What is your personal opinion in what city you can go raving the best? In what city are the best locations, the friendliest people and the highest frequency of events (during the week)? Or maybe just some of these things but in what city would you say people should have been raving in their life at least once?
Going there in May. What venues do you recommend?
May has already indoor and outdoor events! I'd recommend events rather than venues. Soenda, Awakenings, Intercell, Verknipt, are the big commercial ones. But there are honestly so so many (Check resident advisor). Also partying in a nearby city is doable because there are trains all night long . About venues in Ams, the big ones are Radion, Garage Noord, Lofi, Hemkade, H7, Warehouse Elementestraat, among others. Keep in mind that EDM is almost non existent in Amsterdam, here techno, trance and hard techno are the main played genres, but people's vibes are spectacular. And if you come in October for ADE, you'll be mind blown for the amount of events!
I googled about ADE how exactly is it working? Do you buy a ticket and can go everywhere with it?
And do you know how it is with Awakenings? Is it far away from the city? If I would buy the day tickets would it be possible to stay at some Hotel in Amsterdam or would that be too complicated?
Hey, I’m going to be there June 12th & 13th. Any recommendations on Wednesdays by chance lol?
That's a tough one haha I only know small clubs with questionable music that fit 200people or so
As long as questionable means hard, and crowd is cool/not horrible people- count me in 😎
You have techno Tuesdays in a venue called Melkweg, random a bit harder techno in Club John Doe on Wednesdays and a few interesting options on Thursdays
Thank you a ton 🤘
Gashouder if it’s in season.
Check out Bevrijdingspop in Haarlem in May. Good times.
That + Berlin. Any other answer is objectively wrong.
Check the shotgun app for Paris, it's an underrated city :)
At first I thought there was nothing in Berlin, it's just that the events are on another app (ra.co)
Resident advisor is brilliant in a lot of places. Works great in LA and New York too.
Been several times (but not for ADE) and it always blows my mind how there's never any big name artists playing. Half the dudes big enough for the international festival circuit are Dutch and even on like F1 weekend there's nothing. Come home and play boys!
Dutch artist in NL play mostly at festivals or in cities a bit cheaper for a younger audience from what I've seen.
Go for ADE, you'll see non stop huge guys in the best setups you could imagine.
What do you mean with big names? Most big names in techno and house play in Amsterdam at least once a year.
All the big names are residents in Vegas.
Sure but they're residents in Ibiza too during the summer. They fly all over most don't live where they play
Oh for sure, but it’s Ibiza > Vegas > other shit. They don’t go back to Amsterdam that often. Maybe for Awakenings?
I was about to say this , it's on a whole another level in Europe to where it's so awesome you cant explain it
In the UK, I would say London. But I think everyone should visit Berlin at least once, so many incredible places and something for all tastes
Only familiar with the london scene but I have heard some great things about Manchester. I imagine that the northerners probably rave solidly. And possibly in Glasgow too.
can confirm manchester goes crazy, bristol is great for dnb as well
I want to get to MANCHESTER!!!!!!!!! 😜👽👾🫶🏽🥰
Glaswegian here. We have a good scene but for some reason Glasgow is very techno heavy, and dnb doesn't really exist here (which suits me but it differs from the rest of the UK which loves dnb).
Don't forget Glasgow's hard dance scene. Don't find that anywhere else in Europe outside of Netherlands
I’m shocked the top responses aren’t Berlin. It’s a category apart from anywhere else.
Headed to Berlin in May, any recommendations?
I really liked Sisyphos last time, different rooms for different tastes, friendly people and not full of Instagram bandwagoners
Bristol
Up north
My life peaked in Berlin when I managed to get into berghain KitKat and sisophys all in one 48 hour blur. I love that city
It honestly depends on the type of EDM you listen to but I personally really loved the PNW rave scene for dubstep/bass/dnb. I feel like the people were much nicer than LA, TX, CO, IN, IL, and FL that I’ve been to.
I know everyone says Denver has a great rave scene but I found at least the online side of Denver EDM is not that friendly in the sense that most of the responses to asking any kind of question for events were “just research it yourself”,”why are you asking this? This is common knowledge”, “if you have to ask, you don’t belong”type of answers.
