50) Bizarre Bushwick
Filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire bought the Bizarre property (a large pre-war townhouse in Bushwick) to use as a set for a film project, but in a very Brooklyn twist wound up converting it into a venue where some of the most interesting and intimate drag/burlesque hybrid shows in the city can be found (plus all matter of musical and performing arts throughout the week). Chris of Hur, Lee VaLone, Vic Sin and Emi Grate all have popular monthlies there, and Bizarre is the spot where Sasha Velour’s “NIGHTGOWNS” was born.
49)
The towering MC and recording artist is one of the driving forces behind the hip hop soundtrack of queer Brooklyn. His weekly “Hot Fruit” Monday night Metro Bar party showcases a variety of talented performers, and monthly parties he hosts at the Monster and Rockbar ensure that the whole city bows down to this #GIANT.
48) The Cock
It’s an open secret (barely) that Shit Goes Down at the Cock in the East Village. It’s moved around the neighborhood a few times, and everybody who’s been around long enough has their opinion about which Cock was the best. But all Cock’s serve the same purpose, and that is raunch. You can’t call yourself a gay man in New York until you’ve experienced the dungeon at least once.
47) DJ Johnny Dynell
The legendary DJ who emerged during the Golden Age of club life in the 80s and 90s, Johnny remains the champagne of dance DJs. This year found him with residencies at the Ice Palace and Club Cumming, and spinning major parties and galas all over the world.
46) DJ Chauncey Dandridge
Your friendly neighborhood bear DJ is the musical lifeblood of Stonewall, providing the soundtrack to most the venue’s best-known weekly and monthly events. He’s also an amazing collaborator with drag queens, given the fact that he DJs for a new one each week via the Sunday Invasion… and watching him carry on with Logan Hardcore every Thursday is like watching an old married couple.
45) Lady Bunny
At a time when drag and other nightlife performers felt the pressure to mind their insensitive P’s and Q’s in the shadow of Trump fascism, the old school Lady Bunny just said fukkit and compiled a Stonewall stage show that offended everybody equally – but was still hilarious. Trans-Jester ran at Stonewall for over a year, and took field trips to places like the Pines. Perhaps the world’s most recognizable non-Drag Race queen, Bunny continues to perform and DJ all over the globe well into her _0′s.
44) Albatross & Icon
Astoria, Queens’ last two standing queer bars are now under the same management. The long-lasting Albatross is well off the beaten path, but super charming and a shit load of fun, rocking a popular monthly bear party, butt-ass naked parties, and Saturday nights with Sutton Lee Seymour, among other things. Icon, the newer acquisition, is a little more conveniently located but understandably yet to find its own identity. Still, you can’t go wrong with a place where the weekend show queens are JanSport and Rosé.
43)
Still one of dragdom’s most prolific composers of song parodies and videos (finding a thousand different ways to sing about dildos, assholes and hookers should earn her an honorary Grammy), Sherry dropped a massive amount of hilarious content on her YouTube channel, SCTV, these past two years. Having Sutton Lee Seymour join her as a permanent co-host for her Wednesday Industry show, and having Tina Burner fill in for Peppermint for her other weekly at Therapy, opened her up to even more audiences. And she still performs globally at major events and venues frequently.
42) Maddelynn Hatter
Manhattan’s number one Creature Queen continues to host one of HK’s most popular late night shows, TURNt at the Ritz. She also recently debuted a new multi-queen takedown at Rebar, “The Bad Bitch Review,” and remains a highly in-demand editorial photographer of her fellow queens.
41)
The burlesquer / club kid / drag queen / event producer / gogo boy / promoter / host wears many hats (see above photo), and is omnipresent in the art-poppiest corners of nightlife. But he is perhaps best known for his long-running party “Straight Acting” at Metropolitan Bar, which attracts big names to perform and big crowds to ki.
40)
DJ Steve Sidewalk
Still nightlife’s most reliable and agreeable pop DJ, and basically the only one in the business who will take your requests. He’s probably spun every venue in the city from the past decade, and several cities beyond.
39) Ruby Roo
Where wasn’t Ruby at in 2017? Between bartending and show hosting at Pieces in the West Village, hosting her now-solo show (since co-host Elizabeth James left) down the street at the Duplex, turning numbers at Hardware every Saturday or keeping the institution of Macri Park’s “Mondays on Mondays” going with Ragamuffin in Brooklyn, this funny queen has taken over all the gayborhoods.
