It’s all change at Glastonbury’s gay quarter, The NYC Downlow
The world’s queerest outpost at the world’s greatest festival has been evicted!
“After ten years on New York’s East 7th Street, rampant gentrification has resulted in eviction of the infamous gay nightclub NYC Downlow, forcing it to relocate across town to the Meat Packing District,” says Gideon Berger, co-founder of Block9. “The club now shares premises with the notorious West Side Bath House in an old Meat Packer’s building – several worlds colliding under one roof.”
Ok, so technically, it hasn’t been “evicted” – Glastonbury’s LGBT quarter, the NYC Downlow, isn’t really leaving Glastonbury. But after nine years it is having a major overhaul. The infamous crashed car building is history, and a new beast is coming!
The revamped exterior serves as an outdoor stage, a replica meat-packing warehouse loading bay – complete with hanging beef carcasses, of course. (Vegans beware!) Hosts and performers in wipe-clean aprons run the loading bay entrance where visitors must purchase a moustache for entry. Profits from moustache sales will continue to go to charity, with over £57,000 donated to date.
Inside, it gets darker, seedier and moodier. In true Meat Packing District tradition, expect butchers, meat processing, prostitution and seedy leather clubs as the NYC Downlow dances in the fleeting space between art and music.
A pansexual performance crew from the UK’s finest queer venues join a white-hot DJ line-up featuring the cream of the international gay underground: Chicago’s Black Madonna, Andy Butler of Hercules & Love Affair, Berlin’s Panorama Bar resident ND_Baumecker, Tama Sumo, and Honey Soundsystem are on the list. Meanwhile Friday sees a tribute to Prince from Hot Chip on Friday night, as Saturday features New York legend Roger Sanchez ruling the decks.
“The heart and soul of the NYC Downlow – the spirit, the incredible people and most importantly the music, that have made it such a phenomenon over the past nine years will remain the same,” Gideon promises. “This exciting new twist in our storyline gives us a huge amount of new creative material to play with, but also shines a spotlight on current, gay, cultural and political issues.”
Needless to say, Attitude will be reporting back post-Glasto on the new-look NYC Downlow!
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