Yeah that online shit is stupid but that's also the net! But I feel ya, the upper Midwest can be pretty sweet too definitely more underground but it's better that way!
It is but can feel pretty isolating when you are a new to the area and just generally just looking to attend events for the music/understand the venue! I’m not even asking for a plug, genuinely just don’t know the area and need to know parking 🤣
A lot of metal bands won’t even play any shows in Colorado period because of how rude the crowds are
Gotta be pretty bad if even the crustiest metal and punk bands will skip your whole state 😭
Not to be a cliche, but cliches exist for a reason — you can rave almost every night of the year in Berlin if you really wanted to.
Same in. London, gets better every time I go
Like where?
Amsterdam (friendliest people ever) and a lot going on, or Berlin if you like techno.
Berlin and it's not even close. Although Miami during MMW and Amsterdam during ADE are something else.
Needs more upvotes.
Yeah Berlin is lit, I just don't like the fact that for some you have to stand in line so the bouncer can decide to let you in. The lines get ridiculously long
Yeah it was annoying, we ended up going to smaller clubs and interesting bars. Definitely not used to waiting 3 hours to maybe get in somewhere 😅
I think it’s more understandable if you look at it like this - they do it to keep their scene authentic bc if not, every non raver douchebag that just wants to get fucked up and prey on women would hear Berlin is wild and ruin those awesome venues. The doors are strict for good reason.
I waited 2 hours for Kit Kat & berghain & did not mind because the crowd was so awesome. I was there alone as a tall topless blonde girl and felt completely safe and not harassed at all despite the fact that naked people were fucking everywhere at both venues.
Yeah but the thing is, being a tall topless blonde means you get in pretty much everywhere. Being an average guy means you may be in line for 2 hours for a 50/50 chance of getting in. From an average guys perspective buying a ticket is the most fair and efficient way of doing raves.
This is the only correct answer, if I see one more person comment “Denver” 😭
Detroit
There's that one coming up in Detroit next month or something? That wknd one ? Always sounds really bad ass amazing line Up s from old school heroes to everyone like Jeff Mills and Richie Hawtin. Goldie is doing a live band set!!! That's going to be fkn FYAh!,👾🥷👾
Big agree
Always wanted to check out detroits scene. Seems so homegrown like what I imagine the old days where like before tik tok raves
Mexico City and New York.
Not sure in terms of friendliness but definitely in terms of quality and frequency or acts and artists, both are amazing
CDMX is great because it’s like techno+ All the big artists play but then the local scene and musical influences are freaking incredible, plus the people at the raves are super nice
I cannot believe I left Mexico City to move back to Australia (and I’m not from Melbourne, which is the only city where anyone has ears for some reason) and had to listen to the trash they play at the bush doofs. Anyway, fixing that and moving back to party lol
Which clubs in CD X would you recommend for techno+?
Yuyu 🖤
Japan (when I say techno+ I mean like there’s techno mixed in with local producers and rhythms… I think it’s fascinating, YMMV, but either way the vibes are good!)
Fünk
Pervert for queer techno, very Berlin style. 🖤🖤 (this is a party, so interchangeable venue) Objekt played their parties for a while
EXT. (also parties)
I do not usually recommend clubs per se, the best is when you follow a party collective like the last two, and then they’ll throw a rave in an old factory or abandoned prison or something real vibey. But the venues I did recommend are usually worth seeing what they’ve got on, but they don’t only do techno so there may also not be anything on for that vibe.
And then there’s usually a million other techno things I didn’t realise were happening because there’s so much happening 😂
New Yorks electronic music scene low-key sucks lol
Just about anybody whose anybody plays there at least annually. I love the Mirage but I get that's an unpopular opinion, only bad experience was this chick attempting to pull me off of the upper level rail so she could stand in my spot but I found that pretty hilarious as it was happening. The people are the issue not the music.
