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On Thursday night in the West Village of Manhattan, the soulful British balladeer Sam Smith hosted a private party at Julius\u2019<\/a>, which is known as the oldest gay bar in New York. Friends and fans sweltered inside the tavern, sipping vodka tonics as they waited for a late-night performance by Smith and a rumored special guest, Alicia Keys<\/a>.<\/p>\n Smith, who uses they\/them pronouns, chatted with fans by the worn wooden bar. Standing about 6-foot-7 in Vivienne Westwood platform boots, paired with a tartan kilt <\/em>and a big belt, the Grammy-winning singer<\/a> towered above those who asked for selfies.<\/p>\n The gathering commemorated the 10th anniversary of Smith\u2019s debut album, \u201cIn the Lonely Hour,\u201d which included<\/a> the slow-burning anthems \u201cStay with Me\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Not the Only One.\u201d Little menus along the bar advertised cocktails named after Smith songs like \u201cGood Thing\u201d (a cosmo) and \u201cLife Support\u201d (a margarita). And they noted Julius\u2019 relevance as a historic<\/a> site, detailing the events of the 1966 Sip-In, an act of civil disobedience that predated the Stonewall uprising by several years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n With Pride celebrations in full force throughout the West Village, Smith had chosen Julius<\/a>\u2019 precisely because of its connection to the Sip-In<\/a>, when members of the Mattachine Society, an early gay rights group, visited Julius\u2019 to challenge bars that would not serve gay customers. When the activists were refused service after intentionally revealing that they were \u201chomosexuals,\u201d the incident made news, <\/em>attracting the attention of the Commission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhy did I pick Julius\u2019?\u201d Smith said, leaning down to a reporter. \u201cBecause I\u2019ve never felt more safe in any other bar in the world than here.\u201d<\/p>\n As servers in Julius\u2019 T-shirts pushed through the crowd offering trays of burgers, the drag artist Lady Bunny played a DJ set. Helen Buford, the owner<\/a> of Julius\u2019, remarked on the responsibilities of running a historic gay bar.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need all the attention we can get, because historic gay bars in New York need to survive,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether that bar is Henrietta Hudson or the Cubbyhole<\/a> or even Stonewall. What Sam is doing here tonight really helps us. This also is our busiest time of the year. Pride is our Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A few patrons reflected on Smith\u2019s artistic evolution over the last decade, from a British import who was initially packaged as a crooning<\/a> alternative to Adele to a bona fide pop star who gyrated to \u201cUnholy\u201d onstage<\/a> at the Grammys wearing shiny red boots and a top hat with devil horns.<\/p>\n The influencer Dylan Mulvaney fondly remembered the release of \u201cIn the Lonely Hour.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI used to dance to all the songs on that album when it came out,\u201d she said. \u201cAs someone who also embarked on their own gender journey, it has been great to watch Sam evolve ever since as an artist, and they\u2019ve been an inspiration to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Brendan Byrnes, an actor and director, married<\/a> his husband at Julius\u2019 in 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel Sam was pigeonholed at first by what the record industry thought they should be,\u201d Mr. Byrnes said. \u201cBut 10 years later, Sam knows exactly who they are. Sam is now a queer icon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy husband and I were just talking with Sam by the bar, and I told them how we got married<\/a> here,\u201d he added. \u201cWe love that Sam loves Julius\u2019 as much as we do. It\u2019s not on the map as much as Stonewall is, but that\u2019s also what makes it wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Andrew Tess, a nightlife photographer, recalled the album\u2019s hold on him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it came out, Sam was exploring<\/a> queer moments of love in those songs, but in a subtle way,\u201d Mr. Tess said. \u201cBut the world has changed in 10 years, and the way we communicate queer love has also changed. I think Sam is a proponent of why that happened. It\u2019s beautiful to see how they keep evolving, just like Bob Dylan or Madonna.\u201d<\/p>\n As midnight approached, a black S.U.V. appeared outside of Julius\u2019. Ms. Keys stepped out and entered the bar to join Smith on a tiny stage for \u201cI\u2019m Not the Only One.\u201d The sweaty audience included Prabal Gurung, Kim Petras<\/a> and Smith\u2019s partner, the designer Christian Cowan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As Smith sang, with Ms. Keys providing piano accompaniment, the crowd chanted the familiar chorus.<\/p>\n You say I\u2019m crazy<\/em><\/p>\n \u2019Cause you don\u2019t think I know what you\u2019ve done<\/em><\/p>\n But when you call me baby<\/em><\/p>\n I know I\u2019m not the only one.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n