On a warm, foggy Wednesday night in the Mission, a few small groups huddle for a smoke break, silhouetted against the glowing entrance of the Verdi Club on Mariposa Street. Some wear leather boots and rhinestone tank tops, some fan themselves with cowboy hats and wipe away beads of sweat.
After a few minutes, they stub out their cigarettes and head back onto the club’s dance floor, teeming with around 200 dancers practicing steps and sipping drinks as someone turns up Shania Twain’s “Any Man Of Mine” to whoops from the crowd.
“You can go to any honky-tonk around the country and find line dancing. But it’s not gonna be queer,” said Sean Monaghan, co-founder of Stud Country, a queer line-dancing night introduced to the Bay Area in May after much anticipation.
It was no surprise when, on May 3, hundreds of excited, mostly queer patrons flooded the Verdi Club for the first class.
“Every week, there are more and more regulars, people really learning the dances,” said Bailey Salisbury. She co-founded Stud Country with Monaghan in Los Angeles in 2021. The two met years earlier as students at California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and became fast friends.
“We were sexy, gay and punk,” said Monaghan. Hence: Stud Country.
With playlists that include The Judds, Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill and Britney Spears, Stud Country has brought line dancing to a new generation of queer cowboys and anyone who wants to two-step along.
Right now, said Salisbury, “it’s a room full of people who are really excited, but don’t know that culture, and we’re trying to educate and nurture that.”
“There are three rules,” said Monaghan. “One: No drinks on the dance floor. The dance floor is for dancing. Two: No standing around on the dance floor. Three: If you don’t know the dance, practice on the side of the dance floor.”
Salisbury grew up studying ballet in San Luis Obispo with a mother, who taught dance. Monaghan, a San Francisco native, came up in the local music scene, playing guitar in punk bands throughout high school and college.
When Monaghan, 36, and Salisbury, 39 — AKA “mom and dad” — started Stud Country, they both lived in Los Angeles and, pre-pandemic, they were regular line dancers at Oil Can Harry’s in Studio City, a country/western joint and L.A.’s oldest gay bar, which flourished from the 1970s through the 1990s. It closed in 2021.
A lot of spaces for queer subcultures have been lost “now that gay people can go almost anywhere,” said Monaghan. But, Salisbury added, most honky-tonks are most definitely not queer-friendly. Queer dancers have always needed a safe space.
Much of the line-dance network built up by the previous generation has been at its tail end, said Monaghan. These days, new spaces are cropping up, reinvigorating established clubs.
“Our night is explicitly gay,” said Monaghan, “but not exclusively gay. There’s a lot of straight people that go. It’s really cool to see straight guys partner dancing with other guys.”
Stud Country has become wildly popular in its hometown, with hundreds of Angelenos attending classes to unwind and dance. The nights attracted novices and longtime shufflers alike, commingling young and old dancers thanks to their affiliation with Oil Can Harry’s.
Last year, Salisbury moved to San Francisco for a job, allowing Stud Country to expand. Monaghan comes up regularly from Los Angeles for classes.
They have also been collaborating with long-standing Sundance Saloon, off Bayshore Boulevard, a line dance club for queer, trans and gay people founded in 1998.
“Places like Sundance are passing down knowledge of the culture,” said Salisbury. “And Stud Country is fun and sexy and a party. We want to maintain the tradition — and we also want to cultivate this side.”
In the last few months, it seems to have taken off. On Monday, Salisbury and Monaghan were featured on the Today Show, leading a line dance at New York City’s Lincoln Center.
“The dance floor is for everyone,” said Monaghan. “During the pandemic, we were on this path of isolation through technology. Being somewhere physical with someone is so special — and people in SF are already getting really good!”
Stud Country holds line dances every Wednesday at Verdi Club in the Mission at 2424 Mariposa St. Each night is $20. Follow them on Instagram @stud.country.
Looks like big fun. Sean Monaghan’s quote (“We were sexy, gay and punk.”) reminded me of the lyric from David Bowie’s “Rebel, Rebel”: We like dancing and we look divine! Bailey, nice boots! Tony Lamas? My Cowgirl & I just may have to check it out. Cheers!