The Next 100: DJs to Watch, 2027.
The bench that becomes the first team. Booked early, argued over later.
Every list we publish about the top is really a list about time. This one runs the other way: one hundred DJs the house expects to define 2027, ranked before the queries exist. Clip it now, argue with us later.
How the bench is picked
Three bars to clear: a working diary (public bookings, not promises), a sound you can name them by, and rooms that leave louder than they arrived. Where an entry cites a festival billing or a residency guest list, the source is in the public record and dated in our register. And, house rule: no press photography. One hundred entries stand on words.
Nos. 1–20, Nearest the door
Sammy Virji
UKG’s next headliner; top billing at Parklife 2026
The garage revival’s first stadium-sized grin.
Top-billed at Parklife 2026 alongside Calvin Harris and Skepta: the clearest promotion letter UK garage has posted in years. The sets are relentless, melodic and completely unbothered by genre borders.
KETTAMA
Galway’s pressure engine; Solomun +1 guest, 2026
Irish house at motorway speed.
A 2026 Solomun +1 guest at Pacha with a G-Town catalogue that turns polite clubs feral. The next big room is already his.
DESIREE
Johannesburg’s new-generation selector; Solomun +1 guest, 2026
Afro house’s most composed ascent.
A 2026 +1 guest billing and a global touring footprint; the sets close like verdicts. South Africa’s next export licence, mid-stamp.
Chris Stussy
Amsterdam’s minimal-house craftsman; Parklife 2026 billing
Vinyl-era swing, streaming-era rooms.
Billed at Parklife 2026 and already the connoisseur’s booking across Europe. Minimal house with actual warmth in it.
Nia Archives
Jungle’s front-facing revivalist; Parklife 2026 billing
Breakbeats with a byline.
Billed at Parklife 2026; jungle’s crossover face with the songwriting to hold it. The genre’s history books will need a new chapter.
Josh Baker
Manchester’s own; the city’s warehouse rooms built him
Our town, his tempo.
The house claims home advantage: Manchester-raised, minimal-leaning house, and rooms that keep outgrowing their fire limits.
KILIMANJARO
UK-born, Zambian roots; Ushuaïa, DGTL and Warehouse Project appearances
Afro-house’s brightest new passport.
Appearances logged at Ushuaïa Ibiza, DGTL and Warehouse Project: a rise built on rooms, not clips.
JAZZWRLD
South Africa’s 2025 breakout; ‘Isaka (6am)’ went global
The 6am record the world set an alarm for.
‘Isaka (6am)’ broke internationally, with Tems and Omah Lay joining ‘Isaka II’; an EP is slated for 2026. The momentum is not subtle.
Thakzin
Pretoria’s percussive architect; Tomorrowland 2026 afro house stage
Drums that argue and win.
Billed on Tomorrowland 2026’s dedicated deep afro house stage: the genre’s new main-stage door, and he’s through it.
Kasango
South African songwriter-DJ; Black Coffee’s 2026 Hï guest list
Melody first, then the wave.
Named on Black Coffee’s published 2026 Hï Ibiza guest roster. Writes the songs the genre hums on the ferry home.
DJ Gigola
Berlin’s wit in the booth; Solomun +1 guest, 2026
Club music with a raised eyebrow.
A 2026 +1 guest and Berlin’s most quotable new selector. Fast, funny, and better-read than the room expects.
Max Styler
US tech house on the rise; Solomun +1 guest, 2026
California polish, terrace instincts.
A 2026 Solomun +1 guest billing: the American tech house class’s most exportable graduate.
Kitty Amor
UK afro house scholar; Black Coffee’s 2026 Hï guest list
Patience as a power move.
On the published 2026 Hï guest roster. Long-form afro house that treats the dancefloor like a seminar it wants to attend.
AMÉMÉ
Benin-born, New York-made; Black Coffee’s 2026 Hï guest list
One Tribe, growing.
On the published 2026 Hï roster; the One Tribe brand is quietly becoming infrastructure.
Laolu
Nigerian afro-electronic voice; Black Coffee’s 2026 Hï guest list
Ritual you can dance to.
On the published 2026 Hï roster: spiritual, patient, and built for the long set.
Darque
South African melodic force; Black Coffee’s 2026 Hï guest list
Warmth at scale.
On the published 2026 Hï roster; melodic afro house with real chart manners.
Rosey Gold
SA’s rising selector; Tomorrowland 2026 afro house stage
Golden hour’s understudy, briefly.
Billed on the Tomorrowland 2026 afro house stage: the apprenticeship is nearly over.
B Jones
Spain’s main-stage climber; Tomorrowland 2026 mainstage billing
Big rooms, bigger ambition.
Billed on Tomorrowland 2026’s mainstage: Spain’s most determined export since the tortilla argument.
Malugi
Germany’s fast-rising groove merchant; Tomorrowland 2026 billing
Bounce with a work ethic.
Billed at Tomorrowland 2026; the German groove school’s most likeable new prefect.
