The World Bar — The Wall, Wednesday
Get your midweek fix of bass at this Kings Cross institution, which has hosted The Wall on Wednesdays for a decade now. What began as an evening of hump day hip hop has blossomed into a self-described “mid-week rave not for the weak”, filling World Bar’s four storeys with a young university crowd slurping back the venues signature cocktails out of teapots.
The World Bar DJ | © Jordan Munns/Courtesy of The World Bar
The Reef — Crab Racing, Monday
For years, backpackers in Sydney wouldn’t consider heading anywhere other than Scubar on a Monday night for cheap jugs of beer and lively crab races — and although the beloved basement bar has reinvented itself as The Reef in 2017, complete with fresh nautical-themed decor, that Monday night fixture hasn’t changed.
Ivy — Ministry Of Sound, Saturday
MOS transformed London’s clubbing culture in a derelict bus depot in 1991, and although the salubrious surrounds of the Ivy Complex in inner-city Sydney are somewhat different, the super-club is hoping the impact of their 2017 foray into the Sydney scene is equally profound. Ministry of Sound Club Australia launched to much fanfare in June and has lived up to lofty expectations by attracting the country’s biggest DJs, such as Peking Duk, Tigerlily and Will Sparks.
Ministry of Sound | Courtesy of Merivale
Beach Road Hotel — Sosueme, Wednesday
This Eastern Suburbs stalwart delivers something for everyone: a sports bar for the locals to down schooners, a beer garden for Sydney’s social elite to see and be seen, plus a huge upstairs band room that plays host to Sosueme on Wednesdays, a midweek party night that serves up cracking live music for free. Score.
Stonewall Hotel — Drag Nights, Friday and Saturday
This Oxford St institution has been one of the jewels in the crown of Sydney’s vibrant LGBTQI scene for two decades, delivering live entertainment seven nights a week. But the highlights of Stonewall’s weekly calendar are the legendary drag shows on Friday and Saturday nights, when all three levels are routinely packed to the rafters.
Stonewall Hotel | Courtesy of Stonewall
Greenwood Hotel — Greenwood Thursdays
By day, the Greenwood Hotel dishes up award-winning pub grub in the heart of the North Sydney business district. By Thursday night, the courtyard of the converted chapel swells with North Shore teenagers raising a Vodka Cruiser to toast finishing school or getting into uni or leaving on their gap year. This place doesn’t carry the nickname ‘Teenwood’ for nothing.
Home The Venue — Homemade Saturdays
When it comes to dancing until the wee hours on a Saturday night in Sydney, as the cliche goes, there’s no place like Home. Homemade Saturdays brings a diverse lineup of DJs to an even more diverse crowd of tourists and locals that flock to this Darling Harbour super-club, with techno, trance and house tunes spread out over three levels and eight rooms.
Ivy Pool Club — Marco Polo, Sunday
Sydney’s only rooftop pool bar sparkles with beautiful weather and even more beautiful party-goers every Sunday over summer. Marco Polo enters its tenth season in 2017, pumping out disco, deep and classic house by the pool plus hip hop, bounce and electro in the Changeroom.
Ivy pool | Courtesy of Merivale
Sly Fox — Birdcage, Wednesday
Enmore’s favourite late-night venue hosts Sydney’s favourite lesbian night each Wednesday, serving great-value drinks specials and local DJs until 3am. Sly Fox enjoyed a redesign in 2015 that injected the inner-west institution with a retro 1970s ‘key party’ vibe but the commitment to quality live music hasn’t wavered, especially on Birdcage Wednesdays.
199 Enmore Rd, Enmore NSW, +61 2 9557 2917
Scary Canary — Wet Wednesdays
Those same backpackers make a beeline to this inner-city Kent St venue on Wednesdays for a club night that’s every bit as rowdy as it sounds. Scary Canary delivers cheap drinks, foam machines, a huge dance floor and a crowd of international party-goers who aren’t fazed its a school night.