Here we are, yet again!
You can always find the latest at andymatic.com/dore – just tell friends, “It’s at andy matic dot com slash dore!” Easy to remember! Plus, I’m constantly updating as new events, venues, and DJs are announced, so sign up for email alerts:
Looking for the Folsom guide? It’s here.
Be sure to bookmark this guide. I’m constantly updating as new events, venues, and DJs are announced. And sign up for email alerts!
Party grid for the weekend:
Also map: (full size on Folsom Street org’s Instagram)
What is Up Your Alley Street Fair?
Up Your Alley is an annual street fair in San Francisco that celebrates gay kink and leather culture and is produced by the Folsom Street organization. This is the same non-profit organization that produces the Folsom Street Fair in September which is an even bigger kink/leather event and bigger weekend.
The difference between the two? Up Your Alley weekend is usually described as a bit kinkier/nastier, more gay male-centric, and attended by more locals. You’ll have fewer tourists gawking at the zoo and more people ready to participate. That’s why you’ll hear people refer to it as “Folsom Street Fair’s dirty little brother.”
Up Your Alley? Dore? Dore Alley?
While the offical title is Up Your Alley, a lot of people will refer to it as “Dore street fair” or “Dore weekend.” Most people just call it “Dore.” Rhymes with whore-y. Named for the intersection that the fair is oriented around: Dore Alley and Folsom Street. Proper usage:
“Are you and the pups coming for Dore?”
“Which parties are you and your Sir going to for Dore?”
“Will you and your husband be playing separately for Up Your Alley weekend?”
“Are you ready to hoe it up for Up Your Alley?”
“Do you think that one gay MAGA piece of shit will show up at Dore this year? She better run.”
The one-day fair is usually the last Sunday in July. But there’s a lot more there there than just the fair.
First: Know Your History
Leather is deeply embedded in San Francisco’s history, and Dore is connected to that history and pedigree. There are always a few leather guys at even the most mainstream-y party in San Francisco clubs.
From Dore Alley Street Fair, a history lesson:
“The Up Your Alley Fair, wasn’t originally on Dore Alley, and it wasn’t originally ‘Folsom Street Fair’s dirty little brother’. In fact, the two fairs were originally completely unrelated to one another. The first Folsom Street Fairs were celebrations of SoMa’s neighborhood diversity whereas Up Your Alley was a celebration specifically of the gay leather community.” Read the full article…
I’ve put together a list of the many events for Dore weekend. Keep in mind this is just one guy’s opinion on what to do and where to go. I’m not a big kinkster. I don’t think I am. I’ll tie you up, spit in your mouth, smack you around, and demand you [checks notes] “Show dad how you like to fuck.” But like, we know people that are for-real into this stuff much more intensely.
It’s all relative, I suppose. Be sure to ask other friends and acquaintances for their must-do events if this is your first Dore weekend.
I’ll include links to photo galleries for most of the events so you can get a sense for what the crowd will be like and what to wear as well as links to the DJs profiles so you can get a sense of the music.
Earlier Events
There’s several regular events that aren’t in the week-of or weekend of the fair.
Friday July 10: Hard at SF Eagle, produced by BlufSF featuring leather, boots, cigars. Details on Facebook and their site.
Wednesday, July 22nd
Dirty Alley at Powerhouse, produced by Mr. S Leather
Now celebrating over 40 years of leather, kink, and style, Mr. S Leather is a San Francisco mainstay and globally recognized leather retailer and fetish brand. They’ll kick off the week at Powerhouse and Dore on Wednesday with a night of fetish demos, sexy gogos, and guarantees “the trashiest bartenders in San Francisco.”
Full details on the Facebook page for the event or follow them on Instagram or go to their site.
Chest at Powerhouse, produced by Chest Happy Hour
Be a dear, in headlights. The folks from Chest Happy Hour are hosting an evening devoted to tits. So get that shirt off and starts stimulatin’ or keep it on for their wet T-shirt contest.
PoHo No Host Social at Powerhouse, produced by San Francisco Leather Men Discussion Group
San Francisco’s local leather men group welcomes Dore attendees from all over. With all the excitement of the week of Dore alley, we are instead hosting a social night at Powerhouse. Come meet the board, catch up with friends, and see who’s in town for the festivities.
Full details on the SFDLG site.
Truck Dore Kickoff at The Stud, produced by Truck with DJ Lakeverett
The men of Truck have their Dore edition of their every Wednesday party.
Safe Words Comedy Showcase at SF Eagle, hosted by Geulah Finman with Diana Hong, Adam Strawbridge, Gold E. West, and Woodlief McCabe
Safe Words returns to SF Eagle for We’re Queer, as in Funny, this month’s edition of Safe Words Comedy Showcase.
Diana Hong is a Korean American lesbian comic whose grounded presence and calm delivery catch audiences off guard in the best way. Her storytelling is smart, sincere, and often surprisingly emotional. She tackles grief, identity, and cultural absurdities with heart and a deadpan edge that makes you laugh first and think later. Her comedy has been featured on Netflix is a Joke Radio, SF Sketchfest, Fuse TV, and she is a regular at Cobb’s Comedy Club and San Francisco Punch Line.
Adam Strawbridge is a comedian and animator in Oakland. He’s a regular at clubs and indie shows all over California, including Don’t Tell and Cheaper Than Therapy. He does not regret getting a PhD in music.
Gold E. West is a comedian and public speaker from Harbor City, CA who got so tired of being the butt of the joke that they started telling some. If you want the whole family to laugh, and your grandma to start using the right pronouns, then go for the Gold!
Woodlief McCabe is a comedian based in NYC who runs the monthly Brooklyn show Good Normal Show No Gimmick. Originally from the Bay, he’s excited to be doing comedy near home again. His work has included MTV and Autostraddle.
