Streets of your city: Proud to be out at Volume

Three years ago Evan Steer and Joseph Chan looked around at the nightlife in Hong Kong and realised the gay community was seriously underserved. “We grew so disgruntled with it that we decided to do something about it," says Steer. "We thought we, as punters ourselves, deserved a space that celebrated that." 

Fast forward to the present and Volume, their high class, high style bar, is now an established institution in Hong Kong’s gay and nightlife scene. 

Volume opens its doors nightly to regulars from the LGBTQ community, faghags, even faghag boyfriends, as long as they’re fun-loving and open-minded.  The bar features themed parties, drag shows, and club nights and Steer, who doubles as Volume’s resident DJ under his alter ego DJ Stonedog, has since become an icon in the Hong Kong gay community for creating this vestige of queer culture.

Drawing a mixed crowd of foreigners and locals, the club is packed with scenesters downing free vodka every Wednesday during New Arrivals night, purpled-out during their annual Royal Magenta Ball, or rocking the boat with DJs for the annual Pride sea event Floatilla, all of which have won Volume a loyal gang of followers. 

The boys can also brag about Volume Records, an in-house record label created to nurture and promote local queer musical talents. Only a year old, the label recently dropped an album for drag diva La Chiquitta who made her name at the club with some stunning drag performances.

“It’s doing the things that have not yet been done in our city or community that drives me to just go and do it,” says Steer. “It is important for Volume to ensure our community knows we are truly listening to them and are genuinely doing our best to be a responsible leader to represent Hong Kong’s LGBT people in a very positive way.

"Yet, on a personal level, simply when a complete stranger comes up to me in the bar and says ‘thank you,’ knowing I helped them have a fabulous night out in Hong Kong is soup for the soul.”

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Volume

LG/F, 83-85 Hollywood Road, Central
Tel +852 2857 7683
www.volume.com.hk

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