U Street Music Hall: “No velvet rope, no bottle service, no attitude.”
Will Eastman's U Street Music Hall is an all-inclusive, welcoming space where gays and straights regularly mingle.
A decade ago, Will Eastman felt D.C. needed a new, different kind of nightclub.
“At the time, my friends and I were forced to DJ in clubs that weren’t really the best for what we wanted to do — something that was open to new forms of music, and something that was open to all people,” he recalls. Growing up playing in punk bands in Wisconsin, Eastman wasn’t impressed with the more exclusionary policies that predominated in D.C.’s nightlife scene, or, as he puts it, “all the bullshit rules that clubs have played by forever and ever.”
So, eight years ago, Eastman launched U Street Music Hall, a more relaxed, punky kind of nightclub, one with “no velvet rope, no bottle service, no attitude.”
There’s also no dress code at U Hall, as it’s known to its regulars. Male customers are even allowed to go shirtless — although that only became official policy in 2012, after several shirtless gay men, at a party featuring pop star Robyn, were forced to leave by an overzealous security guard.
“That was a real eye-opener for us,” Eastman admits. “You can’t take for granted that somebody you hire is going to understand inclusivity.” In addition to firing the offending guard — on the spot — Eastman, who is straight, held regular “Shirts Off” parties at the club in the months that followed. “It was to communicate to people [that] we value and love the queer community,” he says. The club has also made it a priority to hold LGBTQ-specific parties during Capital Pride and Mid-Atlantic Leather weekends, and presents LGBTQ-associated DJs and musical acts year-round.
And all that queer love has paid off. David Hamilton started going to the subterranean refuge several years ago, when he was a freshman at American University and not yet out.
“I used to just come and dance by myself,” Hamilton says. “I would see guys kissing each other in what I thought was a straight club. And it was just amazing to me that that could happen. It really made me feel welcome and comfortable with myself in a way I hadn’t before.”
Hamilton felt so welcome, in fact, he never left — first becoming an intern at U Hall, then a full-time employee after graduation. The 24-year-old now manages event production. “Music has been transformative in allowing me to come to terms with my sexuality and my identity,” he says. “It’s rewarding for me to work at a place that shares those values.”
U Street Music Hall, at 1115A U St. NW, continues its 8th Anniversary Celebration this weekend with a variety of acts, including French house/nu-disco duo Breakbot & Irfane on Saturday, March 17 at 10:30 p.m., and Nightmares on Wax, on Sunday, March 18, at 10 p.m. Call 202-588-1880 or visit ustreetmusichall.com.
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