The Camel

About this place The Camel

The Camel is not a gay bar in the explicit sense but functions as one of the most important queer-friendly social spaces in Richmond — a music venue and bar on West Broad Street near the VCU campus that has been programmed with enough LGBTQ+ artists and attended by enough of the queer community to make the distinction largely irrelevant. The venue's booking has consistently reflected the interests of Richmond's creative and progressive communities, and the LGBTQ+ programming includes both explicitly queer performers and the broader range of independent and alternative acts that draw a queer-inclusive audience. The physical space — a mid-sized venue with a stage, bar, and the kind of worn-in character that good music venues develop over years of use — is ideal for the format. The West Broad Street location places The Camel in the VCU corridor that is the most creatively active street in Richmond, surrounded by record shops, coffee houses, galleries, and the student energy that keeps the neighbourhood permanently alive.