Ahhh, I'll never forget my first September in Shanghai. It was 42 degrees in the shade and some crazy-eyed lookin' American guy came up to my friend in Watsons, told her she had legs like a tennis player, and asked if she played tennis. Then he looked me dead in the eyes and told me Shanghai is all smoke and mirrors. He looked frightened.
Never saw that guy again, but we're still outside.
This is our weekly, human-curated shortlist of what's on. As always, hit up smartshanghai.com/events/nightlife for much more. Listing events is free - hit us up if you've got something planned.
DJs Kepler and Sai G launch a new underground house night at Le Baron this Thursday night. They say, "Deep Grooves. Underground House. No Bullshit. No big room nonsense. Just good house music and a proper Thursday night out." Free entry. There's an optional 98rmb open bar as well.
ALL AT ONCE lands at ILLUM for its first club night, showcasing some of the freshest club music, pop, hip hop, and hyperpop coming out of China these days. Headlining the night with a hybrid live set is Helena Gao, who dropped one of the most iconic songs of 2026 with her viral hit, "Laoshi", on top of penning songs for Zara Larson and other pop stars. Also performing live is rapper/singer Shushu, and there's sets by LA-based artist Avalon Lurks, Shanghai's Chiyokoo and kongbb, and more tba. Should be a lit night in C-Park.
Techno club Abyss turns five years young this Friday with a stacked lineup featuring 6EJOU (live), Matrixxman, Chinese techno pioneer Ma Haiping, and Abyss residents PRYMARA, DISCIPLINE, LaGlory and Not Your Daddy. With five years in the game and now on their second venue, the Shanghai institution is still out here pushing harder, experimental underground electronic music, maintaining a strong resident DJ culture, and serving as a bridge between China and the wider techno world, especially the more hardcore quadrants of that world. Respect.
Big double-headliner at Reactor on Friday. Curses is a Berlin-based, NYC native who makes '80s inspired dance music that pulls from dark disco, EBM, new wave, acid, post-punk, with a romantic, late-night edge. This is a big one for fans of darker dance music. He's been in the game for a long time, having founded the label Trouble & Bass when he was known as Drop The Lime. Fans of Boy Harsher, New Order, The Hacker, Years of Denial, and similar artists will likely dig his current sound. Curses is playing in the main room, and holding down the upstairs is Solar, a longtime San Francisco DJ and key figure in the Bay Area underground, best known for Sunset Sound System. His sets move through house, techno, disco, acid and psychedelic dance music, with deep digging, loose grooves and an old-school West Coast sense of adventure.
Producer, DJ, and former Shanghai resident Böris Redwäll returns to Shanghai after many years. He's known for heavy, heavy bass music, trap, and club sounds, and his party has traveled across the world while his tunes have racked of millions of streams. Check out some of his sets on YouTube. Pretty nuts. This Friday, he's back in town at Ruijin Lu spot The Drinkery, together with his Finnish friend Evan Wheel, who's making his Shanghai debut. Free entry and definitely a good one to roll to earlier in the night as this finishes at 2am (in theory).
Putuo, baby! The young label 大地360 and community radio station byyb team up at an old-school dancehall in Putuo for a night of Asian club music, hyper KTV emotions, and bouncy dancefloor vibes. Last month these two crews did parties at an old school arcade in Jing'an and a roller skating rink in deep Qingpu, and this looks like a similarly excellent time. Shouts out to the kids for doing something different. Genres: #Asian Dance #Y2K Trance #CN Bounce #Eurodance #台客 #Handsup #的士高 #Funkot #Budots #玛田鼓 #EDM. Address: Building 3, 1855 Zhongshan Bei Lu, near Guangxin Lu | 上海市普陀区中山北路1855号华润万家三楼三楼. "坏舞厅：夜太黑，心太乱，滚烫的旋律在震颤——新亚洲舞曲的钝舞世代已经来临." Pre-sale tickets available via the promoter's WeChat: 大地360
Two great DJs is all you need for a solid night. This Saturday, Heim invites HK-based DJ/producer/label head Mr. Ho to this neighborhood club, with excellent local support from DJ/producer, Knopha. Together with Luca Lozano, Mr. Ho runs Klasse Wrecks, the cult label behind some of the most sought-after electronic records of the last few years. His own productions have also landed on Cabaret Recordings, ESP Institute, Neubau, Creme Organization, and more. His sets are energetic, unpredictable, and hard to pin down, moving through house, techno, breakbeat, electro, and whatever else makes sense in the moment. He started out as a turntablist, which likely explains why he sounds so natural behind the decks. Recommended.
An eclectic and experimental night at Heim to end the weekend. This Sunday, long-running collective FinderShanghai presents a huge lineup of artists from China and beyond doing DJ sets and live sets along with visuals and decorations. Finder are always curating something unique and interesting. Here's the massive lineup: HUFF (Trumpet + Electronic Live), Qin Ran (Live), TIAN (Live) , yerentanqin (Dombola Live), 大树(Trumpet), Coil Sprite, FEIYI, motoko [Berlin], Zhuo b2b meichen, Asure & Eddie (Decoration).