38) Rebar
Both the new kid on the block and a welcomed return – having opened on the site of the former G Lounge by that bar’s former owners – Rebar went through its going pains pretty rapidly before becoming an immediate essential venue in the dwindling gay Chelsea scene. Boasting some of the hottest bartenders in the biz, a few popular parties of the manlier variety, and even a few drag queens now, Rebar has already set the bar high for itself.
37) Hot Rabbit
Emily Hall Maresca’s hugely popular megaparty conglomerate is loved by the ladies, but not just for by / for the ladies. Aside from it’s every-two-weeks affair at Lot 45 Bushwick, Hot Rabbit bounced around a bit since its creation at Heathers in 2011. It’s since been at Nowhere and later the Monster, then spending most of 2017 at Boots & Saddle. In December they made the jump to DROM in the East Village.
36) The Haus of
The Brooklyn-born banjee-chic foursome’s Mother Aja graces us with performances often enough, considering that she is Drag Race Season 9′s breakout star and in global demand… not to mention she’s returning for All-Stars 3. And with baby Dahlia Sin relocated to LA, the Haus queens mostly representing in NYC are MoMo Shade and Kandy Muse, who smite us with happy hour shows at Hardware and Pieces and turn up all over the city when they feel like it.
35)
The Monster’s bartender-turned-DJ produced the hottest Drag Race track this year, C.L.A.T. with Sasha Velour, Peppermint, Aja and Alexis Michelle. His The Only Productions co-managed by Bob the Drag Queen also produced the year’s most talked about Halloween bash, The Only Bloodbath. And of course his weekly party Manster at Monster is continually one of the West Village’s hottest Saturdays. Mitch, please!
34)
Another hot West Village Saturday is Bootsie’s Sinful Saturdays at the Pieces, one of those drag show’s that’s turnt enough for other top queens to visit off-duty. The funny showgirl and Celine enthusiast kept us in stiches all year, representing us as one of two NY queens in the national Comedy Queen pageant and keeping it real cute with her other shows at Hardware, Rise, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, Industry and the Highline Ballroom… and she just turned 30 this year!
33)
A queen who’s aesthetic and performing style is difficult to describe, Dusty nonetheless owned 2017 with her popular Pieces Friday night show (now co-hosted by Ruby Roo) and a Hardware happy hour, not to mention the essential Look Queen weekly drag competition at Monster, which she hosts (and wasn’t it a gag when she dragged Thannery Heavens and company for stealing Egypt’s money from the Monster dressing room via posting the security camera footage on FB!?). This year she was also a model for MAC cosmetics, got engaged to her boyfriend playwright Marc Singer, and starred in a reading of his new play Alice is Burning. 2018 is looking to be an even huger year for this colorful, quirky queen.
32) Brian Rafferty
Helping to keep the circuit party scene thriving, Rafferty and the app SCRUFF bring the massively successful monthly thotfest TRADE to venues like Cielo, and now Rough TRADE at the new Rosewood Theater.
31) Hornet
No, Hornet is not sponsoring this post (I wish). But the gay social networking / hookup app is branding basically everything else in NYC nightlife, including the uber-successful “Miss Lady Liberty” competition at the Ace Hotel and the final season of “So You Think You Can Drag.” Their website has a pretty good all-things-queer newsfeed too, thanks in part to ex-NEXT Magazine editor Alexander Kacala’s contribution.
30)
With hit weekly shows at Barracuda, Therapy and Hardware, this dancing diva is quite simply one NYC’s favorite drag queens, period. Entertainer of the Millennium!
29) The Eagle NYC
The city’s most WOOF-tastic watering hole attracts a very fetish friendly breed of buffalo. Not for the easily scandalized, a night at Chelsea’s the Eagle can be more than a little intense – but the regulars are like a family. Also, many of the bar’s seriously masc pourmasters have larger Insta followings than the average drag queen.
