Midtown BarFly was a Sacramento music venue and bar located at 1119 21st Street in Midtown, on the site formerly occupied by Club 21.[1] Across the early-to-mid 2010s it served as a hub for a wide range of the city's scenes, hosting reggae nights, electronic dance parties, hardcore/metal shows, and local rock album releases.[1][2][3]
At a glance
- Address: 1119 21st Street, Sacramento (former site of Club 21).[1]
- Described in late 2012 as having a brand-new sound system, professional lighting, and video DJing capabilities.[1]
- Characterized as large enough to be comfortable but not gigantic, with central access from downtown and suburbs.[1]
- Hosted recurring nights spanning reggae, bass music, and dance music, plus one-off rock, hardcore/metal, and festival after-parties.[1][4][5][3][6]
- Contact: phone (916) 341-0277, email midtownbarfly@yahoo.com.[7]
Location and facilities
The venue sat at 1119 21st Street in Sacramento, taking over the space where Club 21 had previously operated.[1] When the reggae night Get Down to the Champion Sound relocated there in December 2012, organizer DJ ESEF described BarFly as having recently installed a brand-new sound system, along with professional lighting and video DJing capabilities that his crew had not had at their prior venue.[1] He characterized the room as comfortably sized—large but not gigantic—with low drink and beer prices and a central location easy to reach from downtown or the suburbs.[1] The venue maintained a Facebook page (facebook.com/MidtownBarFly).[8] According to Sacramento365, the venue's contact email was midtownbarfly@yahoo.com and phone was (916) 341-0277.[7]
Role in the Sacramento scene
Submerge coverage from 2012 through 2015 shows BarFly functioning as a flexible mid-sized venue that accommodated multiple distinct scenes:
- Reggae. Sacramento's longest-running reggae night, Get Down to the Champion Sound, moved to BarFly in December 2012 after an eight-year Friday-night run at Capitol Garage, choosing the larger room so it could keep booking national and international talent while keeping ticket prices low.[1] The first BarFly night was Dec. 14, 2012, with weekly Friday nights resuming Dec. 28, 2012; cover was free before 10 p.m. and $5 after.[1]
- Local rock releases. Local rock act The Three Way held its debut album release show at BarFly on April 12, 2014, with $10 admission including a copy of the album.[2] The bill featured other local acts including Island of Black and White, The Soul Shine Band, and Hans Eberbach.[2] Electronic duo Tel Cairo also celebrated the release of their album Voice of Reason at the venue on April 4, 2013, in a one-off show gathering the album's many local guest vocalists.[8]
- Hardcore/metal. The venue hosted Trigga Productions' "Weirdo Fest" on March 16, 2014, an all-ages show (5 p.m. start) that doubled as the album release for Sacramento hardcore/metal band Havenside, with a stacked lineup including Conducting From the Grave, Lionheart, Hoods, Sworn Vengeance, and With Wolves, plus a BBQ and a burlesque set.[9] Extreme metal band Nails (Southern California) played BarFly on Aug. 22, 2015, an 18-and-over show with Pins of Light and Human Nature.[5]
- Dance and electronic nights. BarFly hosted several recurring electronic/dance events (see below).[4][3][10] It also hosted, on the THIS Midtown circuit, performances such as Casino Gold's July 2015 set referenced by Requiem.[3]
Recurring nights and events
- Get Down to the Champion Sound — Sacramento's longest-running reggae night, led by DJ ESEF with a crew including Juan Love (skater John Cardiel), Selector KDK (Kevin Kinnard), Ras Matthew (Matt Pailes), and Kris Ward of Squarefield Massive; moved to BarFly on Friday nights starting December 2012.[1]
- Fuck Friday — A dance party originally started in 2004 at Townhouse; resurrected by DJs Shaun Slaughter and Adam Jay (with Requiem Events and That Thing on Friday) as a monthly second-Friday night at BarFly beginning Feb. 13, 2015 ($5 cover, doors 10 p.m., 18-and-over).[4]
- Grimey — Daniel Osterhoff's (DJ Whores) contemporary bass music night, which threw its 5-Year Anniversary Party at BarFly on June 5, 2015, with multiple rooms, 15 performers, and 3D-mapped visuals.[5]
- Requiem events — The Requiem event-production crew (Benjamin Leibold and others) held its Two-Year Anniversary Party at BarFly on Aug. 15, 2015, headlined by Plastic Plates (Felix Bloxsom).[3] Requiem also hosted the official TBD Fest after-parties at BarFly across all three festival nights (Sept. 18–20, 2015), with three rooms of sound and DJ sets from TBD artists including K.Flay, Autograf, Louis the Child, Jody Wisternoff, and others.[6]
Successor: Press Club at 1119 21st Street
After Midtown BarFly closed, the 1119 21st Street space was taken over by Press Club, a nightclub that relocated there following COVID.[11][12] Press Club was founded by brothers Kirk and Roger Johnston, who opened it wanting "a place where people could relax, meet friends, listen to music and dance," and it operated for over thirty years.[11] The club's original location was 2030 P St, Sacramento, where it operated under a business license starting July 1, 1992; that license ultimately expired June 30, 2022, after the venue moved down the block into its larger current home at the BarFly address.[11][13]
Kirk Johnston, co-founder and driving force behind the revitalized midtown nightclub since 1992, died on August 20, 2013, after a struggle with lung cancer.[14][11] His brother Roger Johnston continued operating the club.[13]
Current directory listings describe the venue at 1119 21st St as featuring salsa, goth, swing nights, and burlesque nights on a neon-lit dance floor with two bars.[15][12]