Geulah Finman is a tall, dark and handsome queerdo living and performing in and around San Francisco. Geulah is a member of the San Francisco Neo Futurists and co-producer of Vault Comedy SF.
Diana Hong on Instagram and her site.
Adam Strawbridge on Instagram.
Gold E. West on Instagram
Woodlief McCabe on Instagram.
Guelah Finman on Instagram.
Details on the Facebook page for the event.
Thursday, July 23rd
Tuff at 1015 Folsom, produced by Tuff Party
LA-based Tuff is North America’s fastest-growing leather party returns to San Francisco to kick off Dore Alley Weekend. Expect dark, sexy house and techno music, hot guys in leather, fetish gear, and a dance floor packed with energy, attitude, and community.
Lots of photos from past events on their Instagram.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event and tickets onsale now.
16th Annual In Gear Dinner at Dumpling Kitchen, produced by BLUFSF
The Annual IN GEAR has been long-standing tradition, first held in 2008. Taking place on the Thursday before Up Your Alley (aka Dore Alley), the IN GEAR has served as a high point for Leatherfolx and Kinksters to get together for food and fellowship. Join BLUFSF at the Dumpling Kitchen – Noe Valley to kick off the weekend of Up Your Alley. This is a limited, ticketed event; tickets will not be sold at the door.
Full details on the BLUFSF site.
Flag Alley at DNA Lounge, with DJ Gregg
Flag Alley is an evening originally envisioned by the late Jeff Hettinger, for flaggers, flow artists, and those that love them - an evening event by flow artists, for flow artists. This year the event will start out Flagger Destination Weekend on Thursday night, from 6 pm to 9:30 pm. This will be more than the usual Open Studio, as they will be welcoming dance artists from all over the country - and all over the world - as part of Flagger Destination Weekend.
Chad Eckman will be our instructor for the first hour of the event. His amazing flagging is widely admired, so we are sure that this is a lesson you will not want to miss!
DJ Gregg on HeartThis.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event.
Tickets on the DNA Lounge site.
PulseSF at TBD, produced by The StableWrangler, with DJ Rubi, benefitting One Orlando Alliance
The producers of HorsemarketSF are bringing a more dance-oriented party to open the weekend.
Originally from Barcelona and shaped by Berlin’s underground scene, DJ Rubi is known for energetic peak-time techno, dark grooves, hypnotic soundscapes, and emotionally charged dancefloor storytelling. A fixture in the international queer techno and fetish scene, he has performed at Darklands Festival, Folsom Europe, Fusion Festival, Clash Berlin, PiG Berlin, Limax, Explicit Zürich, Boyberry Berlin, and underground events across Europe and the U.S.
Full details and registration.
Thursday Night Live at SF Eagle, with DJs Muňecas, UNICRONE, and PlasticaIsle
Muñecas and UNICRÖNE are here to stir the pot. It’s Dore Alley. Leather gets soaked. Knees get dirty. Mouths get stretched.
Join them for a night of queer punk, dark magic, loud guitars, and enough bad behavior to leave a permanent stain on your weekend. We coven your mother warned you about.
Dress like a menace. Smell like regret. Kiss strangers. Cast hexes. Repent later.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event.
Friday, July 24th
REAL BAD: RITUAL at 1015 Folsom, produced by Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation, with DJs Matt Suave and Brady Prince
Real Bad events always attract the friendliest, warmest crowd. Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation has been producing events for over 30 years, including its crown jewel—and literally our favorite party of the entire year, their Folsom weekend closing party, Real Bad. This upgraded Dore event brings the same world-class production value as their marquee Folsom event, but with much more accessible tickets: anyone can grab them online!
We’ll be at 1015 Folsom, one of the city’s top dance temples with three-story ceilings and signature church-style lanterns floating above the crowd.
Matt Suave is a house/disco-focused DJ and producer with roots in the Chicago underground scene. He is a classical opera singer turned DJ/producer, known for euphoric disco-house sets, piano elements, pop remixes, and high-energy dancefloor style.
Brady Prince also hails from Chicago, with a blend of uplifting vocal house, driving tech house, and melodic techno, rooted in the Chicago house tradition but often shifting into darker, progressive grooves. We’ve heard him several time and he’s always fantastic.
Matt Sauve on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Brady Prince on SoundCloud, Instagram, BeatPort, and his site.
Tickets available on EventBrite.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event and photos albums on their Facebook page.
Prime: Daddy Alley at Club Six, produced by TrophyDad with DJs Neon the Glowgobear and Charly
Ed, Julian, and the gang at TrophyDad are back at Club 6 (both floors!) and will be hosting a gaggle of gogos (all required to be over 50) with a party dedicated to “men in their prime and their admirers.” If you’re feeling the need to work out some daddy issues (or work over some boys), this will be the place to be. As our friend and daddy connoisseur (papa sommelier?) Baby Jake always says, “You better check for that AARP card first.”
The culture has been in a daddy moment for a while now. Daddy-themed parties have flourished across the country and around the world. It seems to radiate from San Francisco for some reason. The Prime party started a few years ago as just Ed throwing himself a big 50th birthday party. He had no idea it was going to become a thing. But it has! I think as the generation of men that survived the crisis years of the 80s and 90s is hitting their 50s and 60s they’re redefining what it is to be a gay man after 50: active, vital, confident, horny, and fun.
The crowd includes lots of guys you usually don’t usually see out and about and the music will be prime time circuit plus celebratory vocals with a modern remix with resident DJ Neon the Glowgobear. DJ Neon the Glowgobear hails from the “dirty South” of Atlanta and is known for an upbeat musical style based on house music and classic tracks with a twist.
Meanwhile, downstairs is the Daddy Pit, the aggressive overt vibe of the leather bars of days gone by with low ceilings, lower inhibitions, and a play space – with Madrid’s Charly. We’ve heard him spin several times and he’s always gotta sound that’ll move ya ass.