If we’re talking strictly about the venue (take the crowd out for a moment) mirage is the coolest venue I’ve ever been too. I saw Big Gigantic there about 2 years ago and it changed the trajectory of my life lol. Have been to so many shows since. (Most being DJ sets) saw lost frequencies there. Incredible. Flume. Awesome. John summit..amazing buttt let’s bring the crowd back in. John summit was the first show I felt like the crowd was too much. Been to a few shows since and it was stupid crowded. Unfortunately mirage sells too many tickets but the venue itself is absolutely fuckin stupendous Imo.
It's so amazing. I couldn't dream of a better venue for our music and I have some ideas
Went to Garrix '22 Ezoo after in zombie mode and I think I've never been happier than that 5am subway ride. Tiesto day show last year was a ton of fun. This year I want to go for a left field show, ideally some dirty techno
You don't know shit then! Some of the best legitimately good underground techno and house is being made there. They don't get your shit tech house/bass music that's popular the rest of the US - and are better off for that.
Imagine saying nyc doesn’t have a thriving scene. Local names are taking over rn.
Los Angeles scene is always thriving
Good Clubs, Good festivals and good underground
Good underground is getting harder and harder. But la and San Diego, and small places in Mexico is where it’s at!
I haven't been to a rave in LA in quite some time, but the San Diego underground scene is excellent! Especially the events by Enter The Tech and West Coast Weekender 🤩🪩🕺🏼🎶🎶
Yup! Tunnel parties!!! The garage! The old warehouse. Now I want to eat at El Comal. lol not a rave, but AC Lounge HMF Anniversary is right around the corner!!
AC Lounge is great; I love that place! One of my favorite spots in San Diego
I miss AC Lounge so much
Missing Enter The Tech so much 😭😭😭
Their Danksgiving party in 2018 was so damn good! 🤩
always, just got back from skyline
Gotta agree. LA has everything. Bit too far to make the trek on a consistent basis now tho
Denver forsure, especially for dubstep
Wook central down there
Lmao yes
Yeah for literally only dubstep
Denver trance shows go hard. Depends who your seeing though
bass music is not dubstep. denver is the bass music capital of the world
And dnb (not the best in the US) and UKG. We are lacking in techno severely.
Quite a bit but there’s a lot of small techno shows which I prefer. Cox came by twice in like 6 months also. Nicole M again next weekend. 1134 always has good music/vibes. Also the new stay.tuned club is pretty awesome and focuses on non bass
I lived in Denver on and off from 2016-2020 and although they do have some good music I can list 10 other US cities with more happening any given night. And the underground is seriously lacking. Variety is also seriously lacking. I do appreciate people dance in Denver and have solid dance floor etiquette.
Only for dubstep.
Personally, I think the sets in Denver are great but the culture is awful compared to most other cities. Denver you get crowds that are super into the music, great looking venues and a good chance the artist is going to do a bit extra but PLUR is absolutely dead in Denver and all the venues are run by extremely money hungry LA based companies.
I’ve only been here for two years and I’m mostly do shows at red rock. Is there an underground scene?
To add to the other reply. There’s black box which was one of the first clubs in the US to headline european dub and DNB artists. And with afters shows you also have events like maybeforever, riverbeatz, soul quest, and many other popups from a lot of other small venues. If you wanna see the majority of EDM events happening in Denver (atleast the official ones), I’d install Edmtrain. There’s about 5-7 shows of all EDM genres a day every Thursday-Saturday.
There’s black box which was one of the first clubs in the US to headline european dub and DNB artists.
the absolute ignorance of this statement lmao
Ya after hours anonymous, sorted, Denver techno
There's so much. Come to larimer lounge March 14th 🤘🏼
Denver was AMAZING for raves back in 1996-2008. After that, though, it just kinda dropped and not in a good way.
huh I wonder what genre started rapidly ascending in 2008
weird
Denver is the most over hyped city I ever been to. But they do have a good music scene for sure. But that’s about it.
Chicago hands down
Chicago has good venues and a TON of shows/events but overall the people in the scene there are trash
lol of course a basshead says that. Nah bass just brings in sucky crowds.
Chicago has a massive house scene and a sweet underground techno scene, both full of wonderfully weird people.
You're right about that. I've only met one basshead here in Florida, and he was a complete douche who tried to scam me. I'm sure there are a few decent people in that scene, but you'll probably find better on the house/techno scene.
