Located in the heart of WeHo, this nightclub offers up a dance floor every night of the week, regularly blasting Top 40, hip-hop, and Latin soundtracks for the crowd.
Here are our favorite LGBTQ bars across LA: In the meantime, mosey on over to any spot on the list below, all of which have resumed business in some form, even if it looks a little different than what they’ve offered in the past. With LA County requiring proof of vaccination in public indoor spaces like restaurants, bars, and clubs beginning on November 4, we’re hopeful that some of our favorite LGBTQ-friendly haunts will soon feel safe opening back up. You might notice that this list feels a little bare-that’s because we opted to omit bars that have since shutdown for good (RIP Oil Can Harrys) and long-standing gay bars (like Fubar and Mother Lode) that have yet to re-open their doors since pandemic shutdowns forced them closed. (pro tip: one of them is in nearby San Diego). Though most of these newcomers still lack permanent locations, we’ve got our fingers crossed that we’ll soon be able to add another entry to the dwindling list of 21 lesbian bars that remain in the U.S.
#GAY BARS NEAR ME. SERIES#
While the Oxwood Inn, LA County’s last surviving lesbian bar, closed its doors in 2017 after serving the San Fernando Valley for 45 years, we’re happy to report that a new guard is stepping up to create inclusive spaces, ranging from an underground club series to community-oriented queer field trips. This makes it all the more disheartening that so many LGBTQ bars have closed in recent years, and in particular spaces that cater to lesbians, trans women, and other queer identities. More than a place to catch an entertaining drag brunch or dance until you drop, LGBTQ bars sprang up out of necessity to offer those communities safe spaces to meet others, congregate, and of course, celebrate identities that society has not always so readily accepted.
#GAY BARS NEAR ME. PLUS#
Once firmly headquartered in West Hollywood, our city’s LGBTQ scene has since expanded to include worthwhile spots in Silver Lake and Downtown, plus a few roving parties that pop up at different venues around town. Drag performer Heidi Tuckins does a lip sync with her sledgehammer during a drag show at Seasons in Bangor in April.Following in the example of other nightlife venues and events, LA’s LGBTQ bars are slowly coming back to life and welcoming patrons of all identities, orientations, and proclivities back on their dance floors. Since they started doing live shows again last year after a pandemic pause, Tracy said he’s seen audiences grow tremendously – not just in larger Maine cities like Bangor and Portland, but even in farther-flung towns like Pittsfield and Prospect Harbor.
The shows at Seasons are produced by Bangor-based Delicious Drag Divas, which was started about five years ago by Lloyd Tracy and his husband, Tony, aka LaDonya Lovelace. “īut there are plenty of traditional late-night drag shows, like the ones held recently at Ivy, the nightclub upstairs from Kanu in Old Town, the Common Loon Pub in Orono, and the Downunder Lounge at Seasons in Bangor, all of which feature the fabulous looks and fierce lip syncs one would expect from a drag queen. I want young queer kids to be able to see drag, and see people like them. “I think one of the amazing things about drag having much higher visibility these days is that it’s open to anyone, regardless of your age and background. “It’s really important to me that drag be accessible to all types of people – not just a late night bar crowd,” Varney said.