On Friday, December 13, the ladies of She Rex will bid adieu to the lesbian community as they host the “Last She Rex Ever” event at Chief Ike’s Mambo Room. Known for its welcoming and open atmosphere, the monthly ladies night has served the queer women’s community well and captured a spirit that will certainly be missed.For the past five years, Maegan Wood, Laura Varlas, and Shelly Crush have worked tirelessly together to spearhead this all-inclusive queer music event.
“We did a night before a few years ago called Hot Box at Phase 1. We had a lot of fun and thought, ‘Oh, let’s do something like that again’,” says Wood, promoter and DJ for the She Rex event.
“When we started, there just wasn’t a lot of diversity or queer nights around the city that were representing women,” says Varlas. “There were lots of nights for guys, but if you attended, you were like, one in five women.”
After searching for venues, the trio decided upon Chief Ike’s for its divey and inviting atmosphere.
“I personally like dive bars. There’s an openness to them,” says Wood.
From there, birthed the infamous She Rex ladies night, which has evolved to attract hundreds of queer women from the D.C. community every month.
“Initially we thought we were going to play more rock music, but we quickly found out that was dogmatic. Women want something to dance to,” explains Varlas, who is credited with titling the event.
She Rex comes from a play on the name of a classic rock band, T-Rex. The trio imagined that She Rex would have been an all-girl T-Rex cover band and decided it would better serve as the title of their event.
With no cover at the door and cheap drink specials all night, the women’s community was the sole focal point of She Rex’s undertaking.
“When you talk about proceeds, there aren’t that many, since we don’t charge at the door. But we consider it a community event to an extent that we tried to be as inclusive as possible,” says Woods.
So, why the sudden extinction of She Rex? “We’ve been doing it for five years. We have all been there, every month, for five years, and I think it’s time,” explains Wood.
“We had mixed emotions for sure, but we talked about it, adds Varlas. “Our personal lives are getting busy. From working full-time to thinking about starting our own families, we wanted to step back from this for a second, and see what we want to continue.”
The ladies plan to take some time off, focus on other projects, and come back again with another party, perhaps a little smaller and more intentional, at a different venue. While the event will be missed, it will not be lost forever. The ladies community patiently awaits the return of a party that has for so long, served so many.
Event: The Last She Rex Ever
Location: Chief Ike’s Mambo Room, 1725 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, D.C.
Time: 9:00 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.
Cover: No Cover
