The myriad White Party events in Miami Beach can be a bit, well, overwhelming. So it’s always nice to find a more relaxed place to hangout out and chill with your buds, away from the throbbing lights of the party circuit–yet not too far away. Enter 721 Bar, the latest addition to the Lincoln Road scene featuring a decidedly mixed crowd and a loungy feel that makes you wanna sip your pumpkin Vodka martini as you sink into the bar length sofa–or shoot a round of pool with your bottle of Kirin perched precariously nearby. Another cool feature: The bar is sober friendly, with a range of AA inspired non-alchoholic beverages. “We definately wanted it to have the feel of a large living room, where you can sit in front of the fire on a big couch, and have a comfortable conversation with a friend,” oo-owner Dan Sehres tells GayCities. ”It’s sleek yet homey at the same time.”

Now that’s one living room we’d like to have at home.

More GayCities guide to the White Party

Photo credit Thrillist.com

A drag queen-conducted flashmob has turned up on Sydney’s gorgeous Bondi Beach. The mob was a publicity stunt for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, one of the largest and most notoriously rambunctious gay events in the world scheduled for February. The dance number is a lot of fun, and worth checking out. And while you’re at it, check out some of the sizzling Sydney spectators (pictured below) that the camera caught eying the spectacle.

For more of this party paradise, check out our full guide to gay Sydney.

Thanks to Towleroad for sharing the video.

Here at GayCities, it’s no surprise our members report having fabulous times at gay bars all over the world. And straight women have long rhapsodized about gay places over the alternative. But now a straight man has added his name to the growing chorus. And not just any straight man: pop star John Mayer, linked with many a Hollywood starlet. The tattooed crooner had this to say after spending a beer-drenched night (including a brief man-kiss) at Palm Springs’ Toucan’s Tiki Lounge.

“If you are a man in life and you haven’t gone to a gay bar, you haven’t really danced. Because you’re talking about a bar full of men without that dumb, alpha-male, ego, pushing, shouldering… you can actually have a great time without worrying in this sort of alpha-dog defensive position of like, who’s over here, who’s gonna try and come up, and who’s gonna talk shit, and who’s gonna do this and do that. You can actually just go and have a great time. We did have such a great time, to hear that somebody had written a story that I was getting kisses planted on me, it just sort of reduces it to that real stereotypical…you know that’s why I wrote, after that I was like nobody’s more aggressive than drunk white chicks. They’re terrible.”

Here’s to you, John!

Photo by pkeigan

Keo Nozari,

Occupation: popstar/rockstar

Sexuality: Gay

Home: New York City

Hails from: Minneapolis

Relationship Status: Single

Favorite City: New York

Spotted on a typical New York Friday night: DJ-ing at ROCKIT @ Amalia

JJK: Hey Keo, what’s going on? We hear you just got a new gig at Club 57@ Providence. When can we find you there?

KN: It’s been amazing – we just had Kylie Minogue and Fergie show up for Halloween! I’m there downstairs in the Triumph Room every-other week. My next dates are November 14th & 28th.

JJK: Jealous! I’m such a huge Kylie fan. Hey Keo, you’re a recording artist, producer and DJ. You must be crazy busy these days. Club 57 aside, where else can we find you?

KN: I DJ most nights—everywhere from Barracuda, Therapy, Splash, a new
night at Bartini, Fire Island Pines in the summer. But my favorite is
Rockit @ Amalia where you’ll find me every Friday on the upstairs
mainfloor. The crowd is packed with gorgeous gay guys, and I love how much
fun everyone has!

JJK: We’ve been following you since your steamy video Question of
Monogamy last year. What have you been up to since LOGO voted it the
network’s #1 ultimate sexiest video?

KN: Well the next single after that, Rewind, was a huge hit for me – it
was a Billboard Top 20 song on the dance charts last fall. That was a
thrill to be on a chart I’d idolized as a kid! Since then I’ve been
working on my new album—for next summer! The first “buzz” single came out
last week on iTunes called Like Lightning. And we’re shooting the new
video this week.

JJK: How long have you been in New York?

KN: I’ve been in New York since I was 18 when I went to NYU to study music
technology. A long time.

JJK: When you were first getting started out, who did you look up to?

KN: As a recording artist and producer—being from Minneapolis—I was
inspired by the big time local acts like Prince and Janet Jackson and
producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. And as a DJ I was inspired by New
York DJs I now consider friends—Lina, JonJon Battles, Honey Dijon and Gant
Johnson. I loved their parties and what they were spinning—and it was fun
to watch them develop and grow.

JJK: What have been some of your favorite gigs in the past few years?

