On abstaining from algorithm games, "bad" art, and inspiring pivots
in conversation with Sam Bail, founder of Bright Nights Social
Sam Bail, self-proclaimed “sober party girl,” founded Bright Nights Social, which began as “Third Place Bar,” in 2022, a pop-up series aimed to create more inclusive spaces where alcohol is not the main attraction. Since her start, she has organized over a hundred events, including mixers, dance parties, dinners, trivia nights and alcohol-free mixology classes. She writes a weekly Substack, Bright Nights Social, where she highlights the best sober-friendly happenings in NYC, check it out here.
✍️ On abstaining from algorithm games
With respect to Bright Nights Social, I’m really excited about focusing more on my Substack. I feel really limited by the constraints of short-form video on social media and all the things you have to consider to appease the algorithm. I use social media and my writing to communicate the things that I find important for others to know (upcoming events, recommendations for spaces or communities in NYC, some great NA drinks I find, thoughts on how to have fun while being sober...) and I don’t want to play algorithm games just for someone to see it.
On the personal side, I’ve started reconnecting with some of my creative work. A couple of years ago I worked on visuals for my musician friend’s live show, using random footage we’d collected, and it was one of the most fun and satisfying things I’d ever done. It’s been super satisfying returning to, I’ve been learning some more techniques like live video feedback and just playing around with video snippets and music and making weird art, for the sake of making art.
☕️ On the 9th St Community Center
I love 9th Street Espresso (the one on 9th and C, not the one on 10th and B, which is a misnomer). I call it 9th Street Community Center, it’s just full of the same regulars every day. The barista with the beanie who hates me. The guy with the cargo pants and the doberman. My buddy Billy, a comedian, who I bump into there sometimes reading antique books. The dude who takes photos of people’s t-shirts and talks about his Alphabet City documentary. Someone needs to make a reality TV show about that place.
🖼️ On “bad” art
I’ve actually been enjoying watching the backlash to AI and the return to kinda low-fi handmade art, like poorly drawn MS Paint flyers, handmade collages, stop motion animation. Maybe I’m a total luddite, but I come from a DIY scene background with hand-made zines and stencils and drying silkscreens in the bath tub, and it makes me happy to see people make intentionally “bad” art to signal that it’s made by humans.
🎶 On inspiring pivots
B.A. Miale, a visual artist from Upstate New York, has been a huge inspiration for me from a creative perspective. I love her colorful video visuals, and seeing them in the actual space where they’re projected makes me more excited to work on my art so I can hopefully one day take it beyond the screen and into a physical space again.
I always love seeing what my buddy Noah Villeneuve is up to. I met him through our work in the non-alc industry, but he’s recently returned to making music and recorded a beautiful album, along with several incredible music videos. I find him pivoting back into making music so inspiring.
🌳 On sober respites
I’d love to work with a non-alc drinks brand to curate a sober space at a festival, a laid-back space with comfy seats, low key music programming, and non-alcoholic drinks that give people some respite from the intense and often substance-heavy festival environment.
I want just more money in the non-alc industry that would allow us to make bigger, bolder, and more visible moves, at the level of what alcohol brands are able to do. There’s probably only a handful of brands in the space that could even foot the bill for the festival collaboration I’m dreaming of, and most of them don’t make products that I actually like. It’s tragic.
🍷 On getting in your vegetables
I’m a big fan of JONI, a Brooklyn-based women-owned brand. It’s a non-alcoholic wine alternative based on verjus that pairs super well with food. The “rouge” reminds me of a sparkling rosé but heavy on the cardamon and rosemary, while the blanc is super herbal - my friend calls it the “celery drink”.
Follow Sam on Instagram & check out her Substack here.
🗯️ Comment below whose thoughts we should feature next!