Bella Claxton
Australian doof goes global
Hard house with sunshine on it.
Profiled among 2026’s rising class for hybrid hard-house-to-trance sets now touring Europe and Asia. The accent stays; the BPM travels.
The current first team.
The hundred they’re chasing is already ranked, argued over and refreshed all year.
Open the Top 100 →Nos. 21–100, The bench, in order
Mau P
Amsterdam’s arena-track author
One more season and he’s furniture at the top.
Cloonee
Sheffield tech house, US-conquering
Unreasonably effective.
Hamdi
UK bass’s chart-crasher; Coachella 2026 billing
Low end, high ceiling.
Nico Moreno
Hard techno’s shock troop; Awakenings 2026 billing
Subtlety declined, receipts kept.
Sherelle
160BPM standard-bearer
Faster is a philosophy.
Two Shell
UK’s masked pranksters; Sónar 2026 billing
The joke is on the algorithm.
Héctor Oaks
Berlin-via-Madrid vinyl purist
Cut the lights, keep the faith.
Anetha
French techno’s melodic hard edge
Elegance at 145.
Clara Cuvé
Munich-born, Berlin-hardened
Classic techno posture, new blood.
DJ Heartstring
Berlin’s trance-pop duo
Feelings, unashamed, at speed.
Narciss
Berlin’s theatrical accelerationist
Camp as a weapon.
Prospa
Leeds’ rave-revival duo
The North remembers its synths.
Bailey Ibbs
UK techno’s fast riser
The hype is load-bearing.
Alarico
Italian raw-groove technician
Stripped back, screwed down.
Funk Assault
Alarico & Chlär’s alliance
Groove science, peer-reviewed.
Estella Boersma
Amsterdam’s runway-to-rave convert
Taste travels.
Sofia Kourtesis
Lima-born, Berlin-based storyteller
House music with a passport and a heart.
Chaos In The CBD
NZ brothers, deep house’s quiet hands
Understatement as luxury.
Obskür
Dublin’s garage-house duo
Ireland’s next export licence.
Josh Caffe
London’s house vocalist-selector
Nightlife with a byline.
East End Dubs
London minimal’s steady hand
Rooms trust him.
Max Dean
UK minimal-house riser
Young head, old swing.
Sosa
UK tech house energy merchant
Crowd control, licensed.
Beltran
Brazil’s minimal prodigy
São Paulo’s next shift.
Maz
Brazilian melodic riser; Black Coffee’s 2026 Hï guest list
Warm water, deep current.
Moojo
Melodic house’s next name up
Patience, then the drop of the night.
Francis Mercier
Haitian-born, NY-based afro house builder
Momentum with manners.
Enoo Napa
SA’s afro-tech pressure; Tomorrowland 2026 afro stage
Darker, and better for it.
Caiiro
SA’s percussive heavyweight; Tomorrowland 2026 afro stage
The drum decides.
Da Capo
SA’s afro-deep authority; Tomorrowland 2026 afro stage
Seniority, still rising.
Vanco
SA riser on two 2026 rosters (Tomorrowland; Hï guest list)
Booked where it counts.
AWEN
Afro house’s voice-led craft; Tomorrowland 2026 afro stage
Song first, always.
Danni Gato
Tomorrowland 2026 afro stage billing
Lisbon-to-Luanda current.
DJ Merlon
KZN’s deep-house statesman; Hï 2026 guest list
The elder the new school quotes.
Kelvin Momo
Private-school amapiano’s keeper
Softness as authority.
TxC
SA’s DJ duo on the up
Amapiano’s next export.
Ahadadream
UK’s percussion-first riser
London’s polyrhythm lobby.
Manuka Honey
UK-Latin club futurist
Border-crossing bounce.
Nikki Nair
US bass-techno polymath
Ideas per minute, chart-topping.
Introspekt
UKG’s technical new hope
Garage, taken seriously.
Angel D’Lite
London’s donk-adjacent joy merchant
Fun, weaponised.
Girls Don’t Sync
Liverpool-born selector collective
Four hands better.
Bklava
Brighton’s garage-house voice
Sings it, spins it.
Kessler
Manchester-based bass technician
Our postcode, his pressure.
Main Phase
UKG’s beat-tape romantic
Nostalgia, renovated.
Bakey
Bristol-leaning garage bounce
Cheek with chops.
Soul Mass Transit System
Leeds garage revivalists
Yorkshire swing authority.
Ell Murphy
UKG’s golden voice
The hook and the hands.
yunè pinku
Irish-Malaysian club dreamer
Melancholy you can move to.
TAAHLIAH
Glasgow’s uncompromising star
Power, precisely aimed.
DJ ADHD
UK club’s chaos theorist
Unserious name, serious drums.
Otik
UK bass’s texture painter
Greyscale, gorgeous.
Holloway
UK garage-adjacent melodist
Soft power at 135.
Silva Bumpa
UKG’s bassline bruiser
Sub-heavy CV.
