Your biweekly LGBTQ event guide for the next two weeks (February 1 – Valentine’s Day 2024!)
Bi the Way is our biweekly event guide where we share all the best local LGBTQ+ and queer-inclusive happenings in Memphis and the Midsouth over the next two weeks.
For this very special Valentine’s Day edition, we’ve got a great round-up of 20+ events for lovers and friends. But happy singles and anti-lovers, don’t fret. We’ve also got events like a Sad Girl Brunch (gender neutral!) for you, too. Plus a few totally normal, non-Valentine’s Day gay happenings as well. Whatever you’re hoping to get into these next two weeks, we’ve got you covered!
Ongoing
Breaking the Rules: Paul Wonner and Theophilus Brown | Dixon Gallery and Gardens | Through March 31st| All ages | Free | These two artists, based in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1940s and early 1950s, met and became a couple in 1952. Paul Wonner (1920 – 2008) and William “Theophilus” Brown (1919 – 2012) both began as practitioners of a style that came to be known as Bay Area Figuration.
Drag Race Watch Party at DRUS Bar | Fridays, 7PM | 21+ | Free | Join iconic host India Taco as you cheer on your fave drag performers every Friday, til’ RuPaul crowns season 16’s winner!
Drag Mondays at Lamplighter Lounge | Mondays, 8PM | 21+ | Free (bring cash for tips!) | Lamplighter’s coming in hot with an all new season of entertainment in their weekly Assassin’s Wildfire Series, running through March 4th.
Thursday, February 1st
Trivia Night at DRUS Bar | Thursday, 7PM | 21+ | Free | Test your knowledge on random facts this Thursday, right before karaoke.
Crafting Circle | OUT Memphis, YEC | 5PM | ages 18-24 | Bring whatever crafts you like or start fresh at this craft night for queer folks, 18-24. Crotchet, knit, draw, paint! Whatever makes you feel craftiest.
Friday, February 2nd
“Love Dies” with Bluff City Liars | TheatreWorks | Friday and Saturday at 8PM | Improv Troupe Bluff City Liars bring the hilarity, featuring-Focus funny person Brandon McAninch, for two nights at TheatreWorks.
They Cloned Tyrone | OUT Memphis, YEC | 5PM | ages 18-24 | Queer folks 18-24 gather for a fun movie night at the Youth Emergency Center.
Postcards for Palestine | Imagine Vegan Cafe | 4PM – 6PM | All ages | Please RSVP! | Join Jordan Occasionally, Diyala Rasul, and other local advocates for a community postcard-making gathering in solidarity with Palestine. Create a postcard to send to our TN representatives in call for a ceasefire, while bonding with your fellow Memphians. Postcards and writing utensils will be provided while supplies last!
Saturday, February 3rd
Snörkler’s and Crew | Lamplighter | 18+ | $10 at the door | New classic rock cover band Snörkler perform their first ever show with “queer pop post punk” group Handsome Girl Pretty Boy and two awesome Indiana-based bands, the Bingo Boys and Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes.
Frankie Pankie Returns | HiTone | Doors 8PM, show 9PM | 21+ | $20 | Frankie La Femme and a jaw dropping cast of performers stun at this burlesque and drag revue.
Sunday, February 4th
LGBTQ Vibe Night | Rumba Room | 7PM – 10PM | 30+ | From $20 | This one’s for the 30+ crowd! Join DJ Ayo Tunez for an evening of great music, good food, and some fun surprises. Save the date! Bring a date or a friend, or come alone and meet new people.
Strange Love Redoux | HiTone | Doors 7PM, show 8PM | 21+ | $10 | This will be strange (in a good way!). Head to HiTone for a showcase of all the strange and wonderful ways to love in this Valentine’s Day drag performance special.
Wednesday, February 7th
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Celebration | Raleigh Library | 5PM – 7PM | | Free | This Black History Month join OUT Memphis for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with a special panel discussion and dinner!
Thursday, February 8th
DEFY | Arrow Creative | 5:30PM – 8PM | All ages | Free | Featuring work from 17 local artists, including queer artists like photographer Anthony Lorenzo and multidisciplinary artist Tangela Mathis, the opening night of this gallery show is a Black History Month celebration of Black joy in all its forms. Come for live poetry from Keeping it P, live painting with a silent auction by Andrew Travis, music, bites, a photo booth, and an opening dance performance from Queen Keskessa of The Nubian Sirens
Shantay You Play Drag Queen Bingo | Moxy | 7PM – 9PM | 21+ | Free | This Thursday, join phenomenal host Brenda Newport, the nonbinary drag performer themselves, for a fabulous night of bingo at the Moxy. Come for the singing, dancing and fun, and you might even win a prize!
Friday, February 9th
Laser Beyoncé | MOSH/Pink Palace | 7PM – 8PM |All Ages | $18 | Be dazzled at the MOSH Planetarium with an hour of some of Beyoncé’s greatest hits animated in a fun and beautifully designed laser light show.
‘New Love’ Burlesque and Drag | Lamplighter Lounge | Doors 8PM, show 9PM | 21+ | $15 | Lamplighter Lounge and Felicity Fox present “New Love,” a drag and burlesque revue featuring some of Memphis’ newest, most passionate local performers.
Saturday, February 10th
Duo Day | In Therapy 901 | 7PM – 10PM | 18+ | From $30 | Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers, others, and friends! It’s time for matching heart tattoos or a stylish photoshoot at this fun V-day event hosted by Ink Therapy. Plus, bop to music by a live DJ, enjoy a complimentary drink, treats, and pick from several awesome backdrops.
Sapphic Galentine’s | Loflin Yard | 8PM – 11PM | 18+ | $5 + drink specials | Will you be our Galentine? Grab your gals & pals and Sapphic Memphis for a Galentines night to mingle, and maybe even find your valentine in real time.
Sunday, February 11th
Sad Girl Drag Brunch | Cameo | 12PM | 21+ | $50 | Who needs Valentine’s Day when you can have a me-day with your besties? Your all-inclusive ticket includes the show, 20% gratuity, your choice of food, and one brunch drink. Hosted by the ultimate somber sweetie, Goldie Dee.
Wednesday, February 14th (Valentine’s Day!)
Valentine’s Day Cruise | Memphis Riverboats | 5 dates, including Valentine’s Day | boarding 6:30PM | All Ages | Starting $65 | Love is in the air! Lovebirds, get ready for a romantic night on the water in this unforgettable cruise down the Mississippi, equipped with a lovely dinner and cocktails (or mocktails).
Want your event included, too? Tell us about it, and we’ll track it for next time! Follow us at @focusmidsouth for more.