Read more about the genesis of the Prime party in Race Bannon’s article in The Bay Area Reporter: “Celebrating Grey — the Older Kinkster”
DJ Neon on Mixcloud, SoundCloud, and Facebook.
DJ Charly on Mixcloud, SoundCloud, and Instagram.
Dress for success and reference lots of photo galleries on the TrophyDad Facebook page.
TrophyDad on Facebook and Instagram.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event and tickets available on EventBrite.
Alchemy at Public Works with DJs GENIX, Jaytech, and Kristina Sky
A queer trance (!) and progressive house dance party at local stalwart Public Works.
Genix is a UK electronic DJ/producer best known through the Anjunabeats group and is an accomplished international artist with his long-running reputation as an innovator and his Guinness World Record for the longest DJ set.
Jaytech started young in Canberra, broke through internationally in the 2000s, also became closely associated with Anjunadeep/Anjunabeats, and later expanded into a progressive house/trance sound with a long global touring history and an active studio/education side.
Kristina Sky’s official bio describes her as a melodic trance and progressive house DJ/producer known for high-energy melodic trance blended with a signature progressive sound.
Genix on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, at genixmusic.com.
Jaytech on Instagram, SoundCloud, Facebook, and jaytechmusic.com.
Kristina Sky on Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, X, and kristinasky.com.
Tickets and details available at https://link.dice.fm/alchemy-dore.
Bark Before Dark at The Stud
Event confirmed, waiting on details. Pup Spark is hosting a Dore puppy event. Bring your pet/puppy gear and get the weekend started.
Bark Before Dark is equal parts social hour and sensory playground. Spend the golden hour mingling in the outdoor mosh space, let loose in the indoor play area, or just soak in the atmosphere on the dance floor while our DJs keep the energy moving and our gogo dancers keep things interesting. Whether you’re deep in the scene or just pup-curious, the vibe is welcoming, playful, and unapologetically queer.
Bark Before Dark has always been about community, a chance to find your crew before the weekend sweeps you up in its beautiful chaos.
SXTPS at DNA Lounge, with DJs Kidd, Charles Hawthorne, and Booty Juice
The SXTPS folks are back with another Dore function honoring the pioneers of the underground soundtrack by way of a seductive blend of high-energy house, techno, hip hop, and R&B. They play just about anything with a salacious, thumping beat, and they promise to keep it “Black AF.”
DJ Kidd is the force behind SXTPS, and his sound moves through house, hip hop, techno, afro-house, and club rhythms with a clear point of view: Black, sexy, body-positive, and built for release. Kidd doesn’t just play tracks; he builds a room where people can sweat, grind, pose, flirt, and feel fully free.
Charles Hawthorne is an Oakland-based DJ, event producer, and community builder whose sets move through disco, house, club, R&B, hip hop, jungle, and dance music with warmth, taste, and serious dance-floor intuition. Their sound is rooted in Black queer dance music, balancing deep groove, playful glamour, and high emotional intelligence behind the decks. Expect music that feels lush, sweaty, soulful, and impossible to stand still to.
Booty Juice is an SF-based DJ serving up high-energy house, disco, and underground sounds with big groove and playful, euphoric heat. Equal parts party-starter and dance-floor instigator, Booty Juice brings a thumping, body-moving sound that keeps the room loose, wet, and fully activated. The vibe is sexy, joyful, and built for people who came to dance.
Kidd on Instagram
Charles Hawthorne on Instagram and SoundCloud
Booty Juice on Instagram
Tickets available on the DNA Lounge website.
Jacked at SF Eagle, produced by Filth, with DJs Jim Hopkins and Jimmy DePres
Kick off Dore Weekend with the SF Eagle and the boys of Filth. Bring your leather, your rubber, anything that makes you feel sexy and dirty.
The Eagle is going to be packed with horny hunks, primal pigs, and its infamous dark play spaces. This is going to be a night of old-school Eagle action to get you whipped up for the weekend.
Spinning Dark, Dirty, Sleaze Disco, Hi-NRG,, 80s, and Bath House from:
DJ Jim Hopkins (S.F. Disco Preservation Society)
DJ Jimmy DePres (Go Bang!)
Full details on the Facebook page for the event.
HorseMarket: Fresh Meat at TBD, produced by the Stable Wrangler
HorseMarket is a truly degenerate evening for all, inspired by Europe’s infamous Fickstutenmarkt parties (Vice article). From the site:
“The mares [bottoms] arrive before the stallions [tops] and get prepared for the event. They are to strip naked, have their hands bound (lightly) and are then blindfolded. Then the stallions appear and can fully inspect the bound mares at their leisure. When a stallion has decided on a mare, he then leads the chosen mare to a place of his choice to mount. When the stallion has finished covering the mare, this mare is then available for covering by other stallions.”
[scratches record, clutches pearls, drops monocle] There’s even a Best In Show designation at the end of the event because gay men have to turn everything into a beauty pageant scholarship program. I think we know at least 4 of the Best In Show Mares.
The Stable Wrangler tells me that there are three parties this year. Friday and Saturday are “Fresh Meat” so first-time Mares get preference on tickets. And then Sunday night the Stable Wrangler is giving you the cross-over event of the weekend, partnering with the sluts of Fornication.
Get updates from their mailing list and learn more on the site for the event.
Stank at Powerhouse, produced by Spencer Adam and Fawk Gilić
The skanks of Stank want you to get a whiff. A waft, if you will. Everybody’s favorite gay dive bar kicks off the weekend with an evening devoted to the natural smell of men as God made ’em and as God intended.
Stop showering a couple of days beforehand and hit the gym hard so you can go in perfectly fragrant (we have a couple of friends who declare it “natural poppers”). Be ready to bury your face in a man’s ripe pits and enjoy the aroma and taste of the gogos as they ply their trade.
But get there before midnight so you can participate in (or just appreciate) the Ripe Pits Contest.
