London and beyond

Have you heard the news? Northern soul is cool again. No, really. Childhood mates Will Foot and Lewis Henderson threw their first party in Deptford’s Bunker Club in 2016, making use of their rather hefty collection of soul records. Since then, they’ve played venues up and down the UK and established themselves as an authority on the genre’s renaissance in the club world. Vibes-wise, it’s pretty much happiness all round: gurgling vocals, contagious basslines and wax-fuelled grooves to keep your feet tapping all night long. These days, they have a residency at the literally glittering Moth Club in East London and continue to tour the country’s clubs and festival circuit, spreading that soulful energy far and wide.

Bristol

Headed up by Mun Sing – aka one half of live techno duo Giant Swan – and DJ NE$$, Illegal Data’s events guarantee expertly curated eclecticism with a mischievous DIY edge. Featuring both live performances and DJ sets, their nights take in everything from hardcore freneticism to avant-garde electronica, grime and hyperpop with the likes of Lyzza, Loraine James, Iceboy Violet, and Golin playing over the years, to mention but a few of the names that have graced their events since the debut Illegal Data outing in 2018. These days, Illegal Data’s club nights mainly take place at DIY Bristol spot Strange Brew and community-owned space Exchange. Guaranteed interesting listening and good vibes all around. Kez Cochrane 

Leeds

Based in the Mabgate area of inner-city Leeds, Cosmic Slop is put on in support of the local Map Charity (which offers creative outlets to young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream education), bringing resident and guest DJs alike to Hope House where a wide range of electronic, RnB and hip hop all feel represented. Floating Points tips the party as having ‘the greatest soundsystem in the world’, while Four Tet, Mr Scruff, Gilles Peterson and Joy Orbison have all stopped by for work and play, a testament to its infectious northern spirit. 

Manchester

Since its inception in 2017, Mutualism has expanded to become so much more than a club night – now also functioning as a record label and producing the unique concept-driven podcast series, Datastreams. But it’s still on those sweaty dance floors – currently taking place in the basement of iconic Manchester venue SOUP – where the collective’s inventive, boundary-pushing take on electronic music truly comes alive. As the brainchild of DJs BFTT, Clemency and Iceboy Violet, Mutualism’s parties are predictably free-flowing, with sonic exploration taking precedence over any particular genre or pace: think UK bass, jungle and grime, but never as you’ve heard it before. Nadia Younes 

London

Prioritising women and femmes of colour and other queer, intersex and trans POC, Pxssy Palace has been curating safe, body-positive spaces across London for nearly a decade now – and it’s hard to overstate their influence on the capital’s club scene. Growing out of house parties thrown by Glasgow natives Nadine Noor and Skye Barre, the collective has garnered an enormous following and now throw frequent parties at London’s Colour Factory. They also launched their inaugural day festival, Overflo, last year. Clubbers are encouraged to wear what they want (‘there’s no pressure to dress up’) and dance the night away with abandon.

London

Technomate is for and by members of the FLINTA* (Female, Lesbian, Intersex, Non-binary, Transgender and Agender/Asexual) community and their allies. As the name suggests, the music at Technomate is hard, fast and fun techno – attentive ravers might even spot a satellite dish hanging as a prop behind the booth, an homage to the satellite manufacturer the party is named after. With the cost-of-living crisis weighing on most marginalised communities, Technomate has taken great care in ensuring the party is as inclusive as possible: prices are fair, and they’ve set aside tickets for NHS staff, sex workers and those who have a low income. Following their debut performance at Body Movements festival last summer, they returned for the winter edition this month, and in March, they’ll be back on home turf at Tottenham’s Unit 58. 

London and beyond

Also known as Europe’s largest fetish club, Torture Garden throws monthly kink parties in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and other UK cities. As well as offering hook suspensions, couples’ play rooms and sex dungeons, the parties incorporate performance art, installations and fashion shows, and tickets for its strict-dress-code events (think latex, burlesque, rubber and uniform) tend to sell out in a blink. Escapism and consent take precendance here – after all, there’s a reason Torture Garden is still going all these years after it was founded back in 1990. It’s one of the rare places where you’re encouraged to indulge in your wildest fantasies, free of judgement. 

Nottingham and beyond

Wigflex is the brainchild of Lucas Wigflex, whose Nottingham-born parties have grown into ambitious city-wide festivals and 24-hour-long stompers in London’s Corsica Studios. These days, Wigflex is known for its staple stripped-back, jagged minimal electronic sound, but it’s the prestige and trust in knowing you’re in safe hands that makes this one of the best parties in the East Midlands and beyond. 

Manchester

Taking over Mint Lounge in the Northern Quarter on Saturday nights, Funkademia is one of Manchester’s longest-running club nights for a reason: it’s where you go to dance. Duck under a velvet curtain and you’ll be greeted with a swell of heat, as iconic voices from the history of funk and soul get modern remixes, accompanied by support from a live saxophonist who moves among a vibed-up crowd. The audience ranges from students to seasoned Funkademia regulars, with one thing in common: no one takes themselves too seriously. 

Edinburgh and beyond

A staple name of the Cowgate club circuit, eclectic promoters Headset have been throwing frequent Edinburgh parties for more than a decade now, as well as expanding their reach to the dance floors of Glasgow, London and Bristol. The night caters to an eclectic mix of genres – UK garage, techno, bass, breaks, ballroom house and so on – and has some of the most recognisable club posters going. Over the years, they’ve welcomed the likes of Jeremy Sylvester and Yung Singh to their decks, and frequently spotlight Scottish talent like La Freak, J Wax and Neil Landstrumm. We love to see it. 

London

Black artists pioneered electronic music, but during its commercial boom, the industry often propelled white artists to global stardom while Black artists’ work was left unacknowledged. Founded in the wake of the global Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Black Artist Database (B.A.D.) aims to address this gap through workshops, mentoring sessions and club nights across London. Since 2021, Black Artist Database has hosted artists like A Guy Called Gerald, DJ Flight, Lakuti and Tash LC, at their B.A.D. Presents nights at London venues including Corsica Studios, Fabric and Colour Factory. The nights traverse genres and punters can expect to hear some of the most exciting DJs and legendary producers from across the electronic spectrum.