Meeeeeeooowwwwwww! Chicago has the best people. Rave scene or otherwise.
Berlin by a long shot.
Denver is literally called the bass capital. I’ve had friends living there that said the hardest part is all the shows you miss because on most nights you have multiple to choose from
Just in the past two weeks I've had to choose between Lost Frequencies / ISOxo and Gareth Emery / Carl Cox playing on the same night. First world problems baby. I have diverse tastes haha
Went to Lost Frequencies and Gareth Emery. For me those were no brainer choices tho!
Same bro, great shows!
Well half of Gareth was great. Some fucking guy pulled a little switchblade on me when I refused to move because he wanted 6 feet of space on one of the elevated rows to himself and got my hand, I had the medics bandage it up and went home. Keep on keepin' on Denver
What!??? Forealz what a fkn punk dude needs to get done out
I feel that and it just happens sometimes where you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time and it ruins everything. A guy in front of us at Zeds Dead at Forest this last year was having a breakdown on something and went berserk and like 7 people tackled and were restraining him. I’d bet 20 yards further ahead the people I bet had no idea that that even happened. Placement can make or break your experience. Just know the next show you’re at you’ll be surrounded by good people!
Yeah it was shocking dude. Like it's a GA show and there's three feet between you and the aisle, I have every right to stand here and I'm not touching you. Maybe he scared away others beforehand and that's why he had the space but I wasn't fucking letting this guy get away with that. He asked me to move probably 5 times before he pulled the blade. Hope he enjoyed his trip down the stairs, looked painful
About to head back for Bryce Vine and expecting good vibes :)
Surely you mean Montreal
So true. I feel like there’s a month out of every year where it’s particularly bad with overlap
Okay but I live near Seattle and Seattle was called bass capital of the world ever since like, 2017, so I don't think the title has much merit if everyone thinks their city is the bass capital 😂
They started calling Denver the bass capital in 07-08 with Mike Honcho and Submisssion.
Yeah, it probably moves around. Bass music back then is nothing like today. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Kansas or some other random place was the new bass capital
Maybe. The Black Box keeps Denver in the running. https://www.westword.com/music/how-denver-became-the-us-bass-capital-and-breeding-ground-for-dubstep-19378937
Denver was a large part in the push for dubstep to migrate from the UK pre skrillex era. The deep 140 sound couldn’t really be found anywhere besides here for a while. It started spreading around closer to 2009-12 and obviously at this point it’s absolutely everywhere. Denver just has redrocks now which is a destination venue for people everywhere. I meet so many out of staters and even people from Europe at redrocks. It’s awesome.
I don't believe this is true... I was going to big dubstep shows in San Francisco/oakland in 07, 08 and 09 and we had nothing on LA as far as what they were bringing talent wise. Denver is cool and all but as someone who has raved all over the country it will always be mid. Redrocks is something to be proud of but Black Box, the Mission Ball Room, Cervantes and Your Moms House (yes that's a venue) are kinda mid and nothing special. Meow Wolf is the only note worthy venue in town.
Everyone hypes their city because they have only touched the surface of other cities.
Who is calling Seattle bass capital?
Denver 100% is the bass capital. I wonder if you were to map out all the shows if Denver would have close to double the events of the next biggest city.
Yes Denver wins for sure 👍🏼
Berlin and Detroit
Brooklyn
Denver and Minneapolis are both great!
Second Minneapolis. Lots of great shows and really fun venues
Amsterdam
Berlin.
In the US:
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Chicago
New York
You’re having a laugh if you don’t say Bristol
I can’t believe I had to scroll so far for this
The underground scene in Bristol was more drum n bass and hard techno/gabba (Bristol DJ Easygroove for example) but I'm not familiar with it these days. I'm more of a deep house head.
Bristols great but it can be rough out there if you dont like D&B
It’s dropped off a bit post-covid, but that hasn’t always been the case in my experience. About 5/6 years ago, on any given weekend you could usually find several events on for at least 3 different sub-genres of electronic music (prior to lots of places shutting).
House, techno & dubstep are still just as popular as DnB is in Bristol, you just need to know where to look!
