Looking for a dance club while you stay overnight in Pensacola, Florida? Well, if you want ‘ em, Pensacola’s got ‘ em. You may not find the dance clubs in Pensacola to be everything that you get from a dance club in the big city. But isn’t that part of the charm of a vacation stayover in a smaller town? Maybe not, but charm is going to have be good enough in some cases.
Seville Quarter
130 E. Government St.
Pensacola, FL
When it comes to dance clubs in Pensacola, Florida, you can’t get away from Seville Quarter. Unless you try really hard. But since most people are going to insist on stopping by the closest thing that Pensacola, Florida has to a bona fide legacy when it comes to dance clubs, you probably will find your feet moving on one of the many dance floors that make up Seville Quarter’s Kennedy-style compound spread across much old historic downtown Pensacola. Phineas Fogg’s (yes, the places was actually named after the character Phileas Fogg and not the character in “Phineas and Ferb “) was the hot spot to dance back when I was high school and to give you an idea of how long ago that was, it was back when Saturday Night Live featured offbeat and virtually unknown bands more often than chart-toppers. If you don’t like crowds of young people, Seville Quarter also offers options like Rosie O’Grady’s to relax to piano music or the End O’ the Alley Bar to just get away from the incessant thumping of the bass. If your idea of a dance club experience is getting as close as possible to a standard nightclub anywhere in America, Seville Quarter fits the bill: parking can be a nightmare and elbow room is at a premium on busy nights. Since all seven rooms of Seville Quarter are open seven days a week, you can probably have fun on the dance floor whether you enjoy crowds or not if you time things just right.
The Handlebar
319 N Tarragona St.
Pensacola, FL
The Handlebar is very much within walking distance of Seville Quarter and shares much of the walking patronage of downtown Pensacola, but by way of comparison it’s kind of like a small town throwback version of being forced to choose between Studio 54 and CBGB’s. You will find crossover appeal, but basically you have the disco ambiance of Seville Quarter and a few blocks away you walk into the Handlebar and get live music and a much less polished vibe. If you prefer your dance clubs to be grittier and your music to be punkier , then the Handlebar is your place to be from 3:00 to 3:00 in Pensacola.
Emerald City
406 E Wright St (at Alcaniz St)
Pensacola , FL
Yeah, there’s probably a long, long list of gay dance clubs in America that reference “The Wizard of Oz” but Emerald City is one of the few that is located in a geographic region known by some as the Emerald Coast. So the high-octane energetic dance club known as Emerald City is perfectly within its right to be so stereotypically named. In the spirit of truth I will admit to having no first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to dance at the Emerald City club. I don’t say that because I’m so homophobic I would never want anyone to ever think I have been to a gay bar. I say that because I wouldn’t want anyone who might come to Pensacola looking for a gay dance club to think that they are reading about a gay dance club from someone who knows what’s he talking about it. From what I have heard from friends, however, Emerald City certainly qualifies as a gay club for those who like to dance or enjoy a drag show that should not be missed while in town. If you would prefer less of a intensely gay dance club and more of a multi-gender cabaret, then try out, well, The Cabaret.
