Try-Angles is known for a chill vibe-except during their theme events like Underwear Night or Leather Night, when you can expect an epic all-night party. And if you’re a barbecue enthusiast, saddle right up on Sundays for some homestyle cookin’. The Sun Trapp typically offers entry with no cover charge, but expect to wait a few minutes for bar service on weekends. If you love inexpensive drinks and dancing to club remixes of Whitney Houston and Ariana Grande, you’ll probably find yourself becoming a regular. Their outdoor patio is as big as the interior, offering plenty of open-air seating, and in the winter, the patio has a heated tent with its own bar inside. Don’t be fooled by its rustic exterior-the atmosphere often draws a line of patrons that snakes around the corner on the weekends. Located on 600 West just off 100 South, the Sun Trapp greets everyone with a warm welcome and is famous for serving beer in mason jars. (And yes, the regular rotation of drag shows keep the city sizzling all through the winter.)Ĭheck out a few of our favorite “officially” gay bars and gay-friendly bars-keeping in mind that, in this town, it needn’t be a “gay bar” for everyone to fit right in. And since everyone has a voice, it’s pretty easy for everyone of every orientation to jump in on the incredible fun that is Salt Lake on a hot city night. This means the LGBTQ community has an unprecedented voice in city government. The city’s lesbian mayor, Jackie Biskupski, leads a city council with three out of seven members who are gay. (There’s even a Utah Gay Ski Week-real thing,, see you there.) Of course, it doesn’t have to be parade week to celebrate pride and inclusivity.
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In fact, the city’s been listed by Advocate magazine as one of the Ten Queerest Cities in America (gayer than L.A.-take that, Southern Cali!) … The city holds one of the biggest and best-attended Pride parades and festivals around, with Pride Week festivities attracting tens of thousands of participants who light up the downtown scene in full rainbow-hued regalia. In a state known for its religious zeal, Salt Lake City serves as a bastion of progressiveness, playfulness, and pride. Sure, a statue of the Mormon angel Moroni stands prominent watch over downtown Salt Lake City, but he might trade his trumpet for dancing shoes if he realized what a fantastic LGBTQ-friendly nightlife the town has today. This list details Chicago’s top venues, crews, and parties aimed at connecting with queer community, crushing a cocktail (or five), and twisting the night away.Drink it In: Salt Lake’s Gay Bar Scene Is Growing, Thriving, and Never Looking Back
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These organizations are going beyond designing safe spaces for queer Black folks to dance, make out, and meet-they’re creating moments that decenter the white gaze (not to mention white gays), showcasing the artistic talents and sweet joy of Chicago’s Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming residents and curating welcoming opportunites for folks to get down free from inhibition and fear. Several of Chicago’s queer event collectives are set on partying with a purpose, especially those with Black queers at the helm. Much of that is thanks to the hard work of folks like the Chicago Black Drag Council and countless other queer Black nightlife prose, all backed up by those of us happily partaking in the scene.
While Boystown and Andersonville continue to flourish with queer and queer-friendly businesses on every corner, since last year’s uprisings and calls for accountability in Chicago’s gay nightlife scene, things have started to (slowly) change.
We have some of the most renowned drag performers, incredible queer nightlife artists of all kinds, and queer neighborhoods teeming with bars and clubs. Chicago has transformed into a true queer destination in recent years, no longer looked at as some podunk midwestern city cast in the shadow of coastal meccas like New York and Los Angeles.