“Then, there’s a new wave that is a little more artistic and free.” “The South has always had a particular style that’s very glam: big hair, jewelry,” says Future Lounge entertainment director Phoenix (who goes by only his first name).Įven the drag shows, past and present, have been fashioned to appeal to specific subcultures: classic pageant in Midtown and more alternative in East Atlanta.
Yet as queer culture has gone mainstream enough for the crosswalk near Blake’s to be repainted as a rainbow, the gay bar scene in the city and nationwide has contracted. In the 1970s, there were 2,500 gay bars across the country today, there are half as many. While the AIDS crisis brought the gay community and its bars together, COVID is driving them apart.Īt the height of AIDS, Grooms remembers attending up to five funerals a week-followed by benefits at the bars.Īnd gay nightlife is now further imperiled by the threat all bars face as a result of the pandemic. “It was a horrible moment, but the gay community really got together and gave what they could,” he says. The dance floor became a place to escape the grief.
