9am dance party shows where Sydney’s night life has gone

Sydney night life can be a little lacklustre with few options outside getting a drink — but one group is proof that doesn’t mean other alternatives don’t exist.

Sydney night life can be a little lacklustre with dining establishments closing early and few options outside of getting a drink — but a viral video has shown exactly where clubbers have gone.

The video, shows a jam-packed room full of revellers, but while you might think it was filmed on a Saturday night, it’s actually 9am.

Connor Cameron and Tay Gwyther set out in November 2024 on one mission — to get people socialising in person again.

“We’d seen how well run clubs were doing, but that’s for a very specific subset of society that wants to get up and run at five in the morning,” Mr Cameron told news.com.au.

“We figured there was a pretty natural extension into social events.”

It started off with a single dinner, inviting 10 friends and asking them all to bring another person.

Now, it’s swelled into weekly events where anywhere up to 1000 people attend and meet new people. The Maple Social Club hosts events such as Affogato Hour at Blooms in Potts Point, tennis events, Messina in a car park and wine tastings at the Winery.

But, one of their most popular events is Maple Social Club’s Coffee and DJ sets that take place every other Saturday morning.

“It seems to be quite a global trend, this concept of dancing with a coffee in hand so that event has done really well,” he said.

“Our biggest event was the one with Messina.”

It’s important to have variety, as some are diehard supporters and go to every Maple Social Club event while others might just attend an event or two that interest them.

Mr Cameron told news.com.au the idea of the events is that they are supposed to add to your social life, meaning they often take place during the day on a Saturday or Sunday — or occasionally a Thursday night. As a rule events aren’t planned on Friday or Saturday evenings where possible.

Maple Social Club hosts a variety of events to get Sydneysiders to socialise. Picture: Instagram/@maplesocialclub

“I think there are probably very few places in the world that are as busy at sunrise than Sydney is — particularly if you go to Bondi at 6am. It’s just as busy as it is at 6pm, so I think there is a particular interest in that,” he said.

“I think we are an early rising city — potentially as a result of the fact that we don’t have much in terms of late night options.

“There’s a societal trend here and around the world that socialising doesn’t need to be going and getting a drink at a bar at night. People are exploring different ways that they can meet others.

“The novelty of being at a big party on a Saturday morning is astounding and I think if you came to one of those events, you’ll find that the dancefloor has a lot more energy than a club at midnight.”

One of its most popular events is Saturday DJ and Coffee. Picture: Instagram/@maplesocialclub

Social media users have had a huge reaction to the warehouse raves.

One said: “Forget Saturday sleep ins. I want to maple Saturday sesh.”

“This is hectic,” another added.

Mr Cameron said the key of their events is that everyone is there to socialise — and the activity of choice isn’t so niche that people feel excluded. He said it feels easier to meet people through these events than somewhere like a bar.

He said he wouldn’t say that Sydney is harder to meet people than any other major city, but Sydney is driven to do more socially. He said coming out of Covid, for a lot of cities, there was pent up frustration from not being able to meet people.

It’s resulted in a big push for events such as the ones Maple Social Club runs. For those interested, the events are listed on the group’s Instagram and all people have to do is RSVP.

Originally published as 9am dance party shows where Sydney’s night life has gone