Detroit and Denver. Both have large shows and underground raves
detroit
Tangent gallery is incredible
Please do tell the tales of your tangent experiences
Spaced out on K and LSD to acid techno all through the night, dancing next to a guy getting his ass eaten out on the sound booth
🤣 amazing. Happen to be last november?
Last may during Movement
Minneapolis, MN is on the come up! Its where I live so alittle partial but there are shows here every weekend! Sometimes big names and other more less known people but it’s always a vibe. I’m trying to do more this year to actually travel and explore other cities 😻
Armory is so fucking lit, it's one of the things I miss most from living in Minneapolis
What are some good venues worth checking out in Minneapolis? Im more interested in techno / house versus dubstep. Visiting in the spring.
Well we do have a lot of house and some techno too. I'll go through the venues.
Main venues (big name shows every weekend) 1. Armory - Best venue in town. Every DJ loves it too. 2. Skyway - More dubstep comes here, but there's still a variety. Also Skyway has their main theatre but also has several smaller venues.
Small/mid sized venues: (way more house at these) 1. Vanquish 2. Union rooftop 3. Rev ultra lounge 4. Exchange 5. Pourhouse/pourhouse hideout
I've been to all these but I'll list a couple more I haven't been to that have shows.
- The Filmore
- The Vault
- The Green Room
Really what you want to do though is 1st, download EDMTrain and filter for Minnesota. Next, follow @Simshows, @danceagenda and @backyardboombox on instagram.
Dance agenda and backyard boombox throw shows everywhere. There was literally a setup at our cowboy bar downtown yesterday. Hopefully that helps.
Commenting to follow im also heading out there this spring to see if we wanna move there!
Not that experienced in travel raving, but from Montreal and there is alwaysss an event you can find with great music to dance to
Montreal! 🫶 agreed it has a great scene
Rotterdam
Berlin, nothing comes close, every other suggestion is making me laugh lol
If you've come to that conclusion, I hope you have been clubbing all over the world, so that you can compare all of those cities to Berlin ? I'm assuming from this that you've raved in Chicago, Detroit, New York,LA, San Francisco,Miami,Manchester, Leeds, London, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Georgia etc etc ? If not then you're just going by what you've heard. Berlin has more clubs and parties than any of those cities I mentioned, I will give you that, however clubbing in Berlin clubbing is very elitist and they don't really welcome foreigners. Let's be honest you've got a much better chance of getting into Berghain (and several other clubs) if you're German. The old skool warehouse/rave underground scene in the UK from 88-91 was better than anything Berlin has now.
- I live in Berlin and I am a regular at Berghain and I never speak any German at door and I am not even white
- Berghain is not the only club in Berlin, there are tons of other options and if someone is just visiting, I would highly suggest them to go to a different club than bh
- yes I am a techno tourist and I have raved in most big European cities
- Idk what was happening in 88 - 91, I was not born back then so I am not in a position to make that comparison
Not the best but don't sleep on Portland... The North Warehouse, 45 East, Rainbow City, Opiline, Roseland, Star Theater, The Den, The Get Down, Basanova Ballroom, Produce Row just to name a few...and an underground scene that beats any city in the PNW (just went to a crazy techno underground last night) and possibly the Bay Area. Only serious issue I have with PDX is that I wish people would dance more. Don't forget drugs are legal 😉
Rip the north warehouse 😢
I think it will be back soon!
Northwest scene is amazing. Gorge amphitheater is right there near Portland or Seattle. And both have amazing scenes in the city
Dallas has a good dubstep scene and so does Minneapolis. Seen subtronics at the armory in Minneapolis last year and they throw down.
New York, but Brooklyn specifically. Anywhere in Manhattan is honestly ass since the vibe is not great.
Brooklyn!
Fort Lauderdale Florida sucks. Miami is ok, but driving there and parking etc is a hassle and it's a $100 Uber. Berlin is probably the best city for raving.
FTL is better than Miami imo
Tbilisi, Georgia 🇬🇪
Miami, NY, LA, Denver
Lots of touring artists make stops at these places
Depends on the type of Edm you like in the USA. Brooklyn is great if you like techno and house :)
Seattle is pretty lit
Any suggestions? Haven’t been to a rave since I moved here.
