“We want to take clubbing back to its core”: The Warehouse Project to introduce phone ban – as phone-free shows continue gaining popularityThe Warehouse Project is introducing a phone ban at its upcoming 2025/26 season events, following an influx of artists and venues doing the same.
The club series, based in Manchester, UK, will ban dance floor photography at its Concourse-only shows, in the hopes of fostering a more present environment for attendees. Addressing a highly raised request from music fans who have attended other phone-free events, THP will be sharing photos and videos with the crowd at the end of each night.

READ MORE: Oasis fans to watch more than 12 minutes of each show through their phone, new study claims

The ban follows the likes of Pikes Ibiza and also artists such as Ghost who have already implemented such policies. Even pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter has considered doing the same. After attending a Silk Sonic show where no phones were allowed, Carpenter told Rolling Stone that she’d “never had a better experience at a concert”.
The Warehouse Project founder, Sam Kandel, has shared his thoughts on the move (via Mixmag): “We want to take the clubbing experience back to its core, which is being in a room with like-minded people feeling connected through music,” he says.
“We also want people to have a piece of the night to remember it by and share with friends, which is why we are sharing our amazing content with everyone at the end of the evening.”

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Recently, Beyoncé producer Raphael Saadiq also weighed in on the rise of phone bans, citing his experience after mandating phones be locked away at some of his No Bandwidth: One Man, One Night, Three Decades Of Hits shows.
“Taking the phones away just made it so I can give people the same opportunity that I had as a young [person] going to the Oakland Coliseum and watching The O’Jays,” he told Tonya Mosley of NPR.
“I mean, I could see them walking up the stairs. I could see the lights on their shoes. I could see the lights on the amps. I paid attention to so much detail. Now, when you have phones in front of you, you see people stiff, and nobody’s moving in the crowd.
“It looks like it’s robots. It’s not really real people. So when there’s no phones… I just – I like it,” he said. “The testimonies I heard, people said they got a chance to hug, kiss, dance with each other.”
The Warehouse Project’s 2025/26 season kicks off on 4 September at Amber’s in Manchester, with Annie Mac’s Before Midnight event taking over its usual Depot Mayfield location the following day. View the full event calendar over at The Warehouse Project.
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