These are the top UK club events in March 2020

It has been a terrible time for UK club culture. We lost a big one, perhaps the biggest, with the passing of all round musical titan and rebel with cause Andrew Weatherall, who was set to feature here as one half of A Love From Outer Space, at Hare & Hounds in Birmingham. Sean Johnston will now fly the flag solo.

News regarding UK visas for European touring artists also broke recently, suggesting difficult times ahead for promoters and venues on this side of the Brexit divide. Nevertheless, the beat and party must go on, and there are some significant sessions coming up. 

We’re excited to see London’s Cabin Fever welcome the boundary pushing-yet-nostalgic synth imprint Dark Entries to The Cause — check pole position. Elsewhere, Break’s dnb institution Symmetry Recordings hits Steel Yard, where you can catch Skeptical, Breakage and DLR among others, while progressive house rules at E1 when Jeremy Olander, Sasha and Patrice Bäumel take charge.  

Staying South, the Our House crew in Norwich have done the almost-unthinkable by securing legendary disco and house veteran Francois K for a tiny Norfolk room. Ramsgate has also done well — Erol Alkan gets a go on a crisp and commanding D&B rig for The Dance. 

Bang Face Weekender returns to a Pontins near you — providing you're near Southport — with jungle, hardcore, techno and more in tow; see our No.1 for North/Scotland/Northern Ireland. Inner City Electronic offers further proof festival season has begun, seizing multiple Leeds venues with highlights including Orbital, Nicolas Lutz b2b Craig Richards, Surgeon, Danielle and Bristol’s acclaimed Manami. Oh, and Dirty Disco turns 15 in the same city, with Palms Trax and Jayda G among those on duty. 

Back on a festival tip, sort of, AVA’s flagship Belfast event approaches, but beforehand there’s a team effort with Glasgow’s Sensu crew. Northern Irish one-to-watch Holly Lester is there, as Celtic hero Hammer and international beat pedlars HAAi, Mall Grab and DJ Seinfeld. Edinburgh’s super-consistent throwdown Palidrone is also back, with enigmatic Parisian selector Teki Latex and the city’s inclusivity-promoting Miss World collective making for a night that could go anywhere musically. 

Bristol does clandestine as Ilian Tape techno dons Zenker Brothers join Amsterdam’s ever-tripped out Elena Colombi at a secret location for Musu x Colours. Similarly heavy, Anastasia Kristensen heads to The Island for The Dark Side International Women’s Day Special, featuring a wealth of West Country talent including Luce and Helena Markos. The Midlands, meanwhile, gets forward-bass-techno don Hodge debuting in Nottingham, whose impressive first album lands in April, whereas At One returns to Leicester for the chugging, commanding house bounce of Kettama.  

More complete listings are available in DJ Mag’s current print edition, Issue 603, fronted by A-Trak and Armand Van Helden. 

LONDON/ SOUTH

1. CABIN FEVER
FRIDAY 20TH MARCH 
THE CAUSE, LONDON
2020 is looking strong for Cabin Fever, with three standout sessions in as many months. The finest of which is arguably this, at the socially conscious non-profit space we’re all delighted to see still open after having its lifespan extended.

Russia’s Inga Mauer is a name in ascendance right now, garnering a stellar rep for New Wave-infused techno littered with EBM and industrial edginess. Dark Entries hasn’t stopped putting out darkroom synth quality inspired by the 80s underground since the San Francisco imprint activated, and founder Josh Cheon drops by tonight for a b2b with DJ Mag favourite Violet. STROOM boss Nosedrip is an aurally fitting addition, with the politically charged acid duo Pelada booked for a live set — those familiar with last summer’s powerful debut album on PAN will know what time it is. 
11PM - 6AM / £10 - £13

2. THE DANCE 
FRIDAY 13TH MARCH 
RAMSGATE MUSIC HALL 
Phantasy Sound head honcho and king of floor filling curveballs, Erol Alkan, makes psychedelic-tinged, electro-leaning selections. 
9.30PM - 2AM / £20

3. SYMMETRY RECORDINGS 
SATURDAY 28TH MARCH 
THE STEEL YARD, LONDON 
Dnb business with Break playing two hours, Metalheadz and Exit type Skeptical, Breakage, DLR, Hydro, Mark Dinimal and Jack Boston.
10PM - 6AM / £12 - £20

4. OUR HOUSE 
FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 
GONZO’S TEA ROOM, NORWICH 
Paradise Garage and Studio 54 survivor Francois K delivers house and disco to a 140-capacity room. 
10PM - 3AM / £10 - £15

5. E1 & LABYRINTH 
SATURDAY 28TH MARCH 
E1, LONDON 
Star of this month's At Home With feature, Stockholm's Jeremy Olander gets proper proggy with the man like Sasha and Patrice Bäumel also inside. 
11PM - 7AM / £17.50 - £25 

NORTH / SCOTLAND / NORTHERN IRELAND 

1. BANG FACE WEEKENDER 
THURSDAY 12TH - MONDAY 16TH MARCH 
PONTINS, SOUTHPORT 
The jury is out as to whether Bang Face is the most hilarious festival you’ll ever attend, but it’s certainly the only place this year you’re likely to get sweaty to Squarepusher unleashing his ferocious new album while people hold signs bearing slogans like “I Sold A Kidney To Be Here” and “Tonight Matthew I’m Going to Be a Fucking Twat”. 

