ULTRA Derby: New 3,500-Capacity Warehouse Venue Launches on New Year’s Eve
Derby is about to get the underground venue it’s been missing. This New Year’s Eve marks the arrival of ULTRA Derby, a vast 3,500-capacity warehouse purpose-built for electronic music.
Behind the launch of ULTRA Derby is the team responsible for the Midlands powerhouse festival Forbidden Forest, now channelling their production muscle into an entirely new venture: We Are WHSE.
The space itself is a statement. Exposed steel beams, corrugated walls, and a stripped-back industrial layout define ULTRA’s aesthetic, nodding to the raw DNA of early UK rave culture. But this isn’t nostalgia – ULTRA Derby fuses that gritty authenticity with precision lighting, high-end sound, and large-scale production. The result is a new breed of venue: unpolished, powerful, and designed to hit hard.
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The We Are WHSE launch night sets the tone for what’s to come, bringing a heavyweight lineup of new-school house and techno disruptors including Max Dean, Luke Dean, Gaskin, DXNBY, and more. Expect energy, intensity, and a no-compromise approach to atmosphere.
“Derby has been crying out for an event series like this,” said the Forbidden Forest team. “We wanted to build something that feels real and rooted in the underground, but still delivers the quality and production people expect from us. We Are WHSE is exactly that.”
The NYE event is only the beginning. In 2026, We Are WHSE will roll out a full series of shows featuring leading names across house, drum & bass, and beyond – establishing ULTRA Derby as a serious new player in the UK’s club circuit.
For the Midlands scene, it marks a shift. No more travelling to Nottingham or Birmingham for the kind of large-scale, credible events electronic fans crave. ULTRA Derby is built to be the region’s epicentre – a cavernous, high-impact space for those who still believe in the underground.
