The street already had a number of gay-owned businesses including Jim Gates’ pioneering bar, Little Jim’sbut Sidetrack brought something hitherto unseen there: a musicvideo bar. 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. For me, the real moment started in 1977 when the famous Anita Bryant was going to bring her campaign against gay people to Chicago. In April 1982, Sidetrack opened its doors on a stretch of North Halsted IStreet that was still being discovered by gay Chicagoans. The bar upstairs serves celebrated slushy cocktails. Regular themed events range from a Beyonce Dance & Lip-sync Party to a Tony Awards Viewing Night. Chicagos GayBar Celebrating 40 Years of LGBTQIA+ Community OPEN: M-F 3p-2a, Sat 1p-3a, Sun 1p-2a No Cover 21+ Facebook SidetrackBar. Sidetrack, from the start was the sponsored bar for the Chicago Gay Mens Chorus in the late 90s (maybe. Sidetrack has multiple bars and a rooftop deck great for people watching. Ive spent my formative years in the bars on Halsted.
CHICAGO GAY BAR SIDETRACK FREE
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. The biggest and perhaps the most popular gay bar in Chicago. Sidetrack Bar, Chicago - malaki, sikat na gay bar sa Chicago, na may maraming bar, regular na may temang party at event. 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.