2015 After Dark Large Photo


After Dark

When the Roman Empire was about to come crashing down, a time of great decadence swept over the land. Humanity was on the frontline of a major cultural shift, and the collective subconscious seemed well aware of the changes at hand. It was party time. Food culture was embraced — even worshiped by the people. Wine festivals, music, theater, dance, and all the creature comforts that come along with a night on the town in the shadow of imminent collapse were in great abundance.

There are many parallels that can be drawn between Rome at its end and Atlanta in 2015. The live/work/play blitzkrieg continues reshaping our surroundings with banal and monolithic condo-lofts springing up at seemingly every intersection. Our musical institutions are being dispatched with impunity. The Southern charm and haunted character of Atlanta’s well-worn facade is drying up. And like Emperor Nero tuning his violin, the city’s nightlife understands that time for change has come, and, once again, it’s party time. But with every end comes a new beginning. This year saw the phoenix-like rise of long-percolating hip-hop superstar Future’s latest album, Dirty Sprite 2. CL’s winner for Best overall music act earned Billboard’s No. 1 slot upon the album’s release, forging the soundtrack to our deliverance and illuminating a city bent on refining and diversifying in the face of opposition. Album of the year, Run the Jewels II follows suit with teeth-gnashing underground hip-hop gravitas.

Artists such as thrash-metal band Sadistic Ritual, ’80s hardcore revivalists Nurse, and electronic music innovator HXV have all raised the standards in their fields, casting off malaise and challenging their peers to work toward a stronger scene in the future.

Our Best hostess with the mostess, Brigitte Bidet, is an ambassador embracing the aesthetics of the avant-garde and queer arts with a sense of fortitude that Atlanta hasn’t seen since Ru Paul was perfecting her strut along Moreland Avenue in the Reagan era.

From the appearance of cutting-edge music venues from Aisle 5 in Little Five Points to the scrappy spirit of the Cleaners finding new life in Lakewood Heights, intown gentrification means it’s time to re-examine how the city works, and to work around the oppressive forces that pushed us toward a life immersed in the arts, music, and nightlife in the first place. These things are the heart and soul of our city. Rather than flee while the familiar façade crumbles, Atlanta has amassed an army and a burgeoning infrastructure that’s ready to meet a new era of change head-on. Indeed, a renaissance is at hand.

— Chad Radford, Music Editor

Best Local Vocalist BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Marshall Ruffin

Best Weekly Club Night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Readers Pick
IRIS aka Rush Lounge

Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Manuel’s Tavern

Best Burrito BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Elmyr

Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
The Earl
Had the the Earl not opened and become a bedrock local music hangout, bar, and restaurant on a once forgotten stretch of Flat Shoals Avenue, East Atlanta Village might not be the thriving nightlife district it is today. Its formula combining top tier pub grub, PBR tallboys, and indie music has made itmore...
Had the the Earl not opened and become a bedrock local music hangout, bar, and restaurant on a once forgotten stretch of Flat Shoals Avenue, East Atlanta Village might not be the thriving nightlife district it is today. Its formula combining top tier pub grub, PBR tallboys, and indie music has made it the go-to for locals and out-of-towners alike. This place has character in spades, from the walls lined with old-school clutter to the hardworking staff. less...

Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Euclid Avenue Yacht Club

Best Blues Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Northside Tavern

Best Southern BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Southern-Comfort Restaurant and Lounge

Best Reason to Live in Atlanta BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Guest Critic
Atlanta hip-hop elder statesman on the changing cultural landscape and the need for better public transportation

Best Reason to Live in Atlanta BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Guest Critic
The Deer Bear Wolf curator on the art of collaboration

Spin City: Best anthems for the common man BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Working Class Music

Spin City: Best creative party planners BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
WERC Crew

Spin City: Best DJs to class up the Dirty South BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Queen Cartel

Spin City: Best reason to blow up the soundsystem BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Tomahawk Chop Squad
Tomahawk Chop Squad is an experimental crew. Featuring 14-plus affiliated members, Taste Tester, HYDRABADD, Personal Trainer DJ, and the rest of TCS are on the come up with a blend of rap, mutant electronic soundscapes, EDM, and bass swells that resonate in the furthest reaches of Atlanta music wheremore...
Tomahawk Chop Squad is an experimental crew. Featuring 14-plus affiliated members, Taste Tester, HYDRABADD, Personal Trainer DJ, and the rest of TCS are on the come up with a blend of rap, mutant electronic soundscapes, EDM, and bass swells that resonate in the furthest reaches of Atlanta music where hip-hop and electronic music collide. soundcloud.com/tomahawk-chop-squad. less...

Best Dance Music Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
The Music Room

Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
97 Estoria

Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
The Local

Best Cocktails BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Victory Sandwich Bar

Best Bar to Hook Up BOA Award Winner

Year » 2015
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Johnny’s Hideaway
Ah, Johnny’s Hideaway. We all snicker just a little when we say the name. But the oh-so-famous outpost is more than a pick-up spot for silver-haired foxes and cougars on the prowl. This wood-toned lounge doesn’t get enough credit for being the destination for nightlife in the outer reaches of Buckheadmore...
Ah, Johnny’s Hideaway. We all snicker just a little when we say the name. But the oh-so-famous outpost is more than a pick-up spot for silver-haired foxes and cougars on the prowl. This wood-toned lounge doesn’t get enough credit for being the destination for nightlife in the outer reaches of Buckhead that it has become. The dance floor is a mini disco inferno with everything from Gloria Gaynor’s”I Will Survive” to the Bee Gees‘“Stayin’ Alive” blasting on the regular. And this place serves breakfast all day. Every day. CL has given Johnny’s the nod in the category of Best Cougar Den for more years than anyone on staff can remember. It’s safe to say Johnny’s is canonized within Atlanta’s nightlife culture. Like the Clermont Lounge, Stone Mountain, the Majestic, and MJQ, this place is woven into the fiber that holds Atlanta together. less...

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