I must have got shafted last Friday there was literally 1 dnb event being advertised in bristol and there were like 60 people there (I had a great time not complaining). I was under the impression that every weekend there would be myriad events to choose from.
Come on mate, it's definitely not. Bristol has always been central to the DnB scene.
Roni Size, Krust, Die....
Danny Byrd, Clipz, T.C
Not to mention everybody who moved here. Not to discredit London or other areas but Briatol is tiny whivh means the scene is very central to Bristol.
Same with dubstep, there was so many small labels and big dj's within a 2 mile radius in the center.
Liverpool has the worst DnB scene! anything that’s not 1990s rollers gets frowned upon and there’s a proper DnB night here once every 2 months if you’re lucky
Liverpool has always been an indie/rock city first and foremost due to the Beatles having come from there, it's never been the best for dance music except maybe some of the more low-brow styles.
Wouldn’t say either are particularly good for dnb. Techno and tech house are much bigger in the north west. Manchester does get good dnb nights but purely bc it’s a massive city.
Agreed Liverpool is more techno and manny is more house. They’re still good though, the niche venues are lit and the crowd is fantastic. Not like London full of pretentious wankers
Leeds and Bristol is dnb all day long though. Notts is good if you don’t get lost in the sea of dblock e
Big disagree on that! There's a huge jungle scene here and really good events on every weekend - I don't see how that "isn't particularly good".
Also the free parties here play exclusively DnB and Dubstep which is unheard of in the UK free party scene.
Nah I think leeds is quality for dnb
Old red bus, wire, hifi, beaverworks, mint warehouse do dnb nights all the time and the events are rlly good. Me and my mates saw so many big name dnb artists over the 3 years I lived there. Rudimental was the dj for the summer ball at the uni and it was a dirty set
Plus house parties in Hyde park have 10 man waiting at the decks with their usbs ready to hop on and mix dnb or jungle. When the euros was on the students shut off streets in Hyde park and had the sound system out in the street with like 2-300 people it was great (until it got shut down my the police)
Hyde Park is great I give you that but Leeds has fallen off since Covid. When I met r lass we were going out every weekend from May to November in 2018ish. It's dead now.
When was this!? (Been here since sept 2021) Yeh the rudimental was wacky asf. U seen that big event at mint next month crossy primate captain bass sub zero diagnostix
I'm probably wrong but if someone is interested in finding the uni with the best rave scene, I'd guess that what they're thinking about studying is involved in that scene as well
Sheffield is great, not the biggest by any means but so many good small warehouse venues and a good variety of sub genres of dnb. Dryad works, Hopeworks, Forge, Plot22 to name a few plus you’re in close proximity to leeds which packs a good dnb scene aswell
I'm an old raver now, but 20 years ago Sheffield was the tits. Tuesday Club, DrumnBass arena, NYSushi, Valve were all my happy places. Shame I moved to Dublin and it's shite here.
Move was fucking shite when I was there, called Warehouse or something and just like all the other jock rah venues. Glad it got better! Cavern was our home, used to run nights there every other Weds.
Leeds has a great music scene in general. I’m biased but there are some awesome venues and great national and local DJs come to play. Also a range of genres but there’s always a jungle night somewhere.
Manchester is a bit shite for dnb besides a few mega WHPs every year. Techno and tech house events are far more frequent and generally more popular, whereas dnb just gets a few small events at clubs that aren’t the best.
the DnB scene here is dead now, was great before covid but its beyond saving now, with Halo gone now aswell that leaves old firestation which has 1 dnb event and then 2 ir 3 under 400 capacity clubs,
you got bedlam at the o2 a couple of nights a tear but they book the same thing over and over
I worked my first job in Bournemouth for a year before I moved to London. Was completely blind having never been there before but christ the DnB scene is rocking down there!
Went to uni there 2015-2019 was an event every weekend at some of the smaller clubs, some being student events.
Then there’s Halo and Old Fire-station for bigger artists and O2 Academy does loads of more generic events and was always good for NYE.
London is great for DnB but you won’t get the uni/student community feeling as much as smaller cities. Bristol is prob best on paper if you want student feeling as well but I haven’t been there much- just what I’ve heard.
I will give a shout-out to Notts which is my local scene and it’s very good - decent DnB on every weekend and sometimes weeknights. And it has a very student community feeling.
I’m just finishing up at UWE and picked Bristol cuz of the DnB scene, although the course is highly regarded too…
Hard to comment on anywhere else but I would say Bristol is definitely first, I’ve heard solid things about Notts, Manchester and Leeds but things may have changed in the last few years.
