Lemmerman (right) posing at BENT. Photograph by Lisa A. WalkerWhen Steve Lemmerman attended an all-staff meeting for his job as a box office attendant at the 9:30 Club in 2017, he never imagined starting one of the largest queer dance parties in DC outside of Capital Pride—much less for it to run for six years. BENT hosted its first event in 2018, bringing LGBTQ+ DJs, drag and burlesque performers, and artists to the 1,200-capacity venue to celebrate queerness and, well, party. The event was held every quarter, with parties for pride every summer, Halloween in the fall, and other one-offs like a leather-themed night and a benefit show for DC Central Kitchen. After collaborating with several local queer artists over the years, 9:30 is finally closing the curtain on BENT—but not before a last throw down. See You In HellBENT: The Final BENT will take place Saturday at 10 PM. We spoke to Lemmerman, who often DJed at shows as “DJ Lemz,” about the rise and fall of 9:30’s gayest nights of the year. A performer at the 9:30 Club’s queer dance party, BENT. Photograph by Farrah Skeiky. You’re a DJ by trade, how did you get into that? I actually started DJing at 12 years old. I’m 35 now. That’s two thirds of my life. I’ve always been a bit of a music nerd. I used to act as a child, and always at the wrap parties for the plays I was in, I’d always be in the corner swapping out CDs and making the playlists, just curating the vibes. It’s been in my blood. How did DJing translate into managing queer dance parties around DC? I started putting together events in Baltimore when I was 18 and performing. A lot of it stemmed from not seeing what I wanted to see in nightlife and just being like, “you know what? I’ll build it myself.” Why LGBTQ+ events? Well, I am queer myself, so selfishly. But queer nightlife has always kind of been relegated to underground stuff. And at the time, BENT came from a need to put our community more in the spotlight and to show what was going on in DC. What sets BENT apart from the rest? BENT isn’t just me, there’s so many incredible people behind it as well, that all come from working in nightlife and making those kinds of friends that all had similar wants, needs, and a devotion to building something unique and special and safe for nightlife. There are so many different performers, and it bridges the gaps across nightlife. That was like our biggest hope for this party—to put crowds together that wouldn’t normally interact and to put performers together who wouldn’t have met otherwise. BENT is hosting its final show on Saturday, what brought this party to an end? So, that kind of exactly stems from your last question. DC has what it needs now—the community’s thriving, there’s so many new places, and new shows, and new places to go, and so many bridges are connected now. We’ve done everything we intended to do with the party, and we get to go out feeling so proud and just look back, completely fond, and say, “we did it.” Do you have any plans for BENT or other queer dance parties in the future? We do have some stuff cooking still in the oven, so it’s hard to give final details, but there’s definitely something coming. All of us work in the scene, so we’re all regularly still performing around DC. I’m still regularly DJing almost every single week somewhere, be it Kiki, Trade, El Techo. But yeah, there is definitely a future. Three words to describe the queer scene in DC? Definitely beautiful, unique, and … just, wonderful.The post Meet the Face Behind 9:30 Club’s Queer Dance Party first appeared on Washingtonian.