Resident DJ/pup Jumpr on Instagram and SoundCloud. Here’s his set from the pups’ virtual Beta party last year, Omega party 2019, Omega 2018, and their 2018 Packed party.
Resident DJ/pup Fawks on Instagram, SoundCloud, and his website fawkstales.com. Here’s his mix from Beta party 2017.
More details on Stank’s Instagram.
Saturday, July 25th
Big Muscle Party at DNA Lounge, produced by BigMuscleBears.com, benefiting Positive Resource Center
I always like taking friends to this event because if you don’t know it’s happening on a Saturday afternoon, you don’t know what you’ve been missing.
Several hundred muscle guys of all sizes and stripes, and their admirers pack into DNA Lounge (founded with Netscape money and like every other big venue always at risk of closing) to have cocktails and dance and make Mary.
It’s got a fantastic vibe whether you’re in the mood to dance on the main floor, chill in the back lounges, hang out and chit-chat in the side bars, or people-watch from the wrap-around balcony.
Ron and I contend that this party is usually the hottest crowd of the weekend. And some of the guys are yooooge! Like water buffalo galloping through amber waves of grain on the dance floor. It always makes me want to start a TikTok called Big Guys, Tiny Fans.
Halfway through the party you’ll meet the men of this year’s Bare Chest Calendar. For over 35 years the annual calendar has been a huge part of the San Francisco community, raising over $3 million for PRC and its program AIDS Emergency Fund. PRC (Positive Resource Center) is devoted to providing residential treatment and supportive housing for people with mental health, substance use, and HIV/AIDS-related issues. Buy a calendar! That’s our bestie (and Mr. January a couple years ago) Moe in the event photo above!
It’ll be bright outside and dark as night indoors so it’ll take you a bit to see once you’re in the club.
Reminder: DNA Lounge is a huge venue! It took me a couple years to realize, “Ohhh shit there’s that back bar there… and oh damn is that another bar further on back…”
So after you’ve enjoyed the main floor, go upstairs to the balcony, the side bar on the left with the windows to the street (and another DJ lineup), the bar behind that, the bar behind that (and another DJ lineup), the bar that swings around behind back into the balcony to the lounge with seating and back around to the other side of the club.
Favorite moments from past year’s is the DJ in the upper bar teasing the growling bass line for “The Humpty Dance” for about 10 minutes and you kept thinking, “Am I hearing that?” and then finally launching into the 1989 classic, then back into the usual house mix. And I have an apocryphal story of the DJ dropping in, “All I Want for Christmas,” to troll the crowd with Christmas in July.
There’s also the photo booth in the balcony (house-left) where you can get photos of your hot ass and hot-ass friends for posterity. It closes earlier than the event ends, so be sure to get up there sooner than later. If you get overheated, there are A/C vents to chill you down, right in front of the street-side balcony bar. You’ll see the vents. And come out onto the street for a vape or a smoke or to gawk at the shirrtless guys in the sun.
And don’t forget to grab pizza next door at DNA Pizza (menu) during the party or on your way out. You know these gals like to eat. The veggie slice is called Artichoke-Me-Daddy. You can go between the pizzeria and the club and even go outside for a smoke or a vape during the event – just be sure you have your wrist stamped (or wrist band). If that’s the plan, don’t wait to get in line until the end of the party, it’ll be a long line to get pizza.
Tip: This event has started selling out. And they seem to throttle entry to the club so get in line early. You can usually buy a ticket online the day-of on your phone if you need to.
Photo gallery to show you who-all’s there and what to wear in Out magazine: “109 Photos From BigMuscle Party at Folsom Street Fair”
Details and tickets on the DNA Lounge site.
Dore Party at Mr. S Leather
Now celebrating over 40 years of leather, kink, and style, Mr. S Leather is a San Francisco mainstay and globally recognized leather retailer and fetish brand. After their Wednesday kickoff, they have their in-store party.
Come find the gear that’ll get you laid. And who knows, you might just meet the guy you’ll be spending the rest of the weekend with!
They are opening up the Back Alley Beer Garden from 12-6 (21 to enter with ID).
The shop will be open 12pm-7pm daily all week for your needs and supplies!
Details will be on the Facebook page for the event or on their site.
Flagging in the Park at the National AIDS Memorial Grove, with DJ Michelle Miruski, benefitting the National AIDS Memorial Grove
One of the most San Francisco-y things that happens in this wild city. Flagging In The Park is a monthly afternoon picnic of music and colorful motion at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park. But for July and September, they usually do special editions for the street fair weekends.
In 1997 a group of San Francisco flaggers started a tradition of celebrating life by gathering in the newly dedicated National AIDS Memorial Grove. Twenty-seven years later, the event continues to thrive and grow, with the DJs, organizers, and participants donating their time, energy and love to help raise money for mostly local (and sometimes national) non-profits.
The AIDS Memorial Grove is a gorgeously secluded meadow near the East end of Golden Gate Park. Often the fog is licking at the sky above - especially in the summer, bring sunscreen and a wrap. Bring something to sit on; pack a lunch or bring snacks and beverages; flags are available for use; usually a few furry friends roaming. There are little or no services nearby but port-a-potties will be available. Our DJ spins vocal fun-filled dance music, and flow artists eagerly enjoy and share their art with newcomers. There is no pressure to participate -- come relax and take in the color and beauty of our tribe!
Michele Miruski is a longtime house music DJ with roots going back to the late 1980s.
Michelle Miruski on SoundCloud, Mixcloud, and Instagram.
This event is part of the Flagger Destination Weekend. Full details on Facebook and be sure to join the Flagging in the Park group as well.
Naked Social at Transform1060
Everybody’s favorite naked social is back.
Naked Social is a social and play party for cis and trans men of all ages, body shapes and sizes, races, ethnicities and backgrounds, and promotes body positivity and sex positivity. “This is strictly a nude event. Full nudity is mandatory. Underwear or any clothing is not allowed. Harness cock ring, cock cages are allowed. Shoes are required.”