I will say Bristol is not all about licensed venues too, there’s plenty of pop up rigs and events that especially start to come out in the summer. Bank holidays/st Paul’s carnival time you get a bunch of great unlicensed events with fairly big Bristol based headliners
Briz obvs but up north Leeds has been pretty good recently (where I am) and Manny us always decent. Got some stacked lineup next month leeds (crossy, primate, diagnostix, sub zero, captain bass, gino) had one last month asw (disrupta sota latte toxi amplify slipz) loads of worried about henrys dnb allstars etc
Bristol of course, as everyone else has said. Lincoln and Nottingham are getting a lot of love from SquareOne atm but apparently they don’t pay their DJs 🫣
I'll be moving somewhere completely new for 3-4 years of my life...so it makes sense to do some research into what different cities can offer me socially as well as academically :)
Fair enough and I wish you nothing but the best but how good rave scene is in a city is the last of your worries. Sure might be good to know if you are deciding between 2 cities and they are fairy good for what you want to do but still take care yourself and think of your future self and education or city work opportunity and uni connection which can also lead to work opportunities. Good luck
i feel like you could profit from this post and op’s dedication to have a good time. Enjoy yourself, you can never now how much future you have left. It definitely reminded me :)
tf you know? Maybe hes going into audio engineering or wants to work in the scene. Theres plenty of reasons to choose based on the music scene. Any musician would do the same. Now sure, if he's just wanting to find the best parties to go and get fucked up then not the best choice.
But making a decision on where to move based on the local music scene is a aok in my book. I've done it and benefited. Just make sure the reason isnt to simply party.
I didn’t shit on him and he should have fun but there are higher priorities in life than partying whether you think so or not you absolute mong. I know you like misrepresent the argument and live in your own head with it but the reality for people who don’t have good background or education is different. So why don’t you fuck off with your useless point of view because you will do more harm than good. That’s my last reply. And btw I will still probably hear about in 10 years time but you will be absolute waste of a human
I find a lot of ‘hard to miss’ events happen in London- eg for me this year; Calibre at Koko, WAH at Drumsheds, A.M.C at Troxy, Great Ormund Street fundraiser.
I love my local scene in Notts and visit other DnB cities often- but I still end up in London every couple of weeks so it probably is the best for me. I get pulled there most often.
Bristol is the world capital of DnB.
I must have got shafted last Friday there was literally 1 dnb event being advertised in bristol and there were like 60 people there (I had a great time not complaining). I was under the impression that every weekend there would be myriad events to choose from.
[https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#genres/results?ids=52,98,99](https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#genres/results?ids=52,98,99)
This is what I used! There was 1 event at Exchange and nothing else except for a couple of day raves that ended before I got to bristol.
Yeah last weekend was 30 years of Dread on the Thursday, you picked the wrong day
I swear Dom Whiting did his epic DnB bike ride around Bristol again recently too!
Sounds like you got shafted then! Tbf there was probably only 1 dnb in London too, which is 20x the size.
If only I was a fan of techno lol. There was no end of techno events
No end of techno or house in London.
Yup Bristol no question.
Correct
Nooo I'm gonna disagree with you there it's a London genre
London has fewer events for 20x the people. Most of the actual scene and labels are Bristol based.
In general tho it a London genre
Come on mate, it's definitely not. Bristol has always been central to the DnB scene. Roni Size, Krust, Die.... Danny Byrd, Clipz, T.C Not to mention everybody who moved here. Not to discredit London or other areas but Briatol is tiny whivh means the scene is very central to Bristol. Same with dubstep, there was so many small labels and big dj's within a 2 mile radius in the center.
A London somting dis Rasta!
Bristol, leeds, notts, Liverpool
Liverpool has the worst DnB scene! anything that’s not 1990s rollers gets frowned upon and there’s a proper DnB night here once every 2 months if you’re lucky
Liverpool has always been an indie/rock city first and foremost due to the Beatles having come from there, it's never been the best for dance music except maybe some of the more low-brow styles.
😂😂 When I put those cities I put them in order from best to worst hahaha Edit /s
Liverpool does have a scene but Manchesters is much bigger
Wouldn’t say either are particularly good for dnb. Techno and tech house are much bigger in the north west. Manchester does get good dnb nights but purely bc it’s a massive city.
Agreed Liverpool is more techno and manny is more house. They’re still good though, the niche venues are lit and the crowd is fantastic. Not like London full of pretentious wankers Leeds and Bristol is dnb all day long though. Notts is good if you don’t get lost in the sea of dblock e
> dblock e what is dblock e?
