Tucked away in the basement of an unassuming house just off the University campus, a vibrant underground scene has emerged. Known to its patrons as GayBar, this student-run space has become a beacon of inclusivity and self-expression, drawing in crowds of queer-identifying partygoers.
GayBar was inspired by previously existing queer-friendly venues such as The Igloo. House runners Kevin Murphy, senior in LAS, and Sanjana Babu, University alum, aimed to create a similar environment for the queer community on campus. The house has since gained significant popularity in the past year, attracting large crowds and social media attention.
“Essentially, our shows start at 9 p.m., and we’ll have a line to the block at 8:15 p.m., so people are sort of lined up outside of our house as if it was Red Lion or Kams or one of the main bars,” Babu said.
GayBar has become the go-to spot for some patrons, such as Regan Simpson, sophomore in LAS.
“That’s the main place I go if I want to go out for a weekend,” Simpson said. “I always check first to see if they have any events … I love how they put so much effort into their shows.”
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Babu and Murphy said they put a lot of effort into making their venue a space where queer students could feel safe while also having a good time.
“That was something that was lacking when we were on campus,” Murphy said. “There would be queer WetDreamz events, which, during our freshman year, were put on at Rose Bowl Tavern. There were also gay nights at Joe’s we had gone to, but there was a lack of spaces that you could go to and listen to music that you enjoyed as a queer person and feel safe.”
Although everyone is welcome to attend the shows at GayBar, it caters to a specific audience.
“I think at our house, with the type of music we play with, sort of like popular queer artists and then having a lot of queer posters on our walls and a lot of decoration, that sort of makes it very explicit,” Babu said.
Deliberately centering queer music and art at their venue, Babu and Murphy crafted an environment tailored specifically to the LGBTQ+ audience it aims to serve.
GayBar frequently hosts themed DJ nights that celebrate different identities and experiences within the queer spectrum. For example, “sapphic nights” feature music by and for lesbian and bisexual women, including DJs spinning remixes of popular artists like Charli xcx.
Most of the shows at GayBar center around these queer musicians and themes, frequently hosting queer DJs and even the occasional drag show.
One DJ who frequently plays at GayBar is Samuel Gerstein, senior in Engineering. Gerstein said he finds the queer community to be more receptive to niche music styles.
“I think that, especially as a DJ, it definitely kind of informs the type of music I play,” Gerstein said. “Music that for a different audience on campus might be a little too edgy or kind of niche — it’s definitely a lot more mainstream and accepted in these types of spaces.”
Specializing in electronic dance music, Gerstien finds the GayBar community to be a great opportunity to showcase the type of music he enjoys.
“Being able to immerse myself in that type of music but also spreading that type of music in a setting that makes queer people feel comfortable, it kind of continues on that legacy of queer liberation … and really shows how music and fighting for our liberation are really intertwined,” Gerstein said.
Most house show venues host live music on stage. However, being a smaller space, Babu and Murphy didn’t have the resources to host regular live performances and decided to work primarily with DJs. Although other house shows feature DJs, GayBar offers a unique experience to University students and those looking to get their foot in the door of the queer DJ scene.
Arli Coli, junior in LAS, said she enjoys the music played at GayBar.
“It’s more of like a DJ-style, playlist-type party, and most of the time, it’s live music at other houses,” Coli said. “It’s like pre-experimental music sometimes, and that’s what I really like about it.”
According to Murphy, GayBar’s main goal was to create a place where everyone could feel comfortable and safe to express themselves.
“I think it’s really just ensuring that there are safe spaces for college students that are queer to have and be able to dance and be able to feel safe at, which they don’t always feel safe at Kams or Red Lion or any other more traditional places,” Murphy said.
GayBar has become the go-to spot for some patrons, such as Regan Simpson, sophomore in LAS.
“Going to the frats is a very different vibe than what I feel at GayBar,” Simpson said. “It’s given me an area to go and have fun with the queer community and know that I have people around me who have the same experiences as me.”
However, with Murphy graduating in the coming semester, the house has been leased to new residents, meaning that GayBar, as its patrons know it, is under a ticking clock.
“I really don’t want this safe space to die; I don’t want it to end, and I don’t know what that means and what it will look like for next year,” Murphy said. “If that means someone else that’s living in a different house decides they want to carry on the tradition or if it means finding another new space.”
Babu said that getting started takes time and effort to build a rapport; he and Murphy were on campus for several years, getting to know people before they formed the house.
“It’s about having a network,” Babu said. “I would say it’s about making friends with a lot of different kinds of people. You want to be friends with DJs and people who make music. You want to be friends with people who make art … You want to be friends with people who run shows. You want to have this large network of all different people who are involved in the scene.”
Although the logistics of running a house show venue can be complicated, Murphy and Babu hope that anyone interested in starting their own venue is not discouraged.
“There’s definitely support systems out there that will help,” Murphy said. “If someone wants to continue, there are people out there that know how to do things and would love to see something similar foraged.”
Similarly, many of GayBar’s patrons hope its legacy will continue.
“I feel like it has momentum, that it can definitely be picked up by anyone inspired by GayBar and creating a new one,” Coli said. “If anyone’s out there with a little voice in their head thinking they should have a gay bar or take up GayBar, they probably should.”
