‘Nothing good ever happens after 2am’ – the rise of the daytime ravers
With a nightclub shutting down every two days, we are just six years from the UK becoming a cultural desert after midnight.
Economic problems in the industry, the rise of the sober curious movement and the cost of living are among the myriad reasons that clubs are shutting down, and if they are to follow this trajectory, from 2030, there will be nowhere left to dance until dawn, according to a troubling report from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).
But all is not lost, apparently.
Clubs and clubbers are evolving and revellers, such as 29-year-old Clarissa Bloom,are finding new ways, times and places to party.
The Londoner tells Metro that she no longer goes out at night, opting instead, for the safer and more relaxed atmosphere of a day rave. For her and thousands of others, daytime has become the new nighttime.
While it’s a model that has been attractive for a while to parents, sober ravers – and of course older revellers who cannot afford to lose sleep the way they once could – it’s steadily being embraced by a younger generation eager to reimagine what clubbing should look like.
‘I stopped enjoying evening drinking a long time ago,’ relationship expert Clarissa says, adding, ‘Nothing good ever happens after 2am.’
Her first day rave in Brighton was ‘amazing fun’, she recalls.
‘It felt truly bizarre leaving; it being daylight and everyone is sober around me. I also had that buzz and didn’t know whether to carry on or get home.
‘I love the idea, whether sober or with a few cocktails in me, being able to have a dance with my friends, listen to great music and not have to leave at 5am, which ruins the next day. And it’s a great atmosphere. It seems to be a different group and it doesn’t seem to attract so many of the creeps.’
Also, Clarissa – who works with events business The Stag Company – points out, people aren’t as drunk.
‘So they’re generally much nicer and in control of themselves,’ she says. ‘With night clubbing, the next day is always a write-off. I can handle some prosecco but I can’t handle a lack of sleep.’
Which clubs are having success?
Superclub DRUMSHEDS – one of the world’s largest nightclubs – has capitalised on this more ‘sensible’ approach by setting up a 15,000-capacity venue inside an old Ikea warehouse in Tottenham, north London.
Opening its doors last year and now in its third season, the temporary venue hosts acts including Defected, Rinse, The Hydra, Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers, among others.
Simeon Aldred, director of strategy at the event management company Broadwick Live that runs the event, explains that while the ‘nights’ run from noon until 11pm, there’s still big business to be had in the ‘ immersive, dark, atmospheric space’ that used to go hand in hand with nightclubbing.
‘The appeal is that people can come early, get the full club experience, and still have the rest of their night — or even next morning — free,’ he tells Metro. ‘It opens up the scene to a wider group, and it’s a different energy when people are fully charged and ready to go earlier in the day. It’s a fresh take on clubbing, but we keep the intensity of the late-night experience intact.’
According to Broadwick Live their success comes from using non-traditional locations to give people a different experience from the ordinary club night.
‘We look for spaces that have a story or a unique character—like old factories, warehouses, or places with an industrial edge. Printworks [a former newspaper press in Surrey Quays, Rotherhithe] is a perfect example of that,’ explains Simeon.
‘We didn’t want to change the DNA of the building; instead, we wanted to enhance it, using the scale and the rawness of the space to create something immersive. It’s not just about music; it’s about how the space makes you feel, whether you’re dancing in the main room or exploring a quieter area.’
It’s been a win for Printworks, who have seen millions of guests since they opened in 2017, and has been emulated with venues like Brooklyn Storehouse and The Beams and Drumsheds along with Depot Mayfield in Manchester.
‘People keep coming back and talking about it as one of their must-visit venues, which means we’re doing something right,’ adds Simeon. ‘It works because people are craving something new and different. We’ve taken spaces that weren’t designed for this kind of use and turned them into places where people feel a connection — whether it’s the scale, the history, or the atmosphere. The venue becomes part of the experience, not just a backdrop. People want more than just a good night out; they want something they’ll remember, and that’s what we aim to deliver.’
There’s nothing new about dayclubbing
Despite the recent boom, clubbing in the day isn’t a new phenomenon – far from it. They actually emerged around 40 years ago with the ‘daytimers’ – the vibrant bhangra-and-bass underground raves held by South Asians in the UK in the eighties and nineties.
Held in the dark club rooms of London and the suburbs, and in parts of the north, Young British Asians would go to college in their traditional Salwar Kameez, then change into western clothes in the toilets and head to the dancehall. The parties – which were often held between 2 and 6pm – created a safe and trusting space for first-generation immigrants where they could explore their new identities while busting a bhangra groove.