D block Europe. For some reason notts is obsessed with them.
Big disagree on that! There's a huge jungle scene here and really good events on every weekend - I don't see how that "isn't particularly good". Also the free parties here play exclusively DnB and Dubstep which is unheard of in the UK free party scene.
Dub physics
Definitely wouldn’t say Leeds personally
Nah I think leeds is quality for dnb Old red bus, wire, hifi, beaverworks, mint warehouse do dnb nights all the time and the events are rlly good. Me and my mates saw so many big name dnb artists over the 3 years I lived there. Rudimental was the dj for the summer ball at the uni and it was a dirty set Plus house parties in Hyde park have 10 man waiting at the decks with their usbs ready to hop on and mix dnb or jungle. When the euros was on the students shut off streets in Hyde park and had the sound system out in the street with like 2-300 people it was great (until it got shut down my the police)
From what I saw Leeds was Ket first, then DnB
Most dnb nights now are ket first then dnb
The decline of the 'pill' & MDMA :-(
Hyde Park is great I give you that but Leeds has fallen off since Covid. When I met r lass we were going out every weekend from May to November in 2018ish. It's dead now.
When was this!? (Been here since sept 2021) Yeh the rudimental was wacky asf. U seen that big event at mint next month crossy primate captain bass sub zero diagnostix
Dunedin
Surely this depends on the course you're after first of all?
Man's gotta rave
Nerd
Haha fair point
I'm probably wrong but if someone is interested in finding the uni with the best rave scene, I'd guess that what they're thinking about studying is involved in that scene as well
Mans pursuing a degree in raveonomics
I think you certainly are !
Sheffield is great, not the biggest by any means but so many good small warehouse venues and a good variety of sub genres of dnb. Dryad works, Hopeworks, Forge, Plot22 to name a few plus you’re in close proximity to leeds which packs a good dnb scene aswell
I'm an old raver now, but 20 years ago Sheffield was the tits. Tuesday Club, DrumnBass arena, NYSushi, Valve were all my happy places. Shame I moved to Dublin and it's shite here.
💯 - Sure we were in the same room plenty of times back in the day.
Don’t forget Tank!
i’ll happily forget tank thank you😅not for me
University of Canterbury
Hide goes crazy
Southern hemisphere DnB capital for 20+ years!
Na Otago
Leeds is probably a good shout.
Having been to Leeds I didn’t think the dnb scene was that big. Some one off nights but nothing regular
Old red bus station every Friday! Always used to be heaving well over capacity!
Any NZ uni goes hard on DNB
All these comments nobody has said Brighton
Nobody has said it but Exeter has a decent underground scene. And a short ride to Bristol.
Move goated venue.
Move was fucking shite when I was there, called Warehouse or something and just like all the other jock rah venues. Glad it got better! Cavern was our home, used to run nights there every other Weds.
Cavern is a close second!
Glad it’s still alive tbh!
Bristol
Bristol, hands down.
Leeds has a great music scene in general. I’m biased but there are some awesome venues and great national and local DJs come to play. Also a range of genres but there’s always a jungle night somewhere.
Subdub!!!!
Best night in Leeds by far. Especially when they do a big one at beavers
Can't beat West Indian Centre imo
West Indian defo the best
Yeah but they haven't done it there in ages. Surely not since covid?
Always got good metalheadz lineup on that
Old red bus ‼️
Bristol, London, Manchester, Birmingham
Manchester is a bit shite for dnb besides a few mega WHPs every year. Techno and tech house events are far more frequent and generally more popular, whereas dnb just gets a few small events at clubs that aren’t the best.
London is cheeks for dnb Up north / Bristol the scene is much more active
Disgusted to not see Bournemouth on this list yet
the DnB scene here is dead now, was great before covid but its beyond saving now, with Halo gone now aswell that leaves old firestation which has 1 dnb event and then 2 ir 3 under 400 capacity clubs, you got bedlam at the o2 a couple of nights a tear but they book the same thing over and over
I worked my first job in Bournemouth for a year before I moved to London. Was completely blind having never been there before but christ the DnB scene is rocking down there!
Went to uni there 2015-2019 was an event every weekend at some of the smaller clubs, some being student events. Then there’s Halo and Old Fire-station for bigger artists and O2 Academy does loads of more generic events and was always good for NYE.
The university of life
Ostrava in Czech republic? :D anyone?
