Gay hangouts chicago
LGBTQ+ nightlife in Chicago: gay and lesbian bars, clubs, and more
Chicago’s nightlife is a lot love the city itself — inclusive, diverse, and welcoming to all. It’s also a whole lot of fun. Our gay and lesbian bars have a little bit of something for everyone, with late-night lounges, dance clubs,burlesque and drag shows, and long-standing neighborhood watering holes in almost every corner of the city. And each comes with their own unique history and vibe.
Check out some of the best gay bars and clubs to experience Chicago’s queer nightlife scene.
Jeffery Pub
One of the city’s oldest gay bars, Jeffery Pub is a neighborhood institution. The South Shore staple is also one of Chicago’s first black-owned gay bars, making it all the more meaningful for the spot’s many regulars. Don’t overlook the live entertainment, like karaoke nights, Silky Soul Sundays, and a lively dance floor featuring everything from pop to house music.
Big Chicks
This lively and colorful spot is part LGBTQ hangout, part art gallery. The walls are plastered with the owner’s personal collection of paintin
The 34 best LGBTQ+ bars in Chicago
Photograph: Courtesy Sidetrack
Northalsted, aka "Boystown," is the historical center of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ scene, but great gay bars are all over the city.
Chicago has always been a trailblazing noun when it comes to spaces for the LGBTQ community. One of the first American LGBT rights organizations, the Society for Human Rights, was founded in Chicago in , more than 40 years before Stonewall. And Northalsted, the gay nightlife hub also known as "Boystown," became the first officially-designated gay village in a major capital in
These days, while a evening out on Northalsted is still a joyful blur of boozy slushies and death drops, queer nightlife in Chicago is expansive, creative and thriving all over the city. From Rogers Park to South Shore, from James Beard-nominated cocktail bars to beloved, homey dives, there's a queer bar to fit your vibe. Oh, and don't forget about drag brunch. You'll need it after a night out on the town.
RECOMMENDED: Drink at the best bars in Chicago
Been there, done that? Think again, m
Sidetrack Chicago
MONDAYOpen 3pm-2am
Start your week with song
MUSICAL MONDAY
Demonstrate Tunes 8pm-2am
TUESDAY Open 3pm-2am
TEAM TRIVIA (new topic each week) 8pm
Pop Favorite Videos after Trivia &#;til 2am
OUTspoken: LGBTQ+ Storytelling 1st Tues of month 7pm
WEDNESDAY Open 3pm-2am
Wed 7/16 ALL THINGS GAGA
Wed 7/23 ALL THINGS BRITNEY & RIHANNA
Wed 7/30 ALL THINGS DUA & ARIANA & SABRINA
Wed 8/6 ALL THINGS TAYLOR
Wed 8/13 ALL THINGS BEYONCÉ
9pm-2am for &#;ALL THINGS&#; PARTIES
THURSDAY Open 3pm-2am
-Glass/Side/Rooftop Bars
LET’S GO! THURSDAY
Pop Music Videos from open till 2am
-Main/Cherry/North Bars &#; 9pm-2am
ALL THINGS K-POP 7/17
LET&#;S GO! LATIN 7/24
ALL THINGS LOLLA 7/31
PINK PONY CLUB CHAPPELL/CHARLI/SABRINA 8/14
FRIDAY Open 3pm-2am
T.G.I.F. Reveal TUNES pm
DRAG RACE ALL STARS VIEWING PARTY 7pm
FRIDAY Nighttime DANCE PARTY 9pm-2am
Rooftop opens initial evening
SATURDAY Open 1pm-3am
Post-Brunch Fun at Sidetrack pm
Saturday Night Twirl Party 9pm-3am
Monthly DOG DAY first Sat. of the
The Baton in Uptown is one of Chicago's oldest gay bars, famed for its drag shows
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The history of LGBTQ+ bars is wealthy. They're much more than places to get a liquor. For many years, they were the only spaces some could go to meet other members of their communities.
One of Chicago's oldest LGBTQ+ bars, The Baton, first opened in While it struggled at first, it then became a celebrity hotspot.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
Music and makeup energizes the room at The Baton in Uptown to this day. The bar is widely known for its female impersonator shows, but it was ahead of its time.
"I was working at another bar, and then I decided it was second to open a bar," co-owner James Flint recalled.
Flint moved to Chicago from Peoria in The Baton first opened six years later in the River North neighborhood, when Chicago was a very different place.
"There was payoffs, there was the Outfit and there was the police . And trying to get people to come into an area like River North," he said.
Despite a once-dangerous nei