These are the Top 30 UK club events in March 2018

The year is gathering momentum like a runaway techno cut, so it's already time for the top 30 UK club events in March 2018.

Amazingly festival season is now upon us— or at least it is in the North of England. Our top pick for the region is the irrepressible BangFace Weekender at Pontins in Southport, where silly mess marries serious noise in a colourful rave ritual.

Merseyside hosts the fourth instalment of Liverpool Disco Festival, edit-king Jamie 3:26, Windy City hero Rahaan, oft-unsung UK titan Red Greg and ultimate diva Jocelyn Brown are amongst those locked-in. Sheffield way, Hope Works welcomes two of Bristol's most sonically-forward crews, Livity Sound and Timedance. And Manchester completes the top five via powerful techno at Meat Free's 5th Birthday, and Cult marking three years with pure contemporary quality. 

On to London, and aside from the massive Printworks re-opening (don't miss Red Axes), Matthew Herbert, FunkinEven, Chris Farrell, Parris and Kowton at Bussey is what fans of intelligently formed alt-dance need. Meanwhile, dnb heads should hit Exit Records at Electric Brixton— the label's finest lining up for a large one.

Also in the capital, E1 continues on great form with abundant proper house; Byron The Aquarius meets big-haired big gun Moodymann and timeless master Joey Negro. And Needs x UN Women has a top list of esteemed names from across the musical spectrum, promoting greater equality in creative industries with an all-day not-for-profit comprising tunes and panels.

Top picks for the South include Ge-ology, whose previous includes years spent dropping hip hop and working with early-90s Baltimore house crew, Basement Boys. Undisputed rarity hunter Nick The Record joins him at Komedia in Brighton. Simple returns to Oxford, too, luring the ferociously danceable Objekt. And Manchester's king of six hours, Mr. Scruff, brings funk, rare grooves, loose house, afrobeat and whatever else he's got to Orange Rooms in Southampton. 

Team Timedance are doing it on home turf this month, too, as Laurel Halo headlines their latest throwdown at The Island in Bristol. Sticking in the same city, Present Tense hosts its second shindig, with immersive-yet-commanding techno from Freerotation face Miles Atmospheric. On a different tone, hotly tipped low-slung dubstep imprint, Crucial Recordings, is also in town, showcasing its wares at Blue Mountain. 

Hold tight Midlands, Young Echo Collective have new material inbound, making The I Club in Nottingham a strong shout— Kahn and Commodo's grime, odds and impossible to describe bass-heavy rhythms should be special. Elements is back in Birmingham proving the city remains at the fore of heavyweight techno—Ansome meets parishioners Rebekah, Dark Chambers, Matt Tilley and theyarenotlocal. And Leftfoot and Shadow City pit Joy Orbison and Jon K b2b, which will be a proper aural education. 

This brings us to the not-so-small matter of Scotland, where we have high hopes for Lionoil in Edinburgh; Lena Willikens— who will play at Ben UFO's new XOYO residency soon— has been in our favourites for a while, so combined with Naive Trax's emergent Violet, another techno-electro type, the party should be a winner. DJ Python, or DJ Wey to some, is finally getting the level of attention his warm electronics deserve, hence his date with Shanti Celeste at La Cheetah Club making our list. And those up for classic sweaty Chicago will be in for the mighty Paul Johnson at FLY. 

Like we say each month, complete listings for the country are in the latest print edition of DJ Mag, Issue 579 (March), just in case you think something is missing below, and we'll be back with more in four weeks. Between then and now see you somewhere soon to savour some special tunes. 

LONDON

1. PRINTWORKS OPENING — THE HYDRA
SATURDAY 3RD MARCH  
PRINTWORKS
London’s goliath of exceptional sound and light is back in business, and tickets get you a full day of solid goodness from Kerri Chandler, John Talabot, Job Jobse, Lindstrøm live, Prins Thomas and Tiger & Woods live, although we’re really weak at the knees at the prospect of a DJ set from Israel’s must-sees, Red Axes. Stomping shoes only. 
12PM - 11PM / £32.50

