The Big List

The sprawling LGBTQ+ club complex that has anchored Raleigh nightlife since 1991 — dance floor, drag stage, patio. Moving two blocks to a new home, same legendary energy.

Duck downstairs off Blount Street into a candlelit, 6,000-square-foot ode to the Prohibition speakeasy. Leather chairs, serious cocktails, live jazz nights, open late.

More than 300 whiskeys at the foot of Glenwood, across from the original Char-Grill. Locally owned, patio out front, open until 2am — a whiskey nerd's living room.

A stone-walled basement under Fayetteville Street pouring bourbon and craft cocktails since 2009. Rotating pop-up kitchens, moody lighting, open until 2am every night.

A no-frills downtown rock hall that's booked national and regional acts across every genre for decades. Balcony rail upstairs or right up front on the floor — pick your ritual.

Raleigh's long-running neighborhood gay bar — free karaoke Sundays and Mondays, drag shows, country dancing, cheap drinks. Come as you are; everyone does.

A 247-cap room above Martin Street with floating walls and two decades of Raleigh's best, weirdest bookings. Take a chance on a band you've never heard of — that's the point.

The basement hideaway under Kings — custom cocktails with handmade syrups, DJs late, karaoke on Wednesdays. You go down for one drink and surface at 2am.

A colorful, plant-strung cocktail room where you can design your own drink and zero-proof orders get the same exquisite respect. From the Bittersweet crew, with a cozy patio.

Downtown's oldest music venue and proudest dive, going since 1999. Cheap beer, poster-plastered windows, and punk, rock, and shoegaze most nights of the week.