KN: As a recording artist: it’s two venues that have since passed—R.I.P.(lol). It was my solo show the big Virgin Megastore in Union Square and my very first NYC gig at CBGBs. As a DJ: summers doing High Tea in Fire Island Pines are always a blast! I did a big birthday party at The Box where Deborah Cox also performed a concert. A private party for Vanessa Williams. And of course Fridays at ROCKIT have been amazing.

JJK: What are a few songs on your playlist this fall?

KN: Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance (both the Starsmith and Chew Fu Club Remixes), Timbaland’s Morning After Dark, UK artist Alexandra Burke’s Bad Boys and of course Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind (featuring Alicia Keys) which is an amazing love letter to New York City.

JJK: You know, the New York club scene has changed so much in the last five years. Do you know of any good places to go where you can stay out late and dance all night?

KN: Club 57 is the place to be on Saturdays nights. Even when I’m not spinning, that’s where I am to party! And Fridays at ROCKIT.

JJK: You’re in amazing shape. Where do you work out?

KN: I work out with my trainer Luca at a private gym a few times a week, plus I go to Crunch (which I love).

JJK: Favorite place(s) to shop?

KN: I’m admittedly not much of a shopper. But for inexpensive chic I love TopShop. I love the skater shops on Lafayette. And I own a lot of Diesel (though they’ve been off their game the last few seasons).

JJK: Favorite “New York moment”?

KN: A few weeks ago I had a chance to do a small part in the new Sex and the City II. It was truly a living fantasy—in part for me to inhabit the world of these make-believe characters that I’ve been watching on TV, video and movies for a decade; in part to be on set interacting with the four extraordinary women.

More New York on GayCities

Photos courtesy Keo Nozari

With platinum blonde hair, electro pop gems and raunchy stage shows, it’s no surprise that September has become a solidified gay icon in both Europe and in the States. And we’re a little jealous that she can make guys take their shirts off with nothing more than a song.

The Stockholm-based singer burst onto the scene with “Satellites,” which quickly became a staple in European gay clubs. With its powerful vocals and state-of-the-art production, “Cry for Me,” became a huge hit in the U.S.

September is scheduled to perform at San Francisco’s renovated The Café this Saturday, November 14. GayCities editor Oscar Raymundo caught up with the pop diva to ask about her favorite gay venues, and what she thinks about her gays by the Bay.

Oscar: You were born in Stockholm, Sweden–what can you tell us about the gay scene there?

September: It’s big, especially during the Eurovision contest. The gay clubs were actually the first clubs that let me in when I was too young to party. Nice memories…

O: Let’s say we’re talking to a cute Swedish boy, can you gives us some hints on sealing the deal?

S: Hehe… Just say hej vill du ha mig in Swedish (Translation:”Hello–take me!”)

O: And if we’re ever in Stockholm, where do you suggest we go to get our groove on?

S: We don’t have that many clubs to choose from, but I would go to Lino or Patricia.

O: Did you ever think your career would lead you to be a gay icon?

S: I never thought about that. I just do what feels good. But now I wouldn’t stand it without my gay fans! You all are a lovely audience and always appreciate my creative ideas! I’m very lucky 

O: Do you think it has something to do with the platinum hair?

S: Swedish and blonde…Well I hope that’s not all of it, because I just shaved my hair off hehe! Most of it anyways…

O: Your music sometimes makes gay guys take their shirts off at clubs. Why do you think that is?

S: Cause people wanna dance and show love…

O: Have you noticed any differences between your European gay fans and American gay fans?

S: Americans are much louder.

O:  What about differences performing for gay audiences vs. straight audiences?

S: It’s a big difference–you are much wilder than my straight shows!

O: Have you ever been to San Francisco? If so, what do you remember from your last visit?

S: Yeah. My first trip to the US was in ‘07. I did the Energy Anniversary Blast. Loved it! So beautiful and the cafes and the seafood mmm..

O: We heard you put on quite the raunchy show in London earlier this year. You know, we’re known in San Francisco for embracing the raunchy. What can we expect from your appearance at The Cafe?

S: A piece of glitter!

O: With any luck, it will fall on me… Ever since ABBA, Sweden has been generating great pulsating pop and electro music, what’s up with that? You guys must have more electrolytes in your water…

S: We love sitting inside with our computers, I guess that’s why…Glad something nice comes with the bad weather.

O: Do you have a favorite month of the year?

S: October!!!

Tickets for September’s show at The Café are available in advance for $10 through their website, TheCafeSF.com, $15 at the door. Check out these pics of The Cafe’s new space, and if you’re catching the show be sure to check out our complete guide to gay San Francisco.