28)
“QUEEN” at Industry’s current showrunner also has a popular show at the Monster, plus two nights a week she’s surrounded by sexy gogo boys (Saturday at the Fairytail Lounge, Sunday at Pieces). Add that to a successful run at the Ice Palace this summer, her hosting of the all-stars edition of “New York’s Next Top Drag Queen” and the Miss Monster pageant, and her success with “Distorted Diznee” and “Twisted Sistas” stage shows at the Beechman, and you’ve got a beloved queen who has, and does, and is, everything.
27) Shane Tate
No one would’ve guessed that a weekly bear happy hour in Hell’s Kitchen – a town known for being the young-and-clean-cut fembot capital of NYC – could ever have been as successful as Beers & Bears Thursdays at the Ritz is. But there you go: that’s why producer Shane Tate is the first ever bear-centric GLAM nominee for Best Party Promoter. In fact, with a new monthly at Atlas, Shane now has two HK properties to brag about.
26) Monster
The West Village’s largest venue is two bar experiences in one: a cheery piano bar upstairs, and a sexy disco in the basement. Home to some of the city’s most popular nights, including “Manster,” “Look Queen” and “Holly & Her Dollies.”
25)
Everyone’s coming to the realization that the sassy, brassy Sutton Lee Seymour is just one genuinely terrific drag queen. Her “Broadway Mondays” at Hardware with co-host Cacophony Daniels is a great a platform for her own showstopping stagecraft as much as her famous guests, and she totally owns Astoria Saturdays via her show at the Albatross. Her Beechman cabaret Fame-ish was also quite the hit. And now this legend-in-the-making is paired with a legend-of-now, Sherry Vine, for a Can’t Miss Wednesday weekly at Industry. Let us keep her for a few more years, RuPaul!
24)
This incredible queen has been a gorgeous pageant winner many times over, is one of the scene’s best dancers, and has gotten to be a really funny show hostess to boot. Brenda’s 2017 takeover of NYC was thorough: getting two new weekly shows at Rise and Barracuda to add to her long-standing Boots & Saddle night and her rotation with Industry’s “Queen,” selling out “Twisted Sistas” and “Distorted Diznee”:at the Beechman nearly every show night, turning it with Katy Perry on SNL, winning the Miss Industry Crown, and debuting as a pageant hostess for Miss Boots & Saddle and Miss West Village. Bonus: she takes the best damn selfies of anyone ever. You betta werk, Brenda!
23) Boxers
For the gays who really care about sports. And super cheap drinks at happy hour. And reasonably tasty bar food. And good DJs like Steve Sidewalk and
Susan Levine. And fun karaoke with Jackie Dupree. And hot bartender trade, duh. With popular locations in Chelsea and HK, and long-awaited one coming soon to Washington Heights.
22) Club Cumming
One of the newest editions to nightlife, Alan Cumming’s space (at the site of the former Easternbloc) is brilliantly bonkers. With eclectic talent ranging from Amber Martin singing “elevator music,” to a weekly knitting club, to shows from the brilliant Daphne Always, to plays, to standup… a bar that’s been around for less then year has already showcased a ton of amazing talent. We look forward to what’s to come from Cumming in 2018.
21)
Glamorous pageant queen, skanky freak on a gogo box, dancing and singing and joke-telling show hostess… whatever version of Honey you get, the one thing you can depend on is that you won’t be bored. Honey’s one of the most in-demand drag talents in the city and beyond. Amd with popular nights at the Monster (GLAM-winning Manster Saturdays and the Thursday night Spunk party) and a new solo show on Mondays at Rise Bar – not to mention a well-received turn at acting in Paul Alexander’s play Trinkets – her starlight will only shine brighter with time.
20) Ladyfag
Few embody downtown cool and surreal fashion like this event producer of the monthly club kid lovefest “Holy Mountain” at Slake. Her much-missed weekly “Eleven Eleven” returned for a holiday edition in December, and she’s got a Brooklyn party of New Years Eve weekend in about to drop.
19) Monet X Change
She dances, she jokes, she serves fierce face and fashion, and she sings like an AngelMonster. What can’t this queen do? I dunno, but check out her shows at Therapy, Hardware and Industry and behold one of the city’s greatest and most versatile performers. And yes… 2018 will be the year that X Change really really marks the spot.
