To understand Joburg, you must meet it at night

Three nights.

That’s all it took for me to plunge so deeply into Joburg’s nightlife that I ran out of credits with my trusty companion – the one who usually indulges my habit of saying yes to events. To be honest, I felt a bit wiped out myself. But underneath the fatigue was something else: a lingering exhilaration, the kind that only a city can give you when it shows you its true self.

I’ve always been fascinated by cities at night – the changeover. That liminal moment when daylight logic slips away and something else is unleashed. Working clothes are shed. Different rules apply.

It’s an evocative time and it explains my almost lifelong fascination with Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, an artwork I first encountered as a teenager. My late brother was then an architecture student at Wits, who in his first year lugged home a weighty tome on modern artists that we would both pore over.

Years later, as editor of Sunday Times Lifestyle, I commissioned a series of short essays about the city after dark. Writers roamed, observed, listened and brought back untold stories. It felt important then, to acknowledge that a city doesn’t end at sunset.

Then came Covid. Isolation. Lockdown. Johannesburg reduced to its suburbs. The night fell silent. And a song lyric kept looping in my head: “We’ve lost dancing”. A simple, devastating line. We had lost contact, connection, proximity. DJs hosted solo parties on YouTube. We watched instead of moving.

After nearly two years of rolling restrictions and ambient anxiety, I finally ventured back into the night. I booked an overnight stay at Hallmark House, seduced by its jaw-dropping rooftop space (now closed), and hailed an Uber to take us to The Untitled Basement in Braamfontein. Driver after driver cancelled. At the time, it would probably have been easier to get across the River Styx than go from Doornfontein to Braam at night. Clearly some people didn’t know the difference.

Eventually, we found our ride by rerouting out of the city and then back in again. We arrived on a darkened Reserve Street with no visible signs of life. Freddy, our driver, tried to persuade us not to get out of the car. When he realised we weren’t changing our minds, he offered to fetch us later. That night started a relationship that continues to this day.

A tap on a closed door. We were ushered downstairs. And there, in that underground space, the music pulsing, it felt like life had returned. One weekend later, at a Vogue Night Ball in Troyeville, I felt like we had risen from whatever apocalyptic miasma Covid had trapped us in.

You’re getting the picture. “Last night a DJ saved my life” could easily be my anthem.

It’s been a few years since I felt that same urge to actively seek out Johannesburg at night. Lately, I’ve been hearing about a Birdhaven club that opens one evening a week from 5.30pm to 9pm, specifically for suburban women to meet up and dance. It’s not my scene – but I understand exactly what’s driving it. The freedom. The need to move. To be together. To remember yourself.

So a weekend or two ago, in search of an update, I floored the pedal.

Friday night was Sheer City in Newtown: a long-form rave attracting local and international acts that stretched into 6am. We didn’t make it to the end, but we got a taste. Where else in this city do you encounter such diversity in one room – an award-winning art-fair artist dancing alongside a street crew from Brixton, united by the same sound, the same floor?

Clubbing hotbed of Newtown

Newtown is a hotbed of clubs. Its warehouses, courtyards and alleyways are perfectly suited to nightlife. No residents to complain about noise. On Friday nights, doorways glow, bouncers appear and after 11, the district takes on an entirely different life – one that runs deep into morning. It’s also a space that gets no official recognition as a nightlife district.

Saturday night took us to a private party on a rooftop in Braam with a DJ lineup to rival a festival, the city stretched ahead of us. Nearby, The Beach was lit up, and joyful. A few days later it was back to Braam, in black tie and evening dress for the opening of Hugh’s, a new jazz club that will restore live music to the city in a way that feels both elegant and urgently necessary.

It all felt like a jolt of very good electricity.

Which made me wonder: does everyone in Johannesburg know this version of the place? Does anyone truly grasp its potential?

There’s been so much talk about the mayoral race this year – but that’s really only the daytime mayor. Johannesburg needs a night-time mayor. Someone tasked with thinking about what happens when the city changes character. How people move. How streets should be lit. How culture, safety, transport and joy intersect after dark. How Joburg has something to share with the world.

Because if you want to understand this city – you also have to meet it at night.

Here are five things on my radar this week.

1. Dig deeper into the city’s nocturnal pulse with short interviews featuring Sheer City nightlife curators Lelowhatsgood and Richard Marshall.

2. Catch the riveting exhibition Residuals – A Study in Flesh, Form and Fracture by Thokozani Mthiyane at Asisebenze Art Gallery, opposite the Rand Club. Walking the city during Covid, Mthiyane documented encounters with young men caught in the grip of Nyaope addiction – the work is unflinching, human and deeply affecting.

3. Joburg Ballet marks its 25th anniversary in 2026 with a brand-new staging of Giselle at Joburg Theatre from Thursday, 12 February to Sunday, 15 February 2026. Sublime, heart-rending and romantic, Giselle remains one of classical ballet’s most demanding and beloved works.

4. Do Valentine’s Day, your way. Coupled up, flying solo or keen to mingle? Browse our Valentine’s event list — from denim-inspired gatherings to soul music sessions and symphonic evenings.

5. Books and coffee are an unbeatable pairing. Read the roundup of the best spots in Joburg where great reads meet even better brews. DM

Laurice Taitz-Buntman is an avowed urbanist and the founder of Johannesburg In Your Pocket, a city guide and media platform dedicated to reframing Johannesburg through storytelling, travel and urban experience.