Thugshop's Sheryl Sho dishes on fringe nightlife

She spins at Headquarters, an underground music venue perfect for newcomers to the scene

- Teo Kai Xiang

Even as Singapore's bars and clubs face challenging times, the country's underground music collectives are finding their rhythm.

For deejay Sheryl Sho, 27, this underground scene is both playground and workplace.

As resident DJ at Thugshop, a home-grown nightlife and music collective, she can often be found behind the decks at Headquarters in Boat Quay, spinning everything from pulsing techno and house to funk and disco.

Headquarters is one of four venues operated by Thugshop. The others include Tuff Club in Robinson Road, which offers more melodic sounds, and MDLR (pronounced "modular"), a nightlife venue in Cecil Street which serves as an event space for the group's larger pop-up parties.

"I was first drawn to Thugshop as a partygoer," says Sho. "It's just a place to be. You can come here and be yourself. You don't have to dress up, you don't have to impress anyone. You can come with friends or alone, not talk to anyone and just listen to the music."

Before joining Thugshop in 2025, Sho cut her teeth playing for Last Saturdays, another local music collective, in 2023. By day, she is one half of the creative studio Pattern Disrupt.

While the late nights take their toll — she says not getting enough sleep is one of the job's bugbears—the rewards make it worthwhile.

"What I like most is seeing people with big smiles and enjoying themselves on the dance floor. I think nothing brings more joy to being a DJ than this."

For newcomers to the scene, Sho recommends starting at Headquarters.