Well it didn’t take long for NYC bar owners to swoop in and fill the liquid void left by the closure of the vaunted lesbian bar, Normandie Room, with the opening of a west coast version of their popular gay sports bar Gym. This latest addition to the otherwise youth-and-beauty driven West Hollywood scene is already being hyped as a success, with the Los Angeles Times calling the gay sports bar concept “groundbreaking for L.A.”

Does the new haunt live up to the billing? If you’ve been to Gym, be among the first to review it and let everyone know what you think.

Check out our complete guide to gay Los Angeles.

Photo by Gym Sportsbar

It’s no surprise to learn that the folks at the tourist office touts London as the most gay friendly city in the world. That’s their job. But here at GayCities we can attest that it is indeed one of the most fascinating and diverse gay cities in the world. Just last spring, the city hosted our very own founder, Scott Gatz, and he got a first hand look at all it has to offer, from world class Indian food to the fabulous nightclub Heaven. The streets of Soho bustle with gay life.

And this year we hired a terrific London journalist and champion, David Oppedisano, to create what we humbly believe is the best gay guide to the city, one that’s unparalleled both in detail and scope. Here’s how David sums up London’s many charms:

Which city has more theatres than New York, more artists than Paris, and a gay and lesbian scene to rival San Francisco? Home to Europe’s largest gay and lesbian population, London remains a hot spot for the discerning international gay traveler. And with more than 300 languages spoken (though you’ll need just the one) and nearly a third of the population born outside of the country, you don’t get much more international.

The downside? It’s too expensive to stay forever. Maybe the tourist board can tackle that little problem next…

More London on GayCities

Photo of Ku Bar by London tourist office

UPDATE: By a comfortable margin, voters in Maine rejected same-sex marriage. Marriage equality has now lost in 31 states where it was put to a popular votes, but organizers held out hope that the traditionally open minded and libertarian state would be different, a hope that for the time being is dashed. Five other states–Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Iowa–have legalized same-sex marriage, and plenty of LGBT folks will now be steering their travel dollars away from Maine since there is now no shortage of great options.

Volunteers are pouring into Maine to reinforce locals in the fight against the Nov. 3 ballot measure that would strip the state’s citizens of marriage equality. Tony Giampetruzzi, the creator of the GayCities guide to lovely Portland, ME, and a resident of the city, sent this dispatch from the battleground.

Viewing the television ads released by No on 1, the Maine campaign to defeat an effort to overturn the state’s recent gay marriage law, you’d think that the state’s tourism bureau lent their own PR professionals to their noble effort.

The most dramatic of the series features aerial views of the Maine coastline, quaint New England villages, and a mélange of Yankees talking about equality and fairness – straight families, gay families, laborers and fishermen, including one fellow with an “ayuh” accent so thick that it almost seems contrived.

The “no” campaign seized upon this strategy early on, and has managed to own it: the Mainer’s vaunted sense of place, Yankee hospitality, the live and let live mantra and simply doing the right thing.

Will this emotional tactic work? With the campaign deadlocked in polls, there’s no telling, but it’s nice to see a message that puts gay equality squarely on the side of the local ethos and values, something campaigns in other states have not managed.

Mainers go to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of gay marriage in the state – or, more accurately, marriage equality, the term that helps to soften the rhetoric and frame the debate.  Victory is critical. It is not just that a loss would be devastating to us here in the state. A win would mark the first time that voters anywhere in the nation will have decided the issue at the polls–in our favor, in equality’s favor.

There’s also a pragmatic reason to defeat the initiative. Maine is Vacationland that lives up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful and romantic states in the country. In truth, the tourism bureau would have been well-advised to get behind the effort  for marriage equality not only because it will fill hospitality coffers with pinkbacks. It will anchor Maine’s rightly place as one of the leading destinations for gays and lesbians brave enough to tie-the-knot.

GayCities guide to Porland, ME

Photo by samm4mrox

Bobby Crush as Liberace. Not such a stretch for the highly-regarded London pianist, now his third turn as the celebrity in Liberace, Live from Heaven at the Leicester Square Theatre. Crush took an intermission from his performance, hailed as “full-blooded and affectionate,” to chat with GayCities about Liberace the man, the closeted performer–and where to hang out in two of the camp icon’s favorite cities, London and Las Vegas.

GC: You would seem made for this role–gay man, musician, performer…

This is actually my third Liberace project. The first was a play called Liberace’s Suit, which I did five years ago at the Jermyn Street Theatre. It was a dramatisation of the court case that Liberace took against the Daily Mirror in the 1950’s. The next Liberace show was a recreation of his old nightclub act with a live band, singers and dancers …. which brings us to the new show. The playwright and director Julian Woolford has come up with a one-man show called Liberace, Live from Heaven, which charts Liberace’s ascent to Heaven after his early death in 1987.