Grunt at The Stud
Grunt likes em BIG. BIG Beats. BIG GUYS. BIG Sleaze. BIG Vibes. Your fave cruising party with dark room and dance floor. Suggested Dress: Classic Leather, Rubber, Boots, Punk, Biker Sleaze Sportswear, Heavy Fetish (wrist restraints, gimp mask, gas mask, etc), Tighty-Whities, Jockstrap, Chains, Trade, Bruno B, Slut, Himbo, Trackies, Sneakers. Pile of rocks.
Free clothing/Coat Check: Less Clothes more body.
Full details on their site and join their mailing list to get first pick of tix.
Bay Area M/M Spanking Party at Folsom Street Community Center
Join in the fun at the Dore edition of the Bay Area M/M Spanking party featuring sizzling hot fun and red bottoms at The Folsom Street Community Center (home of the world famous Folsom Street Fair!) where you can safely explore your spanking interests/fantasies from real discipline and traditional corporal punishment, to classic role-plays and dom/sub power exchanges.
Full details and registration.
Brüt at 888 Garage Midway, produced by Hedonic Productions and Brian Kent Productions and Hedonic Productions, with DJs Dan Darlington and Pagano
Brüt started as an NYC party but its special mix of leather, music, and muscle has reached across the globe with events in other major cities. We’ve been attending Brüt parties for many years in San Francisco (and now in Chicago), and it’s an incredible evening of dancing with primal music pumping and guys ready to have a good time.
This year’s Dore event hammers into San Francisco taking over a brand-new, massive warehouse venue built for the heavy-duty. With a reinforced, bone-shaking sound system and a true underground atmosphere, we’re transforming the night into a midnight garage where chrome drips, engines roar, and leather clings to sweat-slick skin.
DJs Dan Darlington and Pagano strip the night down to the chassis, pounding out a high-compression surge of souped-up vocal tech-house. Precision-tuned tension meets bone-shaking beats, built to keep the garage floor grinding until they kick us all out.
The theme is GEAR HEAD and transforms Dore Alley into a late-night mechanic’s fantasy. Leather, harnesses, boots, grease, chrome, industrial edge. Think garage sweat, unapologetic self-expression. A coat check will be available so you can strip down, gear up, and step fully into the garage.
Global tech house producer Pagano is always fantastic. He was one of the DJs on the January whore-boat Atlantis Cruise a couple years ago and showed his breadth with tea dance, prime time, and afterhours sets. And we’ve heard him on land several times and always enjoyed it. DJ MAG UK described him, “Pagano has emerged as one of Italy’s finest DJs. An accomplished hand in the studio and behind the decks… Pagano is no overnight DJ sensation. A keen studier of sound, the man is obsessed with finding obscure gems and unique cuts and layering them together in his own inimitable manner.”
Brut co-founder/producer Dan Darlington is always a joy to watch as he spins because he always has a huge grin on his face. He’ll sneak in a vocal after a nasty beat that can be just divine.
Top three Brut moments from past parties:
A couple years ago at Folsom Brüt, Dan slowed down the beat and mixed in Nine Inch Nails’s “Closer” and you had hundreds of rutting leather-clad men chanting “I want to fuck you like an animal!” and then as the song ended, Dan kept repeating that Downward Spiral descending motif from the classic album as he brought the beat back up.
Hearing them drop in the remix of DMX’s “It’s All Right” featuring the elegant subtle couplet, “It’s all good! It’s alright! Fuck all day! Fuck all night!”
A St. Patrick’s party It was later into the night when things start to feel a little otherworldly, and Dan was on the decks (with his usual devilish grin), and he’d just suspended a really hard bass line, and as you caught your breath from dancing so hard, he faded in an isolated vocal of Debbie Gibson cooing, “No… only in my dreams… as real as it may seem… you are only in my dreams…” Transcendent.
Brüt featured in:
The New York Times: Gay Leather Scene Tones Down From Hard-Core to Dress-Up
Daily Xtra: How one leather party is taking back New York City
Photo galleries from past Brüt events.
Pagano on Instagram, Facebook, and SoundCloud.
Brüt producer and resident DJ Dan Darlington on Mixcloud, SoundCloud, Facebook, and the Brüt site and Brüt’s own SoundCloud. My favorite Brüt mix of all time is this Folsom mix from a couple years ago. It absolutely purrs.
Full details on the Brut site and you can follow Brut’s Facebook page and learn more on the Brüt party website.
The Hard Ball at SF Eagle, produced by Dirty Disco, with DJ Mark de Lange
Get ready — DJ Mark de Lange (AKA Dirty Disco) is making his explosive San Francisco debut and he’s about to take over the dancefloor and gives it to you hard with his signature dirty beats as they grind you down, spin you out, and leave you absolutely breathless and begging for more.
Full detail on the Facebook page for this event.
HorseMarket at TBD, produced by the StableWrangler
The men of HorseMarket’s third (of four!) weekend events featuring the usual mares/stallions setup. Scroll up for details for their Friday and Thursday party and down for the Sunday event co-hosted with Fornication.
LateXXX at The Stud, produced by SF Rubbber, with DJ jvckietrvn
Bay are rubber aficionados, SF Rubber are back for their Dore edition of their afternoon latex social, LateXXX. Local QTPOC mixmaster jvckietrvn is at the decks for the day, making sure you sweat just right in those slick shinery finery.
jvckietrvn on Instagram and MixCloud.
Learn more about SF Rubber at
https://www.sfrubber.org/
Milked at StopGap, produced by Guerilla Jax
Guerilla Jax produces JO-only events, and Milked is always a wild time. Amenities include milking stations (St. Andrew’s Cross, restraints, and blindfolds), different zones for different bate styles, a dedicated chill-out area, snacks and refreshments, and for those who prefer to just watch, red wristbands are available.
