The Lesbian Bar Project sets premiere date, launches promo tour

October 12, 2022 Queer Forty Staff 3 min read

The Lesbian Bar Project docuseries made its premiere on The Roku Channel October 11.

In advance of the premiere, The Lesbian Bar Project embarked on a promotional bus tour beginning in New York City on October 6. Executive Producer Lea DeLaria hosted the event at The Metrograph in New York City. She was joined by co-directors and creators Erica Rose and Elina Street in addition to the series’ subjects for a panel moderated by CEO of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative Stacy Lentz.

From New York the bus tour will head to Houston, Texas on October 11, and Phoenix, Arizona on October 15. All events will feature screenings of episodes from the docuseries for the local communities. Sponsored by Jägermeister, the bus will also be outfitted with the traveling The Lesbian Bar Project Museum, commissioned by Megan Metcalf of The Library of Congress, to educate patrons on the history of lesbian bars and queer spaces in the U.S. and the importance of preserving these vital safe spaces.

The Lesbian Bar Project Museum (Photo Credit: Darian DiCianno/BFA.com)

Jägermeister and The Lesbian Bar Project will also debut the first lesbian bar experience in the Metaverse. As a certified safe space by SIGBI, this unique digital experience in Decentraland was built to replicate a bar and museum and will include NFT wearables, gaming modules, live performances, video streams, and shed light on the history of lesbian bars and culture.

The three-episode docuseries is slated to launch on October 11, in honor of National Coming Out Day, on The Roku Channel. The series will spotlight various lesbian bars and the vibrant communities that they serve across the U.S. Each episode will tell the lively and powerful stories of different lesbian bar owners and patrons in New York City, Houston, and Phoenix.

“Following the success of The Lesbian Bar Project documentary short film in 2021, we are excited to continue our partnership with Jägermeister and bring our new series on the road and into the Metaverse, said Erica Rose. “The lesbian bar owners, patrons, archivists, and community activists are essential, and we look forward to sharing their important stories with new audiences nationwide.”

“Lesbian bars across the country continue to face unique challenges as they seek to prosper post-pandemic,” added Elina Street. “With the new three-part series on Roku, we look forward to spotlighting the voices in New York City, Houston, and Phoenix, their hopes for the future, and their impact on the communities they serve.”

In the 1980s, there were roughly 200 lesbian bars in the United States. Today, there are fewer than 25. As these bars disappeared, Erica Rose and Elina Street established The Lesbian Bar Project to celebrate, support, and amplify the remaining lesbian bars.

The Lesbian Bar Project series comes on the heels of the 2021 short documentary film of the same name and the fundraising campaign, supported by Jägermeister’s #SAVETHENIGHT initiative. The documentary short spotlights the bar owners, community activists, and patrons in three cities (New York, NY; Mobile, AL; and Washington, DC) and their struggles during the pandemic. The Lesbian Bar Project documentary film was a Tribeca X Award finalist, acquired by SundanceTV, and invited to screen at The Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The 2021 fundraising campaign raised over $150,000 for the bars.