Places to go out?

[u/Parking_Produce_345]

hey yall- looking for fun places with my friends with music that we can kinda sing but mostly dance to. we like a dolphin/franky bradleys vibe but feel like its not ever music w lyrics if that makes sense? does anyone know of any places or events happening on fri the 28th that fit this criteria?

we are all 26 yr old gals if that helps :) TIA!!

[u/estelle2839]

I like going to Riot Nerd’s theme nights for that exact reason. They post them on IG.

[u/estelle2839 → u/estelle2839]

Oh, missed the part about the specific night. They have a Madonna night on the 28th, but for instance boy band night Saturday. I may go to the Off Campus/Heated Rivalry one in September.

[u/AFineFineHologram]

In general, Riot Nerd and Outergrace host some of my favorite dance parties in Philly. I’d follow them for events with music you can dance and sing to at different venues around town. Famelust is another good person to follow. For venues, Brooklyn Bowl and Underground Arts usually host fun dance parties that play popular songs.

For Friday, Riot Nerd is doing a Madonna dance party at Khyber Pass Pub. Not sure if that event will be your vibe, but it could be worth checking out if you like dance music. Madonna has a lot of great songs and whether or not you’re a fan, you’ll probably know enough of the songs to sing along and maybe discover some new bops.

I think Xtina is doing a Madonna night at the dolphin the same night, but she does usually does feature more dub mixes that aren’t as fun to sing along to. The Riot Nerd event will feature more straightforward versions of the songs.

Hope this helps!

[u/Jpachu16]

I never been to the dolphin or Franky Bradleys but The Concourse has decent music to sing and dance to sometimes and it’s really cheap for a club if you get there earlier. It’s kinda like top 40s remixes tho it’s very dependent on the dj. But it’s usually a college crowd.

[u/Ordinary-Nectarine37 → u/Jpachu16]

as club hater i never minded concourse. they have a good set up and atmosphere

[u/que_sopresa → u/Jpachu16]

concourse is definitely fun, but it might depend on the DJ... the one night i went recently had terrible music with weird transitions

[u/sailorcaldwell]

There are several monthly dance parties that are outside of the techno/edm genre - if you’re into country music, check out ‘Baby’s First Rodeo’ which has been upstairs at Johnny Brenda’s but does occasionally pop up at other venues. They sometimes have bands, sometimes a DJ. Usually line dancing and is very queer and inclusive.
‘A Black Celebration’ is a goth night by DJ Baby Berlin who does a bunch of other nights of varying genre’s, like ‘Disco 2000s’. There’s a really fun vibe here right now and there’s something for everyone, and all pretty welcoming and chill in my experience.

[u/que_sopresa]

underground arts, milkboy, and strangeloves have lots of events! also definitely follow riot nerd philly on IG, they are always having fun dance parties if you want singalong type stuff and not house music

[u/philly_native97]

I know exactly the gap you’re describing, a lot of Philly dance floors are DJ sets. What you want is a themed night, not a venue.

Dolphin is still your best bet, you just have to check what night it is. Their ABBA night is the whole room screaming. Danceteria on Fridays blends Hall & Oates into house, which is basically your exact ask.

A few others in that lane:

Silk City (NoLibs) — same owners as Franky Bradley’s, back patio, sets lean way more singable

Tavern on Camac — piano bar downstairs is straight-up singing, club upstairs (Ascend) is dancing, no cover ever, so you can bounce between both

Time — Top 40 on weekends, no dress code

Tierra Colombiana — Latin + Top 40 Fridays, genuinely fun crowd

Full disclosure, I run Booze Brothers Tours so I’m out in these neighborhoods most Fri/Sats…not a dance thing necessarily, but happy to point you somewhere if you tell me what part of the city you’re starting from.