18) Michael Musto
Musto Mattered More Than Most in 2017. The truly legendary nightlife columnist was a strong advocate of The Village Voice’s (the paper where he made his name) decision to go all-digital, while making several TV appearance sharing warm stories about the lives of Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds and Liz Smith. His columns in Out, NewNowNext and Paper are widely read, and he even took quite a few turns as a performer… notably a pair of cabaret duets shows that teamed him with other genuine celebrities. And appropriately enough, Michael had an official portrait revealed at the Second Street Cathedral!
17)
Slurp! The “polarizing” villain of Fusion TV’s docum-series (reality show) Shade: Queens of NYC may tuck herself in at 3am every night, but she’s still one of nightlife’s most prolific show creators. Her delightful seasonal (Easter, Pride and Christmas) shows at the Beechman have a tremendous cult following (I seriously see many of the same people at every show), and her weekly bar shows at Therapy and Hardware are mobbed with fans. And of course, the seminal drag competition she hosted and produced for years, “So You Think You Can Drag,” just went out with a bang. Oh, by the way… she seems perfectly nice to me!
16)
There is always something going on with nightlife event producer and look queen
Monica. I don’t know how she does it, but everything that she touches with her brand EDEN usually turns to the most glittery of gold. Apparently she’s leaving headed for Miami soon, but our gal’s still gonna be bringing the party to NYC on the reg in 2018.
15) The Rosemont
Metropolitan’s former owner Troy Carson converted this Williamsburg jazz club into hottest new queer spot in Brooklyn. With a roster of fresh new queens and a variety of nightly entertainment, the Rosemont just enjoyed it’s first anniversary… with a great chance at many more to come.
14) Susanne Bartsch
Her name being the most recognizable brand of art-meets-party planning, even people outside of the nightlife bubble have likely heard of the goddess of Bartschland. With a successful seasonal return of her parties “On Top” and “BOOM!” to Le Bain and a documentary about her life and career in the atmosphere, the Kingdom of Bartsch lives son.
13) Barracuda & Industry
Is it a cop-out to put both of these as one? Probably! Barracuda is a historical, quirky gay space in Chelsea where hundreds of drag careers were launched, and the newer, swankier Industry is arguably the most popular gay venue in HK. But both are owned by Bob Pontarelli (who also owns ELMO Restaurant), both are vital venues for drag and DJs alike… and both are cash only!
12) Merrie Cherry
One of Brooklyn’s two reigning creators of nightlife events – at Metropolitan Bar, Macri Park, the Rosemont, Happyfun Hideaway and several other venues – Merrie’s also a great performing queen. Her eccentric drag looks and hilarious / dramatic performances slay every time.
11) Brita Filter
Already one of the biggest nightlife stars in NYC after just a few short years of drag, the gravelly-voiced show queen strikes that rare balance of being larger than life and everybody’s best friend at the same time. Arguably the leading lady of the new drag reality TV show Shade: Queens of NYC, everybody wants a sip of Brita. Find her these days at Boots & Saddle, Therapy and Hardware.
10) Frankie Sharp
The longtime DJ and event producer’s fan favorite party “Westgay at Westway” ran its course after the venue converted to the West End, but he still knows how to make a night lit. With weekly parties “Metrosensual” at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan and the new “Something Special” at Public Arts, plus some new activity at Club Cumming, Frankie always make sure his evening are perfectly curated for giving you life.
9) Tina Burner
This veteran gown-clown takes the art of making you laugh and gag very seriously. By all accounts one of the hardest-working queens in the biz, Tina shepherds new talent as the host of Barracuda’s long-running “Star Search” (and the Miss Barracuda pageant), shines during Fire Island season as one of Cherry’s on the Bay’s star attractions, and delivers sophisticated production value and supremely imaginative costuming every time she performs. And while basically delivering the goofiest poop humor and unfiltered shade (she is, after all, one of the ballsiest cast members of the reality series Shade: Queens of NYC) she is the be-all and end-all of all that is amazing about drag today.
8)
The genius behind Club Cummings’ instant success knows that curating talent isn’t just about selecting who’s hot at the moment. Nardicio’s just as likely to break through a brand new performer as he is to enlist legends from decades past. Whether he’s producing a stage show with Liza Minnelli or hosting a simple naked party at the Belvedere at the Pines (where he also owns Big Dick’s Halfway Inn), Daniel knows how to keep things interesting.