Sneaks produced by Polyglamorous
This event is not yet confirmed, but putting it here now since it sells out so fast.
Polyglamorous’ naughty sneaker fetish party returns for their Dore edition to reminds us that leather culture’s Venn diagram is broad and deep
Dress code is enforced:
MUST WEAR – sneakers
DO WEAR – sports gear, singlets, mesh, underwear, knee socks, gym shorts, sweats, track suits… things that are sports-related or you might wear to the gym.
DON’T WEAR – jeans or slacks
The late amazing Baby Bear – and of the other Short Circuit Andys once told me what he loves about Sneaks:
“I always describe Sneaks as the queerer, more-techno/house sound of Dore weekend. It’s the ‘locals’ choice on Saturday night as far as I’m concerned. Sneaks feels home grown. It’s black-lit which has become commonplace at Polyglamorous parties. It’s a mix of leather, drag, burner [Burning Man] and queer. The biggest thing I’d stress to readers is that [lower priced] pre-sales [tickets] always go fast but there are always tickets at the door as well.”
Goddammit we miss him so much. I swear every time I am about to cross the street I hear St. Andy in my head saying, “Hold up, girl. Did you look both ways? Twice? Look again. Okay.”
Another friend described it as a “dark, sexy, disco rave for athletic fetishists.” Take note.
Clothes check provided, venue is cash only. No cameras allowed.
Several tracks on the Polyglamorous profile on SoundCloud.
Learn more about the collective on the Polyglamorous Facebook page and Polyglamorous.club.
Black, Brown, & Kinky at Powerhouse, produced by Onxy Northwest
The Northwest chapter of Onyx kicks off the weekend at our favorite dive-bar Powerhouse featuring sexy kinksters, jello shots, leathermen of color with geared up gogos, fetish demos and more. Photos of past events on their site.
Details will be on their Facebook, and you can also follow them on Instagram, YouTube, and their site.
Truck at Club 6, produced by Truck Entertainment
Truck - “the most notorious party in San Francisco” is back. Truck was an automotive-themed LGBT dive bar in the Castro, shuttering in 2015. But producer Paul Miller rings back that bar’s raunchy spirit back on the regular. Their Dore edition will be at everyone’s favorite sleazehaus, Club 6.
Follow Truck producer Paul and Truck Entertainment on Instagram.
Tickets available on their website.
Cumunion at Transform1060
Legit for-real no DJs, no fans, no divas, all-dick play-party Cumunion is back for their Folsom edition at the Transform1060 dungeon space.
Cumunion started as a small sex party after Up Your Alley, 16 years ago in 2010. The success of the first party quickly led to a Folsom outing and there are now close to 50 monthly parties held in dozens of cities around the world.
Happy anniversary, Cumunion! Mazel tov!
Code at Edge, with DJ Sean McMahon
Code is The Edge’s monthly event bringing leather back to the Castro with geared-up gogos and a no-frills bar packed with congenial leather-clad gents and resident DJ Sean McMahon, spinning Code’s signature dark and cruisy beats.
Resident DJ Sean McMahon on Mixcloud or Facebook.
The event is confirmed, with details on the Edge’s events listings on Facebook, the Code page on their site, or their Instagram.
15 Association Party at Paradox SF
The 15 Association’s monthly play party for members and guests. The 15 Association welcomes guests who are active members of the BDSM community. “If you identify as male, present as male, and enjoying playing in an all-male environment, we want you. If you attend a 15 event, although you are not required to play at the party, the expectation is that you are interested in doing so. People interested in voyeurism only are not a good fit for our events.”
Full details for the event on their site.
Bears in Space at F8, produced by Chunk with DJs Dicap, Nick Moss, Thckrtanker, and Omnibot
The big boys of Chunk are back with their Saturday event for bears and their admirers.
Details at https://www.chunk-party.com/
Sunday, July 26th
Nocturnal at Halcyon, produced by Ky Martinez Events, with DJ Danny Verde
Nocturnal is Sunday morning before the fair.
Halcyon (formerly the old Beatbox space) is one of only three clubs in the world to feature the Dolby Atmos immersive sound system. Halcyon regularly ranks among the top clubs in the country and is noted for its all-women management and for welcoming LGBT events and producers. The exposed brick and steel keep the warehouse vibe alive, and with one of the city’s few 24-hour liquor licenses, DJs have been known to spin from dusk to dawn and into the afternoon.
We’ve known producer Ky Martinez and his husband Juan for many years (they sat at the circuit queen table at our wedding reception). It’s been wonderful watching them go from producing their monthly House Party event at Powerhouse (every second-Saturday) to building their reputation with larger more sophisticated events like Imagina, Heaven (Dore Sunday night), and the notorious Folsom afterhours Nocturnal. Their events always draw a fantastic crowd that is a diverse, broad slice of the city’s denizens (leather, muscle, queens, queers, jocks, fairies, and all the rest) and all generations in attendance.
The dashing Danny Verde has remixed everybody – Lady Gaga, Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Mariah Carey, Avicii , Ava Max, Selena Gomez, Ricky Martin, Clean Bandit – and had headlined pretty much every event around the world. His sound spans pop to house and back with charting remixes in over 20 countries.
Danny Verde on Instagram, X, Spotify, SoundCloud, and MixCloud.
Full details and tickets at kymartinezevents.com.
And then there’s the fair. We’ll probably go for a bit. It’s funny how it seems kinda normalized anymore for us to go to a street fair and see a guy chained to a telephone pole being whipped or porn stars playing Twister in jockstraps or a domme in a carriage being pulled by a quartet of human ponies or shirtless women being flogged to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Like Folsom, the fair encapsulates the crazy, kinky, libertine spirit of San Francisco – and with Up Your Alley, it’s much grittier and more queer/gay than Folsom Street Fair.