Next Friday is BTSM, and Kai Waichi at WaMu,, also edmtrain is a great tool to find local shows !
Following up on this. I would like to know too please 🥹
Thunderdome and Bass Canyon every year, Illenium and Beyond Wonderland at the gorge every year, WAMU theater regularly for big acts, Showbox for big-mid acts, Substation for mid-small acts, and Nectar and High Dive, Wild Buffalo for sprinkled in mid-small acts.
Q! , Trinity, and the Monkey Loft too,, and Freight House, and Airport Tavern on Tuesdays in Tacoma for good local acts
Yes!
Dallas crowds understand the assignment and always seem to surprise the artists
Edit: city definitely needs more venues though :/
Dallas is definitely the edm city of Texas, there’s enough decent venues and I’m constantly getting ads for top tier artists that come through.
It’ll do club is the bees knees
Second this
Phoenix Arizona goes hard
I was about to say PHOENIX POPS OFF And I live in Vegas
Where? I'm here for another week brother and have done nothing but work and bhn
Definitely not DC, buncha snobs and pickpocketers
Cologne 🇩🇪 (I guess everybody else already said Berlin)
Sf, sj, sac. But Bay Area is Bay Area so do with that what you will
How do you go about finding local shows? I haven’t been to any since I moved here
Like others said, pretty much everything is listed on 19hz.info. We have a great scene here, especially if you like house music. Plenty of bass music too, if that is your thing, but you can find house and/or techno pretty much every night of the week in SF.
Spotify is great for showing you upcoming events. Otherwise follow your favorite artists on social media to find the spot they’re usually at. You can usually find spots as well just by looking up your city and if there’s any clubs, event centers, etc..
I’m closer to San Mateo so it’s a bit quieter out here but I’ll try checking Spotify out, appreciate the tips
Well if you don’t mind driving sf has dna lounge, 1015 Folsom, bill graham, and then San Jose civic. Also insomniac site has a larger listing for ca
las vegas
DC, Denver, Philly
The entire DMV(DC, Maryland, Virginia) edm scene is huge
Now they may not be the best of the best but I gotta shout em out cause no one has said anything… Orlando and Tampa! Both have great bass scenes and house scenes with more lowkey techno and dnb scenes. A good few venues between each city and generally really dope and friendly people— especially if you add St. Pete to Tampa.
Miami obviously is top tier too. The amount of talent they get and the quality of their clubs/venues is world renown. However, it’s hella expensive there and the vibes can be meh (lots of entitled/rude ppl). Still amazing for raves tho nonetheless! I’d also argue that Miami may have the best techno scene in the USA, besides possibly Detroit.
Surprised it took me the long to find Miami. Though I do agree with you, it's hella expensive. Just this past weekend we had the We Belong Here festival and next month is Ultra and Miami Music Week. Few cities in America could support events like MMW on such a large scale. Maybe LA or Vegas.
Goa.it gets crazy down there
Dallas, TX there is something every weekend
In America, we can be very diverse state-by-state by there's a few things I feel like:
LA overall, Chicago and Miami for House and some Techno, Denver for Dubstep and a lot of Bass, Detroit for Techno, a lot of cities in California, Florida have huge bass scenes, obviously there's a lot of top notch clubs in Vegas, New York, and major Metro Cities, and a lot of other small cities are either strong overall scenes or cater to certain sub-genres/niches well.
Shout-out to Portland lol, a smaller but mostly chill and growing scene, but mostly bass heavy and though I love me some riddim and bass, send us more house and techno plz :)
for bass music, minneapolis 100%
I’m going out on a limb here, Philly..
I live near Philly but have always raved in Brooklyn, it’s a goal of mine this year to get more knowledgeable about the scene here locally.
Philly has some good headline acts, NY gets more/bigger names. But Philly has a damn good local rave scene.
Bay Area seems underrated here. Best part is you can bring substances just about anywhere without much concern and consume them pretty openly. I sometimes forget how careful I have to be when visiting clubs in other places lol
San Francisco pretty cool
Ibiza in the summer of course 😒
I’m from LA always had fun in SD and Spain
Amsterdam!! The Dutchies know damn well how to party