A refreshing break from an electronic music scene often typified by cool posturing, 2020’s edition of this beloved celebration of rave silliness has plenty that’s serious on the line-up. Along with the aforementioned, don’t miss Helena Hauff, Venetian Snares, Plaid live, 30 Years of Altern-8, DJ Rap, Claro Intelecto, Perc, DJ Mag Best of British winner SHERELLE, I Love Acid moguls Posthuman, Djinn, and Fabio & Grooverider’s 30 Years of Rage set. From storming techno to proper jungle, lunatic smiles abound. 
3PM - 2AM / £183

2. INNER CITY ELECTRONIC 
SATURDAY 7TH - SUNDAY 8TH MARCH 
VARIOUS VENUES, LEEDS 
24-hours of talks, workshops and sessions across Leeds. Orbital, Peggy Gou, Craig Richards b2b Nicolas Lutz, Manami, Karima F, Surgeon, Danielle, Felix Dickinson, more.
10AM - 10AM / £45 - £50 

3. AVA GLASGOW x SENSU 
SATURDAY 21ST MARCH 
SWG3, GLASGOW 
The Scottish leg of AVA’s pre-festival shenanigans with Mall Grab, DJ Seinfeld, HAAi, Hammer, Holly Lester, and local goodies Stevie Cox and Craigie Knowes. 
9PM - 3AM / £25

4. DIRTY DISCO — 15TH ANNIVERSARY 
SATURDAY 14TH MARCH 
MINT WAREHOUSE, LEEDS 
Dirty Disco’s storied history celebrated at the a fully refreshed and refurbed Mint Warehouse — Palms Trax, Jayda G, Dekmantel Soundsystem headline, stacks more play.  
9PM - 6AM / £20 

5. PALIDRONE
FRIDAY 20TH MARCH 
THE MASH HOUSE, EDINBURGH 
Teki Latex leads, a man who thinks nothing of dropping IDM headfirst into grime, while Miss World collective relocate from Sneaky Pete’s for a second room takeover. 
11PM - 3AM / £6 - £10 

WEST & WALES / MIDLANDS

1. MUSU x COLOURS
FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 
SECRET LOCATION, BRISTOL 
Descending on an as-yet-unannounced dancing destination somewhere in the depths of BS4, Musu and Colours combine forces for the third time in their combined histories. If previous get-togethers are much to go by we’re expecting a proper sweatbox for this one. 

That’s thanks in no small part to the names involved, with both main bookings given three and a half hours each to prove their worthiness. First and foremost, Ilian Tape founding fathers and all-round driving monsters Zenker Brothers will be showcasing their famed seamless techno tour de force. Compelling and compulsive being operative words. Then you’ve got one of Amsterdam’s rapidly rising residents, NTS host and Osàre! Editions’ Elena Colombi, who never fails to find weird, wonderful, tripped-out electronic mutations, taking hallucinatory darkness wherever she goes. 
11PM - 6AM / £14 

2. AUDIOBAHN 
FRIDAY 13TH MARCH
BAR ELEVEN, NOTTINGHAM 
Livity Sound forward-techno king Hodge debuts in Nottingham. Auld Rab, Tam O’Shanter, Nikki O and Kurty support. 
11PM - 4AM / £6 - £8 

3. THE DARK SIDE IV: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY SPECIAL 
FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 
THE ISLAND, BRISTOL 
Copenhagen Culture Box techno slayer Anastasia Kristensen joins a West Country cast of Helena Markos and long-time collaborator Luce, IRENE and Dani Whylie. 
10PM - 4AM / £12 - £15 

4. RETROFORWARD & DARK CORNER DISCO
SATURDAY 28TH MARCH 
HARE & HOUNDS, BIRMINGHAM 
Following the tragic death of Andrew Weatherall, Sean Johnston presents A Love From Outer Space, solo. 
9PM - 3AM / £15 - £17.50 

5. AT ONE 
FRIDAY 20TH MARCH 
DRYDEN STREET SOCIAL, LEICESTER 
Muscular, kick-first house music from Kettama, with Yumna Black, City Fly, Coatsy, Jordan Bird and Make You Melt also getting time to shine. 
10PM - 5AM / £10