2. ART PECKHAM x HYPERCOLOUR
SATURDAY 31ST MARCH 
CLF ART CAFE / BUSSEY BUILDING  
Matthew Herbert, FunkinEven, Kate Miller, Idle Hands (Chris Farrell, Parris, Kowton), Cedric Maison, more. 
10PM - 5AM / £6 - £16

3. EXIT RECORDS 
FRIDAY 9TH FEBRUARY  
ELECTRIC BRIXTON 
Calibre, dBridge, Dub Phizix & Strategy, Skeptical, Fixate, SP:MC, DRS. 
10.30PM - 6AM / £17.50 - £22.50 

4. E1
SATURDAY 3RD MARCH 
E1 
Moodymann, Joey Negro, Byron The Aquarius, Jacques Renault, Felix Dickinson, Donna Leake. 
10.30PM - 7.30AM / £25

5. NEEDS x UN WOMEN PRESENT HEFORSHE 
SUNDAY 11TH MARCH
OVAL SPACE 
B.Traits, Lily Mercer, Roxanne de Bastion, Peggy Gou, Bobby Pleasure, more. 
12PM - 12AM / £7 (day or night), £12 (day and night)

NORTH

 

1. BANGFACE WEEKENDER 2018 
THURSDAY 15TH - SUNDAY 18TH MARCH 
PONTINS, SOUTHPORT 
Northern hard crew doing full throttle weirds, toughs, and bangs. Modeselektor, Speedy J, A Guy Called Gerald, Luke Vibert, Helena Hauff, Jerome Hill, Ben Sims, Dillinja, 2 Bad Mice, Paula Temple, Ansome, Mark Archer, Benton and shit loads more are lined up. Basically acid, techno, jungle, hardcore and electro, and your own chalet to continue the party.
3PM - 3AM / £179 inc. accommodation 

2. LIVERPOOL DISCO FESTIVAL 4
SATURDAY 31ST MARCH - SUNDAY 1ST APRIL 
CAMP & FURNACE, LIVERPOOL
Kerri Chandler, Jocelyn Brown live, Derrick Carter, Rahaan, Jamie 3:26, Paul Trouble Anderson, Red Greg, more.
12PM - 12AM / £37.50

03. LIVITY SOUND x TIMEDANCE
FRIDAY 2ND MARCH 
HOPE WORKS, SHEFFIELD 
Peverelist b2b Kowton, Batu b2b Minor Science. 
12PM - 7AM / £12 - £15

04. MEAT FREE 5TH BIRTHDAY
FRIDAY 2ND MARCH 
THE WHITE HOTEL, SALFORD 
Ben Sims, Billy Nasty, Alienata, Alex Downey, Tasha, aalice, Blasha & Allatt, Lucy Ironmonger. 
10PM - 8AM / £18 - £20

5. CULT 3RD BIRTHDAY
FRIDAY 23RD MARCH 
HIDDEN, MANCHESTER 
Bradley Zero, Eclair Fifi, Pearson Sound b2b Shanti Celeste. 
11PM - 4AM / £16 - £18

SOUTH 

1. JUNK IS... BLOOM
SATURDAY 10TH MARCH 
JUNK, SOUTHAMPTON 
Whether it’s for techno, trippy disco, house, or mind-melting broken acid, Jane Fitz needs no intro after 20 years on the circuit. But just in case, check our review of her in action in March's magazine. Tonight, she brings her enviably good tunes south, where similarly adept gem hunter Carl H joins for what should be the region’s best night of music this month. 
11PM - 4AM / £5-£8

2. DISCOJUICE 2ND BIRTHDAY
FRIDAY 16TH MARCH 
KOMEDIA, BRIGHTON
Ge-ology, Nick The Record. 
11PM - 3AM / £6

3. COOKING WITH PALMS TRAX 
SATURDAY 17TH MARCH 
PATTERNS, BRIGHTON 
Palms Trax, Mr. Bongo. 
11PM - 4AM / £8 - £10 

4. SIMPLE 
SATURDAY 3RD MARCH 
THE BULLINGDON, OXFORD 
Objekt. 
11PM - 4AM / £13

5. MR. SCRUFF ALL NIGHT LONG
FRIDAY 23RD MARCH
ORANGE ROOMS, SOUTHAMPTON
Mr Scruff.
10PM - 3AM / £14.50 

WEST & WALES

1. PERPETUAL 
SATURDAY 3RD MARCH 
MOTION, BRISTOL 
Dixon is always going to bring in the big crowds. Put him on for more than a couple of hours and the lure is even greater, and far more understandable; the sort of player who thrives in extended form. Then you’ve got DJ Tennis, whose emergence as a truly in-demand name after time in the shadows is truly just, and rising Portuguese face, Trikk. 
10PM - 6AM / £16.50

