WHO WE ARE
INFERNO is a working-class-led queer and trans music organisation founded by Lewis G. Burton in 2015.
What began as a small club night in East London has grown into one of the UK’s longest-running queer nightlife and arts platforms, bringing together underground electronic music, live performance, visual culture, community care and artist-led experimentation.
Across almost twelve years, INFERNO has created space for DJs, live artists, performers, dancers, designers, photographers, producers, nightlife workers and audiences to gather, sweat, perform, connect and take up space. Our work moves between the club, the stage, the gallery and the street, always rooted in queer and trans culture, collective energy and the belief that nightlife can be more than escape. It can be a place to rehearse new ways of being together.
We have produced events and projects across London and internationally, from Colour Factory, Venue MOT, The Distillery N17, Dalston Superstore and the ICA, to showcases in Amsterdam, Paris, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Lyon, Glasgow, Vienna and the Philippines. Alongside our club work, we have collaborated with institutions including the ICA, V&A and Southbank Centre, while continuing to centre grassroots artists, local scenes and the communities that made INFERNO possible.
Today, INFERNO is entering a new chapter: one that asks how queer grassroots music can remain bold, accessible, intergenerational and sustainable in a harder financial climate. We are interested in building spaces where artists are paid, audiences feel held, emerging promoters can learn without taking on impossible risk, and queer nightlife can continue to evolve without losing its soul.
Infernal Creatures
A short documentary by William Kennedy capturing the spirit of INFERNO and queer nightlife.
WHERE WE'VE BEEN
Over the years, INFERNO has moved through clubs, warehouses, galleries, theatres, festivals and community spaces, building a world where music, performance and queer culture meet.
We have worked with thousands of artists, performers and DJs across the UK and internationally, produced events at some of London’s most loved independent venues, and collaborated with institutions including the ICA, V&A and Southbank Centre.
Our events have travelled through cities including Amsterdam, Paris, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Lyon, Glasgow, Vienna and the Philippines, while remaining rooted in the London queer and trans communities that shaped us.
INFERNO has been profiled by NOWNESS, Dazed, British Vogue and Everpress, and continues to support emerging and established artists through bookings, commissions, open calls, performance opportunities and experimental club formats.
WHAT WE’RE BUILDING NEXT
INFERNO is now exploring how queer nightlife can grow beyond the limits of late-night clubbing.
In 2026, we began testing daytime events, softer formats and new ways for disabled, neurodivergent, sober, older and working-class members of our community to access INFERNO. These experiments opened up new possibilities for how queer music spaces can feel, sound and function.
Our next chapter is about continuing that work: developing accessible daytime events, supporting emerging promoters, creating paid opportunities for artists and sharing practical knowledge around how grassroots nightlife can survive, adapt and keep taking risks.
We want INFERNO to remain a place of sweat, beauty, noise, care, glamour, experimentation and collective release, while making sure the next generation has the tools, confidence and support to build spaces of their own.
Further Reading & LISTENING
1. Dazed: “Photographing London’s most elusive queer techno party”
Dazed Digital
2. Dazed: “5 photographers on INFERNO, London’s most ‘chaotic, beautiful’ rave”
Dazed Digital
3. Everpress: “INFERNO: The Nicest Party in London”
Everpress
4. Cold Magazine: “INFERNO: London’s Oldest Queer Art-Rave Still Burns Brightly”
ICA
5. Resident Advisor: “This week's new music: INFERNO 10: Compilation Album”
Resident Advisor.