We had another very fun and festive Holiday Ball on December 13 at Sundance Saloon in San Francisco, featuring the many traditions that have come to define this event. This year we were able to capture the indoor snowfall during the Barn Dance on video (see above)! The flurries start at around 1:45.
In addition we collected dozens of toys for Mama’s Toy Drive, ultimately destined for Sunburst Projects, the SFPD, and other locations. Santa made his customary appearance. Everyone got lei’d while dancing to Mele Kalimaka. The dancing cowboy Santa toy wiggled his hips all night long. And we presented the checks to the beneficiaries of the Sundance Stompede which raised $21,892 this year.
… and here’s a nice Facebook post from earlier in the month:
We’re late! This is our autumn list, and though it’s feeling like winter in San Francisco as the rainy season begins, it’s still technically autumn. Here’s a list of the top 30 current country-western dance songs you might hear at Sundance Saloon. These are arranged in alphabetical order by artist. Enjoy!
We’re back after a few months’ hiatus with a look at a groundbreaking video for the Brothers Osbourne song “Stay A Little Longer” which recently broke into the top 10 in the Billboard country music charts. While the lyrics are not specifically gay-themed, the video features a gay couple among the five couples going through various stages of a relationship. The video does not shy away from displaying passion and tenderness among each of the couples, treating the same-sex couple no differently from the others. For a genre that leans particularly conservative, this is perhaps the first time such raw same-sex emotion is viewed in a country mainstream video, and so naturally to boot. There’s a great article in Rolling Stones magazine about the video.
Interestingly there hasn’t been a controversy about this (yet), like there was about Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” which was feared by some in conservative circles to have a lesbian theme. (It doesn’t). Some radio stations were reluctant to play it, but the song eventually reached #3 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart anyway. Interestingly, “Girl Crush” spent a record-breaking 13 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart which factors in a combination of airplay, downloads and streaming.
Certainly Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow” also suffered a lack of radio airplay because of its explicit acceptance of same-sex attraction, among other concerns. The song only reached #43 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart despite winning the Song of the Year award at the 2014 Country Music Association awards. Go figure.
Possibly the first mainstream country song with a positive (or at least neutral) gay subtheme was “Whatever Gets You Through The Night,” recorded by Mel McDaniel in 1985, and also by Waylon Jennings. This song was just an obscure track on a popular album (“Stand Up”), but it was a staple for years at the old gay country-western bar Rawhide 2 in San Francisco. You may even hear it occasionally 30 years later at Sundance Saloon.
Here’s an informal list of the top 30 current country-western dance songs you might hear at Sundance Saloon. (It’s been a while since we’ve posted a music list. We’ll be doing this quarterly instead of monthly, as there sometimes hasn’t been a lot of change from month to month.) These are arranged in alphabetical order by artist. Enjoy!
Sundance Saloon was featured in public radio station KALW’s “Sound of the Week.” During the first week of August KALW (91.7-FM) broadcast a sound excerpt recorded at Sundance Saloon and asked listeners to identify what it was and where it was recorded.
The reveal at 5:00 pm on August 6, 2015 included a very nice audio article about Sundance Saloon, including interviews with Chris Baines, Joyce Gagnon, and Neeraj Sharma.
Sundance Saloon spent an amazing day on a glorious weekend at the San Francisco Pride Festival in the Civic Center on June 28, 2015. Coming on the heels of the historic Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, the City was ablaze in celebration all weekend long. We two-stepped and line-danced our way through the weekend, with dance events Saturday night at the Whitcomb Hotel, Sunday all day at the Civic Center, and then Sunday night again back at the Whitcomb.
Sundance Saloon was featured in a detailed article in Hoodline, a prolific blog dedicated to San Francisco neighborhood news. The article appeared on Monday, June 15, and covers our range of activities, history and culture.
Sundance Saloon returned to Jane Warner Plaza in the heart of the Castro district of San Francisco for some more two-steppin’ and line dancin’ fun. There’s something really special about dancing under a beautiful blue sky, especially when your audience includes tourists coming in on the vintage MUNI streetcars who may never have seen same-sex dancing. There could not be better ambassadors for the LGBT community.
Sundance Saloon became part of the entertainment at the infamous Easter in the Park with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. After a morning of rainshowers the sun came out just in time for our demonstration dancing on the lawn of Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park.
We started with some two-stepping, followed by a line dance medley. The highlight of our stage time was the teaching of the easy line dance Cupid Shuffle to the entire crowd!
Here’s an informal list of the top 20 current country-western dance songs you’ll hear at Sundance Saloon this month, submitted by DJ IY for April, 2015. These are arranged in alphabetical order by artist. Enjoy!