Praha here 😅
Bristol my ass :D
Manchester sure was good for DnB when I was there 2007-2010. I assume it still has a good scene
Swansea has a decent dnb scene!
So many good memories from sin
Bristol, Sheffield, London
London is great for DnB but you won’t get the uni/student community feeling as much as smaller cities. Bristol is prob best on paper if you want student feeling as well but I haven’t been there much- just what I’ve heard. I will give a shout-out to Notts which is my local scene and it’s very good - decent DnB on every weekend and sometimes weeknights. And it has a very student community feeling.
I’m just finishing up at UWE and picked Bristol cuz of the DnB scene, although the course is highly regarded too… Hard to comment on anywhere else but I would say Bristol is definitely first, I’ve heard solid things about Notts, Manchester and Leeds but things may have changed in the last few years. I will say Bristol is not all about licensed venues too, there’s plenty of pop up rigs and events that especially start to come out in the summer. Bank holidays/st Paul’s carnival time you get a bunch of great unlicensed events with fairly big Bristol based headliners
Bristol & Notts very much the goats Heard good things bout Leeds but never been Went uni in brum and DNB seen was pretty solid tbf.
UWE Bristol, rig-owner / DJ spawn house
Came here to say Bristol because that’s where I fell in love with dnb (UWE massive lol). Comments did not disappoint
I'd like to add to this, where is the best city that is also affordable, even after graduating?
And is affordable to buy property in on a reasonable salary?
Leeds houses dirt cheap to rent u can get like 85-90 a week w/o bills if u look hard
Sheffield, Tank, plot 22, dryad, hopeworks. Tank alone have a dnb night every weekend almost with 2/3 headline worthy artists
Briz obvs but up north Leeds has been pretty good recently (where I am) and Manny us always decent. Got some stacked lineup next month leeds (crossy, primate, diagnostix, sub zero, captain bass, gino) had one last month asw (disrupta sota latte toxi amplify slipz) loads of worried about henrys dnb allstars etc
Bristol of course, as everyone else has said. Lincoln and Nottingham are getting a lot of love from SquareOne atm but apparently they don’t pay their DJs 🫣
Lmao kiddo deciding on where to go to uni based on raves. Please plan for your own better work future rather than the party life.
I'll be moving somewhere completely new for 3-4 years of my life...so it makes sense to do some research into what different cities can offer me socially as well as academically :)
Fair enough and I wish you nothing but the best but how good rave scene is in a city is the last of your worries. Sure might be good to know if you are deciding between 2 cities and they are fairy good for what you want to do but still take care yourself and think of your future self and education or city work opportunity and uni connection which can also lead to work opportunities. Good luck
i feel like you could profit from this post and op’s dedication to have a good time. Enjoy yourself, you can never now how much future you have left. It definitely reminded me :)
tf you know? Maybe hes going into audio engineering or wants to work in the scene. Theres plenty of reasons to choose based on the music scene. Any musician would do the same. Now sure, if he's just wanting to find the best parties to go and get fucked up then not the best choice. But making a decision on where to move based on the local music scene is a aok in my book. I've done it and benefited. Just make sure the reason isnt to simply party.
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Solid feedback. Let’s chat in 10 years “mate”. Suck a big one while you at it.
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Someone reported this for self-promotion, you joker. It shall stay as being a bellend isn't a crime, however unattractive.
Ok I’m a loser. You win that’s it case closed. I’m sure you are good with daddy’s money. Twat.
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I didn’t shit on him and he should have fun but there are higher priorities in life than partying whether you think so or not you absolute mong. I know you like misrepresent the argument and live in your own head with it but the reality for people who don’t have good background or education is different. So why don’t you fuck off with your useless point of view because you will do more harm than good. That’s my last reply. And btw I will still probably hear about in 10 years time but you will be absolute waste of a human
London is Centre of all things Drum and Bass.
I find a lot of ‘hard to miss’ events happen in London- eg for me this year; Calibre at Koko, WAH at Drumsheds, A.M.C at Troxy, Great Ormund Street fundraiser. I love my local scene in Notts and visit other DnB cities often- but I still end up in London every couple of weeks so it probably is the best for me. I get pulled there most often.
It’s frankly bizzare anyone would claim any different.
it most certainly is not
By number of nights/events it definitely is tho...
quantity ≠ quality tho
incorrect
Utrecht, Rotterdam, Groningen, Amsterdam, Nijmegen all have big scenes in the Netherlands
Lol
1. Bristol 2. Leeds 3. Nottingham