GC: The name of your show is sooo appropriately over the top! Was Liberace actually a good musician and performer or just great camp?

He was spectacular in both areas. A lot of people just remember him for the outrageous outfits but he was a gifted, classically trained pianist who played with some of the finest orchestras in the world.

GC: What would it have been like to actually be him, this icon who never really revealed himself publicly as gay yet was gayer than, well, than a three dollar bill, as we say in the US? Can you imagine, since you came out in 2007?

I nearly met him once. Early in my career, just after I got my initial TV break, my publicist at the time approached Liberace’s publicist to see if we could set up a photo shoot along the lines of The Old Trooper Meets The New Boy. He was coming over to do some concerts at the Palladium. Apparently, he was up for it but unfortunately, as he flew into London for his concerts, I flew out to Australia to do my first work over there, so it never materialised.

GC: The gay aspect of his life must have been difficult. Things were very different back then and his audience was middle-aged women who might have found it hard to accept.

My own “coming out” was a lot easier although even I would have thought twice about coming out in the 70’s, when attitudes were not as relaxed as they are now.

GC: Much like Sir Elton John, who came out early. Why do performers still think they can’t be openly gay, even in this day and age? Hollywood is full of closet cases, though the closet in England appears less strong.

I can understand it, to an extent–actors not being open. They think it will cancel them out when it comes to “romantic leads” and that they’ll no longer be “believable.” In 2009 it really shouldn’t be a big deal. Young people seem to be quite accepting of the whole gay thing with openly gay pop stars, gay storylines in soaps, civil partnerships, etc. Hopefully, we’ve turned a corner.

GC: Liberace played all over the world, but was a huge hit in Vegas.

Yes, I visited the Liberace Museum in Vegas in preparation for my first role. It’s wild! I loved viewing the costumes and the cars and. when the volunteers got to hear that I was a famous pianist from England, I was invited to play Liberace’s mirrored piano, which was quite a thrill. Liberace, along with the Rat Pack, was the person who really put Las Vegas on the map as a centre for entertainment.

GC: What do you think of Las Vegas? Where do you stay? Where do you go out there?

I only started going about five  years ago. When I fly to the States, it’s nearly always to New York so I can see the new shows on Broadway but I was desperate to see Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme at the Stardust Hotel, LV, so that prompted my first visit. They were sensational … one of the best acts I’ve ever seen. I stayed at the Flamingo Hotel but I’ve been back a couple of times since then and stayed at the MGM Grand and the Bellagio. I go and see a show every night and so far have seen Barry Manilow, The Pointer Sisters, Celine Dion and Gladys Knight, as well as countless Cirque de Soleil shows and the like. I love it!

GC: Wow! Sounds like fun… How ’bout London. Where do you like to hang out there, say, before & after your show? Where should a visitor to your show get a hotel? Do you have a favorite?

Well, I live in London so I’m not really one for staying in hotels here. Dinner after the show is often at Joe Allen’s in Exeter Street or the Ivy, which has long been a favourite. I’ve just become a member of the Groucho Club so if I’m just going for drinks, perhaps there. My show is at the Leicester Square Theatre and friends who came down from Birmingham to see it last week stayed at the Soho Hotel in Richmond Mews, which they absolutely loved.

GC: Where should your audience go to really enjoy London. Any inside tips?

It’s an old cliche but go and stand on Waterloo Bridge for a while and take in the stunning view from both sides … especially effective at night!

GC: Anything else you’d like to impart to visitors to London?

Yes, come and see Liberace, Live from Heaven at the Leicester Square Theatre! Audiences are loving it and we’re getting a lot of repeat business. It’s a fun night out, glorious costumes and a chance to hear some of Liberace’s greatest hits … you even get to vote whether he stays in Heaven or gets sent below!

More of the fabulous GayCities London guide

Rio de Janeiro Pride — October 29-November 2

Last year there were an estimated 1.2 million participants at Rio Pride–in other words, don’t miss out on this if you can help it. Enjoy the carnival-like spirit of the event, and take in the stunning coastline before the festivities kick off.

Photo by Gay Pride Barzil

Atlanta Pride — October 30-November 1

This year the Atlanta City Counsel voted to extend bar hours for the Sunday night of Pride (under normal circumstances bars close at midnight on Sundays). Bars will serve until 2:30am, and stay open until 3am. So save some energy for Sunday and go out with a bang.

Photo by Atlanta Pride

Palm Springs Pride — November 7-8

You can still count on Palms Springs to deliver outdoor festival-worthy sun. Escape to the desert for one last chance to experience a pride event this year. And if that’s not enough, Palm Springs Leather Pride is the very next week–so pick your poison pleasure.

Photo by Palm Springs Pride

For more events, view our full calendar.