Warm-up

What is a warm-up?

The warm-up is the first set of the night, played to a room that is still filling up. The warm-up DJ starts when the doors open, often around 23:00, and plays for two to three hours before the next act. The job is to make people arrive, stay and start moving, and to build energy gradually so the room is ready when the headliner comes on.

A good warm-up is often called the hardest set of the night, because it takes restraint: a lower tempo, more space in the music, and never the big tracks or the style the next DJ is going to play. Many clubs give the warm-up to their resident DJ, because it needs someone who knows the room.

How a warm-up set works

Picture the timetable of a typical club night: warm-up from 23:00 to 1:00, a main set from 1:00 to 3:00, the headliner from 3:00 to 5:00. In the first hour the room may be a fifth full, so the warm-up plays for the bar and the first few dancers. By the last half hour the floor is fuller, and the tempo and intensity climb towards where the next DJ will pick up.

The handover matters. The warm-up DJ asks the next act how they plan to start, finishes on a track that fits, and does not run into their slot. Warm-up slots usually pay a smaller DJ fee than the later ones, but they are also where many DJs earn their first residency.

Example: two hours from 40 to 250 people

Say a house night in Munich opens at 23:00 with a local DJ. The headliner usually plays around 124 BPM and peaks at 128. The warm-up starts at 115 BPM with deeper tracks, reaches 120 by half past midnight and 122 at the handover at 1:00.

In this example, the room goes from 40 people to 250 in those two hours without anyone feeling the night has already peaked. That gap between the warm-up's last track and the headliner's first is exactly what leaves the peak somewhere to go.

Tips for DJs and organizers

• DJs: play for the room you have, not the one you want. A quiet floor at 23:30 is normal.
• DJs: leave headroom. Do not play the next DJ's style, tempo or big tracks.
• DJs: talk to the next act before the handover, and finish on time.
• Organizers: book warm-up DJs who know the room, and tell them who plays after them.
• Organizers: put the warm-up on the flyer and in the stories. People who come early deserve a reason to.

Common questions

What is a warm-up DJ?

The DJ who plays the opening set of a night, from doors open until the next act, building up the mood and the dancefloor.

How long is a warm-up set?

Usually two to three hours, for example from 23:00 to 1:00 at a club night.

Why is the warm-up considered difficult?

The DJ has to keep a filling room engaged while holding energy back, so the night can build towards its peak instead of starting there.