However, it’s thought that lockdown was a huge catalyst behind today’s movement.
For example, TV presenter-turned DJ Gok Wan set up Isolation Nation by accident during the Covid lockdowns, by holding virtual kitchen raves, which he broadcast to his fans and within weeks thousands of people joined him online.
As we came out of lockdown, he transferred the daytime parties to venues and festivals across the UK, which have since become a sell-out success. Gok describes the experience of Isolation Nation as a ‘family that came together through a shared fear of the unknown and love of music.’
Changing the party landscape
Daytime clubber Will Soer adds that he believes that many revellers are attracted to daytime partying because they missed out crucial development years in lockdown and feel increasingly stressed by social situations and heavy drinking.
Will, 29, Founder of Out Of Body Pop, says he likes to day-party every fortnight.‘I love being able to sleep and take care of my head while still being silly enjoying myself and I love being able to see the sun-lit smiles on my friend’s faces,’ he tells Metro.
‘The younger generation still needs new social experiences, in spaces that are as easy to navigate as Tinder and as colourful as TikTok,’ says Will
‘The format of nightclubbing hasn’t really changed at all to answer these needs, if anything it has got darker and more crowded in recent years, serving a shrinking subset of people who like it to go hard.
‘But the younger generation still needs new social experiences, in spaces that are as easy to navigate as Tinder and as colourful as TikTok.’
Ajay Jayaram is the Director of Music at Broadwick Live and tells Metro that although social media has made people feel more connected than ever, the entertainment industry has to work more creatively to get people to commit to nights out.
‘We have witnessed a proliferation of unrelated additional changes, such as the cost of living or the appearance of a more health-conscious younger cohort within the clubbing demographic,’ he explains.
‘There now exist fewer clubs, but conversely a greater diversity to what is being offered. The summer festival market on the other hand, has never been so saturated. The wealth of options each year naturally impacts clubs and there is a finite amount of disposable income available for going out.’
And it would appear that while the nighttime economy is flailing, the dayrave pound is healthy, with likes of actor Vicky McClure’s over-30s Day Fever (actor Vicky McClure’s over-30s UK_wide events) vying for space in the calendar, alongside Guilty Pleasures at Camden’s Koko and daytime raves at Colour Factory and Fabric.
‘The atmosphere is electric’
Metro’s social reporter Lucia Botfield is a die-hard Gen Z daytime clubber.
‘I had been nightclubbing five nights in a row when I went to my first daytime rave,’ she explains.
‘It was a Dolce Sol student event in Nottingham, at the Canalhouse, in the city centre and overlooking the river. I was knackered and really not up for it, but the weather was nice and my friends were insistent, so I buckled knowing that I could leave early – or even when it finished – and still be in bed by 10pm.
‘However once there, I loved every second. The atmosphere was electric, and there was a magic feeling in the air that had been lingering all week – Covid was finally over. I remember talking to a man on crutches with a broken leg at the event, who had told me that no medical ailment would have stopped him from attending what would be remembered as a historic week.’
Since then, Lucia, 23, has been to around 30 day raves and says she much prefers them to nighttime events.
‘I think the notion that it’s not ‘proper clubbing’ is silly,’ she explains. ‘Why do any activities have to go on past 10pm? It’s not worth ruining your sleep schedule for and spending two days trying to get it back on track. Plus, as a woman I feel a lot safer going home at 9 or 10pm rather than braving the night bus or tube. There’s never any worries about missing the last train home.’
But it’s not just the safety aspect that’s the attraction for Gen Z, adds Lucia.
‘Although they’ve been going for a while it really does feel that day raves are becoming ‘cool’,’ she says. ‘They have really good DJs – I’ve seen Y U QT, Yung Singh and Interplanetary Criminal all before the sun goes down – and they take place in great venues, such as DRUMSHEDS and the Cause.
Normal clubs are washed and there aren’t a lot I would go to now unless a particular DJ was playing, in fact I don’t think I’ve bothered for a year now.
‘Plus, no one cares if you drink or not,’ says Lucia.
‘I do though, and I suppose the only downside is the strange looks I might get as I tipsily navigate my journey home while everyone is getting on with their day. But it also means that I always feel much less hungover the next day – as I have had a proper night’s sleep.’
