Hundreds turn out for drum and bass bike rave in city

Galya DimitrovaSouth of England
Dom Whiting DJ Dom Whiting playing music while on his bike in Oxford. He is on the High Street. Hundreds of ravers are behind him on their bikes, following him. Dom Whiting
DJ Dom Whiting said his playlist in Oxford would be "a bit of everything"

Hundreds of cyclists turned out for another drum and bass rave in Oxford on Sunday.

Dom Whiting, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is also known as the DJ On The Bike as he rides through various cities and towns on a bicycle modified with speakers and decks.

Drum & Bass On The Bike began at 14:00 GMT from the Clarendon Building on Broad Street and was live streamed on Facebook.

Cowley resident Alex Harding, who planned to join the crowds, said before the event it created "quite a unique contrast" with the old city.

Dom Whiting Dom Whiting on one of his bike raves, surrounded by people riding bikes. He is playing music on his decks.Dom Whiting
The DJ rides through various cities and towns on a bicycle modified with speakers and decks

Organisers said nearly 1,000 people attended on Sunday.

The streets of Oxford were among the first places the DJ performed when he started his initiative in 2021.

"It's mainly because it was a cycling city, I thought 'Well, it made sense to maybe ride around a cycling city'," he said.

Speaking ahead of the event, Whiting said he enjoyed seeing the old buildings as he looks back at videos from the event.

"Cowley Road's obviously quite a buzz but going through the actual town centre where the old market used to be, it's just got such good architecture still," he said.

"That's definitely one of the things that are cool about it."

Alex Harding Dom Whiting in Oxford on one of his bike raves, surrounded by people riding bikes. Some are taking images.Alex Harding
Cowley resident Alex Harding said the rave in Oxford last April was "absolutely incredible"

To Whiting, "every city has its energy" and his planned playlist in Oxford was due to be a bit of everything", he said earlier.

"It's a cycling city, so I think it's more appealing not just to people who listen to music, it's also appealing to people who are just going out on bikes.

"They might not necessarily be avid music fans or they listen to classical music, but because they like cycling, they will listen to drum bass for that day."

Alex Harding A view of Magdalen Bridge during the bike rave in 2025. Many people are cycling as part of the rave. It's cloudy. A green bus is seen approaching them from the opposite direction.Alex Harding
Whiting said he enjoyed seeing the old buildings as he looks back at videos from the event

Harding, who is a personal trainer, said he found the genre "super exciting".

"I've always found when I go raving the community have always been incredibly accepting, so I like to think that the people in Oxford will feel accepted when they listen to the music."

He said he had discovered Whiting two years ago and thought "This is definitely a bit of me".

Now, he even listens to drum and bass with his clients and described the rave in April 2025 as "absolutely incredible".

"It's nice to see what [Whiting] is doing on the decks and how he combines the cycling around the city with actually playing the music as well - I think it's crazy how he works both skills together."

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