London's Morning Gloryville Starts Sunrise Rave Trend

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

You may be taking it slow this New Year's morning-after, but for some people, the party is just now getting started. They're going to attend a rave, you know, a big party or festival. And there is a type of rave for people who want to party all morning long. Here's an encore presentation by NPR's Ari Shapiro on Morning Gloryville. A spreading phenomenon that started in London.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: So this is the start of Morning Gloryville. It's just about 6:30 a.m. The sun is coming up and already there's a line of people, who were probably asleep about an hour ago. But right now, they're wearing florescent, neon-colored tights and headbands and leggings and sunglasses. They look like they're ready for a party.

NATASHA LYTTOM: Hi, I'm Natasha Lyttom.

SHAPIRO: Do you go to raves typically?

LYTTOM: Not at 6:30 in the morning, normally. But I like that everyone's in a really good mood. It's not the kind of sticky, alcohol everywhere in a club dance floor, with guys trying to come and grind up on you, which is what normally happens in raves.

SHAPIRO: After this, do you have a 9-to-5 job that you go to?

LYTTOM: Unfortunately, living the Dolly Parton dream. Don't tell them, I'm not going to be dancing at 6:30 in the morning. I'm a communications manager.

UNIDENTIFIED DJ: So let him know how much you appreciate him.

(CHEERING)

SHAPIRO: In a typical club, you arrive at some point in the evening and work your way towards more drinks, towards a late night, towards crazy, wild abandon. Here, people are working their way towards the 9 a.m. workday. And yet, the dance floor looks like a rave - people are sober, having just woken up, rocking out.

MEENA MILLER: We've actually had a problem here with people crawling under the bar to come hug me while I'm making smoothies.

SHAPIRO: Meena Miller blends smoothies here. She's the closest thing this party has to a bartender, along with Peter Duggan who makes espresso drinks. He's been here from the beginning, just over a year ago.

PETER DUGGAN: Well, I didn't think it would work. When I - the first few months we were like, oh, yeah, it's over.

SHAPIRO: And now it's in what - like a dozen or so cities around the world?

DUGGAN: Right, yeah. And it just seems to be getting busier and bigger every month.

SHAPIRO: The woman who started this phenomenon is an exuberant 28-year-old named Sam Moyo.

SAM MOYO: What Morning Gloryville's been doing is making happiness and being joyful, cool.

SHAPIRO: Moyo says she used to love clubbing. She had a club kid nickname that's not appropriate for public radio.

MOYO: It was absolutely amazing. I'd be partying for days on end. To be honest, on a mental and emotional level, it wasn't doing me that good. (Laughing) But I did time of my life.

SHAPIRO: She and her friends created Morning Gloryville to try to capture the joy of clubbing without the messiness. These parties have now popped up Bangalore, India and Sydney, Australia. In the U.S., it's taken root in New York and San Francisco. The sunlight is now streaming into the packed and sweaty room. The DJ at the front has cranked up the music all the way. There are dancers on stage, prancing around wearing unicorn horns and fairy wings. Without the booze, people can even bring their kids to this party. Tyler Wagner is wearing a red, sparkly cape - his 6-year-old and 3-year-old where headphones to protect their ears.

TYLER WAGNER: I'm a satellite engineer. And I love taking the kids to events like this because this lets them enjoy their fun, artistic side. They get plenty of their engineering, science side from science at home with dad and mom. So this lets them get out and dance and have a good time.

SHAPIRO: OK, we've done plenty of interviews. The music is still pounding. The dance floor is packed. Enough of the reporting - let's go join the party. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, London. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.