You will see people dressed in their favorite fetish attire. Some of these kinksters wait all year for events like this to strut their stuff and fly their freak flag. If you don’t like it or roll your eyes at people or can’t delight in seeing perverts celebrate their perversions, don’t be a twat about it. Get the fuck out of there and go to the Apple store. Not everything is for everybody.
[map will go here]
Full details and FAQs will be on the Folsom Street website. or follow the Folsom org on Instagram.
Dore Party at Oasis
Oasis’s Dore party is back and bigger than ever. Come by Oasis during or after the fair for drinks, dancing, and dirty Dore fun! Their rooftop will be open for some patio enjoyment, and our dance floor will be open to get your groove on.
DJs and Gogo roster TBD.
Tickets and information on EventBrite.
Party on the Patio at SF Eagle, with DJs Honey Davenport, Paul Goodyear, Phil B, and Disco Daddy
When you’re ready to cool off from the Fair, you know the only place to be is the SF Eagle Patio! From 1-3pm, you don’t want to miss out on International Mr. Leather 2026, Honey Davenport, DJing the first few hours! Following their set, there will be a public meet-and-greet. Keeping the sexy vibes going the rest of the afternoon will be SF Eagle staples Paul Goodyear and Phil B!
Arrive early, as the line to get in will be long, and stay late for the after-alley classic, Disco Daddy!
Full details on the Facebook page for this event.
ROMP T-Dance: Dirty Discotheque at 1015 Folsom, produced by Brian Kent Productions and Paradigm, benefitting Folsom Street and Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation, with DJ Russ Rich
The official closing party of Up Your Alley. Past year’s themes have been Alice in Wonderland (video on Instagram), Animal Farm, and 007/spy movie. This year the theme is Dirty Discotehque.
Step into a glitter-drenched fever dream, a place where disco didn’t die, it just ditched the rules, picked up a harness, and stayed out way past curfew. It’s a throwback to a more carefree kind of freedom, where the lights (and standards) are low, the music is thumping, and for a few hours, we’ve all collectively agreed not to ask questions.
Somewhere in the room, there’s a mirror ball spinning like it has secrets. Somewhere else, someone is making “excellent” decisions they won’t remember tomorrow. And everywhere, there’s everything with everyone all at once.
Lose yourself and surrender to DJ Russ Rich as he fuels the unbridled revelry with his unique mix of driving vocal and tech house.
Dress code: Leather. Fur. Latex. Rubber. Fetish.
At the helm of a seven-hour set, resident DJ/Producer Russ Rich has brewed up his unique blend of psychedelic black tea with notes of vocal house, leather, peak-time anthems, rubber, and harder, driving rhythms. Lights and Lasers by the city’s best: RAGERLAZER. Visuals by VJ Blanket.
Russ Rich on Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, and his amazing mix from REAL BAD 32 (that explosive opener in part one and then carrying us until the night with part two).
Full details on the Facebook page for the event and tickets available on EventBrite.
SOMA at Halcyon, produced by Ky Martinez Events, with DJs Mohammad and J. Warren
And take a quick nap after the fair and head over to Ky’s SOMA event at Halcyon.
We were there the first time Mohammad ever spun a set, years ago at Powerhouse. We were so excited to hear his sound. Dark, rough, and aggressive. He’s broadened his sound since to do prime time and tea dances. We heard him at IML Chicago this year at Brut, and his past pedigree as a gogo boy is why he knows what will make your ass move. And that’s the sound he’s going to bring to Nocturnal.
Atlanta-based J. Warren we’ve seen him grow from humble beginnings on the dance floors of Boston, expanding across the country (we were the first two on the dance floor when he had his SF premiere), and now around the world. He’s known for high-energy, big-room, circuit, and EDM-driven sets that come out of the gate swinging and don’t let up.
DJ Mohammad on SoundCloud and Instagram.
J. Warren on Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Threads.
Full details and tickets at kymartinezevents.com.
HorseMarket Unbridled + Fornication produced by the Stable Wrangler and Ray Dalton with Rob Montana, Cooper Ray, and Zac Snow
The gang at HorseMarket is teaming up with the Fornication folks in a premiere crossover edition at Dore Alley to create a wild, drug-free event: part porn show, part HorseMarket, all debauchery.
Full details at https://horsemarket.net/home/tickets/
Cumunion at Transform1060
The sluts will be back at it on Sunday from the afternoon to midnight.
Monday, July 27th
Recovery at Lookout
Everyone goes to the bar, Lookout, and keeps drinking through the end of Monday night before reality comes back.
Some advice:
Dore on a Budget
Travel, tickets, transportation, refreshments, enhancements… this kind of weekend ain’t cheap. But, if you’re trying to keep spending to a minimum:
Echo the old-school Castro clone look of our forefathers with tight jeans, a t-shirt (probably no-shirt), and boots. GQ recently published a history of the Castro clone look.
If you feel you have to have some sort of leather on ya, grab an armband from Mr. S or one of the other stores.
Hang out at the bars in Castro and SOMA (historically known as “the Valley of the Dolls” and “the Valley of the Kings,” respectively). They’ll be packed with lots of other guys that are more into the cocktails & cruising dynamic. Most bars will have a modest cover charge.
Most of the bars are walkable from transit. If it’s super late you don’t want to be walking around too much in the dark. Keep your phone in your pocket, headphones off, and keep your wits about you. It’s San Francisco, but it’s still a big city with crazy people.
If you really have barely any money at all, you must use it to go to the fair. If ten bucks is all you have, give it to the fair and charity that is the centerpiece for the weekend.
Volunteer for events. Another way to keep costs down is to volunteer for events. For the first few years we were here, Ron and I were greeters and ticket-takers at lots of parties and that was fun because you literally meet everyone their way in and you get to put wristbands on hot guys and once your shift is over you can go dance.
Quick Run Down of FAQs
Jump to the end of my Folsom guide for the extended set of FAQs)
In short:
Vaccine #1: Monkeypox is still rummaging around. The gays stopped it once; we can stop it again.