Oppidan
UK bass storyteller
Widescreen for small rooms.
Riordan
Liverpool’s rave optimist
Scouse acceleration.
Meg Ward
UK’s rising rave technician
Joy with torque.
Josh Parker
UK house riser; Parklife 2026 billing
Booked at home, heard everywhere.
Effy
UK techno-house voice
Quietly relentless.
LF SYSTEM
Scottish disco-house hitmakers
One anthem down, catalogue loading.
Conducta
UKG’s label general (Kiwi)
Infrastructure is a talent.
X CLUB.
Brisbane’s rave exporters
Australia’s hardest handshake.
Odd Mob
Brisbane’s house engineers
Antipodean efficiency.
HoneyLuv
US house riser
Main-room manners, underground taste.
Westend
NY tech house workhorse
Relentless, and aware of it.
Disco Lines
US collegiate-disco phenomenon
Fun sells; he’s solvent.
ISOxo
US bass prodigy; Ultra 2026 headliner billing
The kids’ favourite, correctly.
Knock2
San Diego’s rocket
Trigger finger, dancefloor aim.
Pegassi
Duo on EDC Las Vegas 2026’s bill
Named on the marquee already.
Nitepunk
Hard-style technician in EDM.com’s Class of 2026
Hard year, right hands.
Jaime Rosso
UK’s uncategorisable producer-DJ
Form-averse, future-proof.
Yazzus
UK’s rave-history remixer
Curriculum: chaos.
object blue
London’s conceptual club voice
Thinks loud, plays louder.
Roza Terenzi
Perth-to-Berlin groove scientist
Wonk with wisdom.
D. Tiffany
Vancouver’s trance-house alchemist
Softly radical.
Chloé Robinson
UK’s A&R-sharp selector
Ears first.
Partiboi69
Melbourne’s mullet-forward showman
The bit works because the mixing does.
Novah
Belgian techno riser on Tomorrowland 2026’s bill
Main stage’s next tenant.
Zulan
Coachella 2026 Sahara billing
Booked before famous.
¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U
Japan’s cult selector; Coachella 2026 billing
The connoisseurs’ secret goes public.
The fine print
Refreshed as the year moves; promotions graduate into the Top 100. Sibling volumes: the DJ Power Index, the best techno DJs, the best afro house DJs and the best British DJs. We sell photographs, not bookings: agencies handle the diaries.
i.Where it lives,destinations.
iii.The seasons,in conversation.
Questions, asked of the editors.
The house’s current answer, in ranked order, starts with Sammy Virji, KETTAMA, DESIREE, Chris Stussy and Nia Archives: one hundred names deep, refreshed as they rise.
Nobody knows, and distrust anyone certain. Our money, stated as opinion, is on the top ten of this index; the ranking is the argument.
Editorial judgement against public record: 2026 festival billings, published residency guest lists and documented releases. No submissions, no fees; nobody from our Top 100 is eligible. This is the bench.
Most are one room away. Every name is a working artist with a public footprint: that is the entry bar.
As the year moves; the date stamp above is honest. Expect promotions into the Top 100: that is the point.
The chapter, on paper. hand-framed.
See the Most Wanted →A photograph is a memory you can hang. A short list off the wall, closest in spirit to Next 100: DJs to Watch, 2027: museum-grade pigment prints, hand-finished in oak.
How an index is made.
- i.
The Long List
Each index begins with a brief and a longlist three times the published length. Submissions, scouts, and members.
- ii.
The Visit
Nothing makes the index without a visit, a verified guest, or a documented reservation in the last twelve months.
- iii.
The House
Editors weigh atmosphere, value, and the quality of the room. Stars and rosettes are noted but rarely decisive.
- iv.
The Cull
Entries that have softened, scaled, or stopped answering the phone are removed. We re-rank, we don't pad.
“We don’t rank the largest. We rank the rooms we’d actually return to, the houses we’d happily lend, and the addresses we’d quietly give a friend. The Indexes are kept short on purpose.”
For the record: citation and HTML embed for anyone quoting Index No. 07 in print or online.
The Good Season. (August 2026). Index No. 07: Next 100: DJs to Watch, 2027. The House Indexes, Vol. IV (IX-TT-26). https://thegoodseason.co.uk/season/indexes/next-100-djs-to-watch-2027
<blockquote cite="https://thegoodseason.co.uk/season/indexes/next-100-djs-to-watch-2027" data-tgs-index="IX-TT-26" style="border-left:3px solid #1E3A37;padding:12px 16px;margin:0;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> <a href="https://thegoodseason.co.uk/season/indexes/next-100-djs-to-watch-2027" style="color:#1D1D1B;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;">Next 100: DJs to Watch, 2027</a> <span style="display:block;font-size:12px;color:#7E7A73;margin-top:4px;">Index No. 07 · The House Indexes · <a href="https://thegoodseason.co.uk" style="color:#7E7A73;">The Good Season</a></span> </blockquote>