Nestled in Glastonbury’s rebellious Block9 quarter and bathed in a perennial red haze, NYC Downlow is one of the festival’s most treasured fixtures. This year, we sent filmmaker and drag artist Joseph Wilson to get up close and personal with some of the temporary club’s biggest characters.
For the uninitiated, NYC Downlow is a life-size recreation of beloved New York bathhouse-slash-meatpacking warehouse from the 1980s, packed with drag shows, raves and live performances throughout the Glastonbury weekend. In other words, as one attendee in the video puts it: “NYC Downlow is summer camp for queerdos!”
From the Downlow crew’s Glastonbury hacks (olbas inhalers in each nostril when using the portaloos) to how they prep for their performances (“Eat, panic, pray, panic, have a drink, panic”), Wilson walks us through the fabulous long-weekend celebrations.
Watch the video above to experience the chaos for yourself.