7) Metropolitan Bar & Macri Park
Still the headquarters of Brooklyn nightlife, Metropolitan Bar has been host to most of the borough’s most dynamic performers since it was established. But in recent years it’s also been the prime spot for performers outside Brooklyn to mix it up with new audiences. Even Drag Race girls come through Metro. Nearby sister bar Macri Park is a smaller venue, but host to some major shows in the hood like “Mondays on Mondays.”
6) John Blair, Jake Resnicow, Alan Picus & Joe Roszak
If apps are killing nightlife, you can’t tell from the circuit party scene. Every Saturday, one of NYC’s few remaining large-size venues bring you rotating monthlies – M.E.A.T., U-NITE, VERS, and now the new CHIC at the Cutting Room – with all-star international DJs and hot guys dancing. Each party in rotation may be branded slightly different from the others, but chances are they have one or more of these four guys in common. Blair (an owner of RIse Bar), Resnicow (Matinee), Picus (Boiparty) and Roscak (Partylikejoe) keep the lucrative scene going, despite all the obstacles that get thrown in the way of nightlife in this city.
5) Vincent Cooper
From creating the hugely successful Miss Lady Liberty drag competition to assembling the dynamic musical drag trio Stephanie’s Child for a series of concerts, nobody in recent years has figured out how to curate talent in the nightlife business quite like Vincent. Whether it’s finding the perfect performers out of thin air and elevating them into superstars, booking the perfect venue for his events, or getting the perfect sponsors to sign the checks… he just gets things done. And no matter what you’re looking for in a night out on the town, Vincent has something for you.
4) Stonewall
Still the standard of the West Village gay bar, on top of being a national landmark. With one of the city’s best bar staffs who really seem like a family, a roster of fabulous entertainers and DJs and a variety of major events hosted all year, Stonewall remains as vital as it ever was to the queer community of NYC and beyond. Plus, Cate Blanchett lip synched there this year.
3)
After co-creating the Bushwig drag festival in 2012, Horrorchata put Brooklyn drag on the map; and every year, the festival gets bigger and more diverse. As if planning one of the country’s most high-profile drag festivals wasn’t enough though, Horrorchata is demand all year long as a DJ, performer, and event producer. In some capacity she generally makes abut 5 or 6 appearances a week in the borough, and many of her events – “CAKES” weekly at Metropolitan Bar, “Be Cute” monthly at Littlefield, “Yas Mama” monthly at C’Mon Everybody – are fan favorites. If you want to make it in Brooklyn, this is the queen to follow.
2) Pieces & Hardware
The West Village staple Pieces and it’s newer Hell’s Kitchen sister bar Hardware have quite simply monopolized the city’s best drag and DJ talent. From Sutton Lee Seymour & Cacophony Daniels’ beloved Broadway Mondays at Hardware to Bootsie LeFaris’ filled-beyond-capacity Sinful Saturdays at Pieces and basically every show in between, these two bars draw crowds, applause, and dollars. Unafraid to take risks on new performers while still treating tried-and-true breadwinners like gold, owners of both venues
Eric Einstein and Justin Buchanan have found the winner formula for nightlife longevity.
1)
What was Marti up to in 2017? She hosted five weekly shows all over Manhattan – not including “The Ultimate Drag Pageant” weekly competition (which she co-hosts seasonally with Nedra Belle) at the West End. One of those weekly shows, “Stage Fright” at Therapy has allowed her to interview some huge names in Broadway and, coincidentally, two former Cheers stars this year: Bebe Neuwirth and George Wendt. She’s hosted several charity events and performed for many benefits, and she recorded a Christmas album whose proceeds went to the Ali Forney Center. She co-created and co-produced a docu-series for the Fusion TV Network called Shade: Queens of NYC, which she also stars in, and that’s become the talk of the town. What am I forgetting? Oh, she created the political group Hell’s Kitchen Democrats, which succeeded in putting some new blood into HK’s political district for the first time in centuries. Proving that a drag queen can be a force for more than just momentary entertainment, Marti opened a universe of possibilities for nightlife performers in 2017 beyond just “Maybe I’ll get on Drag Race someday.” President Cummings 2020!
~Jim Silvestri
Thotyssey 