Location: Valinhos, Brazil
Capacity: 5,000
“It was just an empty lot, with only one rock that caught a lot of attention,” explains founder Victor Flosi of what the space that now holds the world-famous Laroc Club once was. Things have changed just a tad since then. Opened in 2015, the venue is more like a permanent festival than a traditional club, with a ginormous hangar-like main stage, pool and open-air area that allows revellers to soak up the Brazilian sunshine and take in the lush green of the surrounding hills. In December, a new ceiling and stage designed by Dutch production company TWOFIFTYK were both installed to keep the layout fresh too.
But no amount of visual spectacle is worth a penny without the artists to bring the music, and Laroc books the best in EDM and big room house music. Headline names to pass through the Valinhos venue in the past year include Tiësto, Hardwell, Claptone, ALOK, and DJ Snake. Key promotions throughout the year are Laroc’s birthday party in October, Vintage Culture’s takeover in December, Réveillon (AKA New Year’s Eve), and Ame Laroc Festival, the club’s Carnaval celebration, which this year took place from 18th to 20th February and invited Steve Aoki, John Summit, Meduza, and plenty of local talent like Mochakk, Dubdogz, Barja, Cruxz, Ricky Paes, and Meca.