Highland Lounge on Colorado Street in Austin opened October 2014 as the city's only true gay nightclub, three floors with six bars, a sprawling dance floor and themed drag nights.
Tip: Open Friday and Saturday 21:30 to 03:30, Sunday 16:00 to 00:00. Friday's Lesbian Dance Party is the long-standing weekly draw.
Address: 404 Colorado Street, Austin, TX 78701
Cheer Up Charlies on Red River Street in Austin is the queer dive with a covered patio, kombucha cocktails and a live music stage running indie, drag and DJs Thursday to Sunday.
Tip: Open Thursday to Sunday 16:00 to 02:00. The back patio holds the live stage; no cover most nights, cash and card both work.
Coconut Club on Colorado Street in Austin is the queer-leaning tropical dance bar with weekly drag brunch, five stages and rainbow crosswalks across the 4th and Colorado corner.
Tip: CocoCxnts drag brunch Saturdays 13:00 to 16:00 with no cover, voted Best Drag Showcase by the Austin Chronicle. Doors at 13:00, show at 14:00.
Speakeasy at 412 Congress in Austin is the 1997 multi-floor music lounge in the 1870s Kreisle Building, a Roaring Twenties Music Lounge, Bowling Mezzanine and the Terrace 59 rooftop.
Tip: Live music on the Music Lounge stage most nights, no cover until the headliner. The rooftop Terrace 59 is the easier walk-up.
Cheer Up Charlies on Red River Street in Austin is the queer dive with a covered patio, kombucha cocktails and a live music stage running indie, drag and DJs Thursday to Sunday.
Tip: Open Thursday to Sunday 16:00 to 02:00. The back patio holds the live stage; no cover most nights, cash and card both work.
Coconut Club on Colorado Street in Austin is the queer-leaning tropical dance bar with weekly drag brunch, five stages and rainbow crosswalks across the 4th and Colorado corner.
Tip: CocoCxnts drag brunch Saturdays 13:00 to 16:00 with no cover, voted Best Drag Showcase by the Austin Chronicle. Doors at 13:00, show at 14:00.
Equipment Room beneath Hotel Magdalena on Music Lane in Austin is the kissa-style vinyl listening bar with 1,200 records, acoustic-foam ceilings and a classics-driven cocktail menu.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Reservations via Resy; the room is small and seating limited, no song requests by tradition.
Pershing Hall on East 5th in Austin is the historic lumber-mill listening room with curated programming, craft cocktails and acoustics built for the seated-audience experience.
Tip: Closed Monday and Sunday. Tickets for the listening room shows via the venue site; the bar runs walk-in on programming nights.
Speakeasy at 412 Congress in Austin is the 1997 multi-floor music lounge in the 1870s Kreisle Building, a Roaring Twenties Music Lounge, Bowling Mezzanine and the Terrace 59 rooftop.
Tip: Live music on the Music Lounge stage most nights, no cover until the headliner. The rooftop Terrace 59 is the easier walk-up.
Donn's Depot on West 5th Street in Austin is the converted railway-car bar with Donn Adelman at the piano since the 1970s, country and honky-tonk dance most nights to 02:00.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Live music nightly from 21:00, no cover; the rail-car back rooms are the quieter conversation spots.