Hot Gay Summer Is Forever with Our Queer Beach Party Playlist

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If you’ve ever been to Jacob Riis Park in New York — or really, any gay beach — you know that music is a core part of the experience. On the hottest weekends of the summer, when the beach is at its most crowded, you can count on at least half a dozen stereos blaring music, melding into a beautiful cacophony of reggaeton, R&B, disco, top 40, and beyond. But having grown up in southern California, the phrase “beach music” also calls to mind reverb-drenched surf rock, complete with shimmering guitars, jangly hooks and sweet crooning vocals.

So when the brain trust here at Them was tasked with crafting a queer beach party playlist, what resulted was a collection of songs as eclectic as the various genres you might hear blasting at your local gay beach on any given summer weekend. We start off on the poppier side of the beach music spectrum, with “HEAT” by Tove Lo and “Coconuts” by Kim Petras (naturally). Next, tracks from the Aquadolls, Hunx & His Punx, and Girls transport us straight to a sunny boardwalk in California. (I did, in fact, dig up my playlists from high school). Meanwhile, the B-52s, Wham! and Pet Shop Boys take us back to the 1980s on neon roller skates. No matter what your beach music vibe is, you’ll definitely discover a new favorite to play by the ocean.

Check out our 36-song queer beach party playlist below. — James Factora

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