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For one night and one night only, Lexington hosted some of the most visibly Queer entertainers of the 1970s and 1980s. Drawn by the city’s reputation as a gay haven, and facilitated by the connections of several bar owners, Lexington became a “one-night stand” as celebrities stopped to perform on their way to other, larger cities.

Lexington being renowned as a “one-night stand” city for performers, though, was nothing new. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Lexington was a popular stop on the theatrical touring circuit for famous actors and actresses, as explained by author Kevin Lane Dearinger in his 2023 lecture, “The Best One-Night Stand in America: The Rich Theatrical History of Lexington, 1808-1918.” While the rise of movie theaters eventually caused Lexington’s reputation as the “best one-night stand to fade,” Queer venues and bars later served a similar function by bringing popular entertainers to Kentucky.

Ticket to see Grace Jones at Johnny Angel, December 19, 1978, collection of Faulkner Morgan Archive

Just months after opening in 1978, Johnny Angel, located at 224 East Main Street, brought Grace Jones to their “million-dollar dance floor” designed by the creators of New York City’s infamous Studio 54. The bar was filled with patrons excited to witness Jones during her rise as an icon of the gay disco scene.

John Davis, the manager of Johnny Angel, recalled details of that night in an interview with Faulkner Morgan Archive. He remembered how Jones was transported in a 1954 Rolls Royce, which broke down on the way to her hotel room. The Herald-Leader covered the event, but painted a bathing suit over Jones before running photographs of her. She undressed men and women during her act. One was a young construction worker who was bribed by Christian Jones—Grace’s gay brother—to let her strip him down to just a jockstrap by the time the show was over.

Grace Jones performing at Johnny Angel, photo by Melissa Watt, December 19, 1978, collection of Faulkner Morgan Archive

Grace Jones wasn’t the only disco icon to grace the dance floor of 224 East Main. The legendary Sylvester performed to an ecstatic audience in 1984. When Sylvester arrived to do a sound check, he was wearing a long fur overcoat and carrying a very large handbag. He walked upstairs, looked around, dropped the bag, and asked the DJ to put on one of the backing tracks so he could hear it over the system. Once the music came on, he let out one of his famous hollers and said, “That’s fine. Let’s go to the hotel.”

Other stars who performed at Johnny Angel, and later The Bar Complex, included Debbie Jacobs, Linda Clifford, and Sally Kellerman. It wasn’t just disco celebrities, though, that were attracted to the Bluegrass state. Another Queer icon that came to perform in Lexington was the infamous Divine. A “one-night stand,” however, was clearly not enough for her. Divine visited Kentucky multiple times throughout her career and played Lexington several times in the 1980s while at the height of her fame.

Mostly eschewing small cities, Divine was lured to Lexington by its reputation for Queer decadence and her friendship with manager Bradley Picklesimer of Lexington’s Club Au Go Go and Café LMNOP. She performed at the bars on January 28, 1982 and March 8, 1986, respectively. In a review of the show that was published in the Kentucky Kernel, a student newspaper at the University of Kentucky, Margo Ravel describes the performance as a “queen-sized dose of bad taste.”

Club Au Go Go and Café LMNOP, were both known for hosting a plethora of underground and punk rock performers as well. This space gave the opportunities to bands both local and traveling. Some of the most notable bands included The Thrusters, Red Interiors, and Human Sexual Response.

While celebrities performing one-night-only gigs on the dance floors of Lexington’s gay bars is not quite as common of an occurrence anymore, Kentucky as a whole still attracts many Queer icons to the bluegrass. From Chappell Roan performing at Kentuckiana Pride to the countless drag queens from Rupaul’s Drag Race touring with Hard Candy Events, Kentucky is still a place for Queer decadence.