2. TIMEDANCE 
SATURDAY 10TH MARCH
THE ISLAND, BRISTOL
Laurel Halo, Parris. 
10PM - 3AM / £13

3. PRESENT TENSE 
SATURDAY 10TH MARCH 
TAKE FIVE CAFE, BRISTOL
Miles Atmospheric, Etym, Amy Amor. 
11PM - 4AM / £5 

4. SUBSIST PRESENTS CRUCIAL RECORDINGS
FRIDAY 30TH MARCH
THE BLUE MOUNTAIN, BRISTOL
Sleeper, Causa, D£DW8, more.
10PM - 5AM / £5 - £10

5. FACTORY PRESENTS
FRIDAY 23RD MARCH
FACTORY, PLYMOUTH 
Fabio & Grooverider, Tuskan, Messenga, Stan Green, Blank, Simon Scullion, more. 
10PM - 5AM / £10 - £12

MIDLANDS  

1. HOUSE OF GOD 25TH BIRTHDAY
FRIDAY 9TH MARCH 
TUNNEL CLUB, BIRMINGHAM 
HoG basically means no standing about and no leaving before they chuck you out. Rightly seen as one of the planet’s most unforgettable dens of pure techno iniquity, James Ruskin, Surgeon, Sir Real, Paul Damage, Nicky B, Terry Donovan and more will be serving up the sweatiest UK rave imaginable. 
10PM - 6AM / £14 

2. THE DOJO 007 
FRIDAY 2ND MARCH 
THE I CLUB, NOTTINGHAM 
Kahn, Commodo, more. 
10PM - 4AM / £10 - £12

3. ELEMENTS 
SATURDAY 24TH MARCH 
MONASTERY, BIRMINGHAM 
Ansome, Rebekah, Dark Chambers, Matt Tilley, theyarenotlocal.
10PM - 5AM / £10 

4. LEFTFOOT AND SHADOW CITY
FRIDAY 23RD MARCH 
HARE AND HOUNDS, BIRMINGHAM 
Joy Orbison, Jon K. 
9PM - 3AM / £15

5. UTTU DANCE TRAX 
THURSDAY 29TH MARCH
LAB 11, BIRMINGHAM 
Shadow Child, DJ Haus, more. 
10PM - 6AM / £8

SCOTLAND / NORTHERN IRELAND  

1. MAXIMUM PRESSURE 
SATURDAY 31ST MARCH 
SWG3, GLASGOW 
The supercharged version of Slam’s era-spanning techno party, on Bank Holiday no less. Nina Kraviz still turns heads, refusing to just sit comfortably in the A-list, Eats Everything, Optimo, DJ Stingray and Jay Clarke are here too, but the evening is really about the storms British Murder Boys (Surgeon and Regis), and I Hate Models will whip up. 
5PM - 3AM / £35 

2. LIONOIL 
FRIDAY 30TH MARCH 
THE BONGO CLUB, EDINBURGH 
Lena Willikens, Violet, more. 
11PM - 3AM / £8 - £10 

3. FLY PRESENTS DANCEMANIA 
FRIDAY 9TH MARCH 
CABARET VOLTAIRE, EDINBURGH  
Paul Johnson, more.
11PM - 3AM / £10 - £12

4. LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS... 
FRIDAY 9TH MARCH
LA CHEETAH CLUB, GLASGOW
DJ Python (AKA DJ Wey), Shanti Celeste, more. 
11PM - 4AM / £10 - £12

5. TWITCH 
SATURDAY 10TH MARCH
QUEENS STUDENT UNION, BELFAST
Hunee, more. 
10PM - 3AM / £12 - £14

Martin Guttridge-Hewitt is DJ Mag's Clubs Listings Editor, so if you disagree with these event selections send insults and suggestions to him on Twitter @martinghewitt.