Vaccine #2: Get COVID vaccinated and boosted. Get the bi-valent booster if you haven’t yet.
Vaccine #3: Get a meningitis vaccine while you’re at it. Your local CVS, Walgreens, etc. should have it available or your primary care physician.
Vaccine #4: Get the HPV vaccine, too , if you’re the right age (it’s expanded) and have coverage. HPV can lead to forms of anal cancer. Having lesions burned off the inside of your asshole is not fun.
Vaccine #5: Get the hepatitis vaccines as well.
Get a prescription for DoxyPEP if you can. It’s basically antibiotics you take after sex. Take it and give some to your tricks after you’re done cuddling. It’s keeping STI infection rates super low right now. How it works.
Get STI testing 2 weeks beforehand so you have enough time to get your results and complete a round of antibiotics if needed. Get on PrEP, of course, if you’re negative; make sure you have enough meds in your luggage if you are. And every gay man – hell, everyone – should know that undetectable is untransmittable. If you are an intermittent whore, know about the PrEP 2-1-1 “on demand” protocol (poster).
Be gracious to security (many of them are also gay and giving up their weekend to take care of your messy friends). Always say good night and thank you as you leave.
Thank the EMTs for taking care of our trashy brethren.
Coat/clothes check is usually a bitch. Lines are long. Plan accordingly. We usually plan hoe-optional ensembles that are not dependent on checking shorts – and we don’t bring jackets.
Never mix G and alcohol, or G and other depressants. Know your mLs. Just one milliliter too much– 1/5 of a teaspoon! – can be the difference between being persuadable and having a nice evening versus your knees buckling and your friends pissed they have to take you home (or so pissed they hand you off to the EMT). When in doubt, wait an hour or stop altogether. If you forget if you already put it in that drink, throw the drink out, start again. Don’t leave drinks unattended. If you have a friend who falls out all the time and thinks it’s cute, hand his ass off to the EMTs and talk about it next week.
If everyone around you looks like you, go somewhere else. It’s not just a bunch of hairy white guys only interested in fucking their mirror image.
Don’t spend a party or the fair looking for acquaintances or waiting for that one guy that you saw on the apps or that dickhead you know from Instagram. You are where you are. Be there.
Don’t grab piercings without asking first. Most of us have one that’s angier than the others at any given time.
Know your hanky/armband code. Left side, top. Right side, bottom. Both sides, vers. Color chart (history). But remember, sometimes yellow is just a sartorial choice.
Fuck your fan clacking and don’t bring parasols to parties (it fucks up event photos).
You have the right to have a fucking great time no matter how you look or how you feel about how you look. You don’t have to look a certain way to enjoy the weekend. Don’t wait until you “lose the weight” or “do a cycle” or whatever other barrier to entry you’re setting for yourself.
Get tickets early. In SF, we buy first tier tickets early. Months early. If you have tickets you’re not using, announce they are for sale on the respective event or producer’s Facebook page. If you’re looking for tickets, same thing. If you pay at the door, you’ll pay out the ass. Watch out for scalpers online.
If you are sober, be sure you know which Whatever Anonymous meetups are happening at all times so you can stay on the straight and narrow while being bent over.
The week beforehand, make sure you have all your tickets. If they are in your email, use the pin/star feature to make sure they bubble up to the top or take screencaps of all your QR codes. UPDATE: OMG I did again. We were in line for Big Muscle at Dore weekend last year, and they found that I bought two tickets for the Folsom party but could only find one ticket for the Dore one. I made a mistake. Again. Ron was silent as we moved into the line to buy a ticket. Luckily, they had tickets available, and it moved fast. Would have been a quiet walk home.
And Daddy Aaron’s rule: No in-town trade when out-of-town trade is in. If you’re local, don’t make this the weekend you make it happen with that local guy you’ve been over-staring at the gym. Focus on the fresh, transient meat.
There’s not a lot of cabs. You’ll use Lyft and Uber a lot.
SF is colder than you think during the day it will be, but you probably can leave jackets at home at night since you’ll be surrounded by hot men radiating heat.
And of course – Folsom’s rule applies to Dore:
See you on the dance floor, gentlemen…
…and ladies, and everyone else in between. It’s incredibly rewarding to have guys from all over the world say hi and let me know they read my guide or shared it with friends. So, if you see us on the dance floor, say hello. Look for the complimentary Polynesian sleeve tattoos on the sexy Filipino muscle dad with the huge smile dancing with abandon and probably waving (but never clacking) a majestic fan (my husband Ron) and the semi-serious/RBF’d inked bearded white muscle daddy wolf trying to keep up with him (me).
Thanks for reading – please share!
Andy (with editing/etc. from Ron)
p.s. You can follow my writing on Facebook and Threads, and enjoy cat photos (Astro passed, we got 3 new kittens), thirst pics, Ron’s Stepford streak, aggressive shirtlessness, and fear of aging on my Instagram (andymaticgram), but actually Ron posts better photos on his Instagram (ronamatic) and his account for his pandemic macaron obsession (macarons_by_ron). My site is jacked, so you can’t read past guides right now but you can read about that time I turned 40 (I still owe you the one about turning 50) or when we got married, on the Little Gay Guide podcast, or on the Daddy Issues podcast talking about roids and racism, why gay Trump supporters are such terrible people, and being pretty vs smart.
p.p.s. Typos are my gift to you. If your eagle eye catches one, DM me on Ig or Fb.
I recommend adding the Deviant Adult Arcade to Sunday. It’s confirmed it’s returning. Just bought my ticket!
I went to Dore Alley for the first time this year. A friend cancelled so I was rolling solo (had never even been to SF before!). And this guide was a lifesaver. Ended up having a blast and will be at Folsom for the first time in September (and yes, I am perusing that guide as we speak lol) Thank you for doing the Lord's work.