Live Music entertainment in Chicago
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Beat Kitchen
Everything you need to know is in the name – entertaining beats traverse a spectrum of sounds, and the kitchen turns out better-than-average dinners. Dine early in the front of the house, since service is unhurried. Music in the homely back room can be funky or jammy, but a crop of Chicago’s smart, broadly appealing songwriters dominates the calendar.
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Empty Bottle
The scruffy, go-to club for edgy indie rock and jazz; Monday's show is always free (and there's $1.50 Pabst).
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New Checkerboard Lounge
When the original location of this Bronzeville blues room closed in 2003, enthusiasts mourned – until it reopened in this bigger, better-sounding space in Hyde Park. Although it’s in a strip mall, the new location is more inviting for university kids, who often join locals for electric blues (Friday and Saturday) and jazz (Sunday and Monday). There’s a two-drink minimum in addition to the cover charge (usually $5 to $10).
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Schubas
Something of an alt-country legend, Schubas presents a host of twangy acoustic artists, plus indie rock acts on their way up (like My Morning Jacket and the Shins in their early days). Bands play nightly in the cozy back-room club, which is noted for its great sound, thanks to the all-wood construction. A friendly, boisterous bar pours microbrews in the front room.
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New Apartment Lounge
The only night to come to this storefront venue on the far South Side is Tuesday, when octogenarian saxophonist Von Freeman leads his long-running, roof-raising jam to rousing calls from the ultracasual, deep-listening audience. The session starts at 10:30pm, but if you want to get into the tiny room, come early. Brave audience members can sit in with the legend.
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Whistler
Hometown indie bands and DJs rock this arty bar most nights. There’s never a cover charge, but you’d be a weenie if you didn’t order at least one of the swanky cocktails to keep the scene going. Whistler hosts the very fun ‘movieoke’ the first Monday of the month (like karaoke, only you act along with the movie scenes playing on the screen behind you).
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Back Room
This venerated Gold Coast jazz room is so cozy that there isn’t a bad view in the house, even when you take in the stage via a long mirror. If the small main floor gets too tight, head up the spiral staircase and take things in from above. Bop purists be warned: the tunes here can get more than a little smooth. There’s a two-drink minimum.
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Velvet Lounge
Tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson (one of the founding members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) owned the Velvet and played here regularly until he passed away in 2010 at age 81. Visiting jazz musicians often hang out here late at night. The place rocks especially hard during the Sunday night jam sessions.
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Lincoln Hall
Owned by the same folks as Schubas, clean-cut Lincoln Hall is larger but with the same acoustically perfect sound. Hyped national indie bands are the main players, but when they’re not on, DJs and free movie nights take over. The front room has a kitchen that offers small plates, sandwiches and coffee from noon onward.
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Reggies Rock Club
Bring on the punk and the all-ages shows. Graffitied Reggies books mostly touring hardcore bands at the Rock Club. Next door, Reggies Music Joint is for folks 21 and older, and hosts more mainstream (we use that term loosely) live music nightly, as well as trips to see the White Sox, the Bears and other sports teams.
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Davenport’s Piano Bar & Cabaret
Old standards get new interpretations and new songs are heard for the first time at this swanky place on a rather lonely stretch of Milwaukee Ave. The front room is a fun, inclusive (read: sing-along) place, with the back reserved for more fancy-pants cabaret events (where singing along will get you thrown out).
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Phyllis’ Musical Inn
One of the all-time great dives, this former Polish polka bar features scrappy up-and-coming bands nightly. It’s hit or miss for quality, but you’ve got to applaud them for taking a chance. If you don’t like the sound you can always slip outside to the bar’s basketball court for relief. Cheap brewskis, to boot.
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Katerina’s
The swish Southern European finish and soulful pan-ethnic gypsy jazz and blues make Katerina’s a stylish, soulful destination in the less-traveled North Center neighborhood, just west of Lake View. A sophisticated set of 30- and 40-somethings down martinis, dig the good tunes and hang here all night.
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Metro
The Metro is legendary for loud rock. Local bands on the verge of stardom and national names looking for an 'intimate' venue turn up the volume.
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Double Door
Alternative rock that is just under the radar finds a home a this former liquor store.
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Abbey Pub
The Abbey is two places in one: a club where on-the-verge local and well-known national rock bands play; and a Guinness-pouring Irish pub where guitar and fiddle jam sessions have been known to erupt. The venue is a haul far from the city center, on the northwest side.
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Underground Wonder Bar
This live-music venue run by musician Lonie Walker features little-known jazz- and bluesmen, along with the occasional rock or reggae player. The club is tiny, and Lonie herself takes the stage for her sultry show several nights a week.
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Logan Square Auditorium
Logan Square’s legions of gentrifying scene-makers need some place to catch grimy, DIY, underground rock, and this spacious former ballroom answers the call. The gigs here, like the neighborhood, are a work-in-progress.
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Blue Chicago on Clark
The talent lives up to the club’s name at this branch of a mainstream blues club, Blue Chicago. If you’re staying in the neighborhood and don’t feel like hitting the road, you won’t go wrong here.
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Rosa’s Lounge
Rosa’s is an unadorned, real-deal blues club that brings in top local talent and dedicated fans to a somewhat dodgy Logan Square block. The location is isolated from easy public transportation, so be sure to take a cab.
reviewed
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Zebra Lounge
The piano in the tiny, dark and mirrored room can get as scratchy as the voices of the crowd, which consists mainly of older folks who like to sing along. The ivory strokers here are veterans who know their stuff.
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Carol’s Pub
The closest thing Chicago has to a honky-tonk, Carol’s Pub offers (at times ironic) boot-stompin’, Bud-drinkin’ good times to patrons, who come out on weekends to dance like crazy to the house country band.
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Blue Chicago
If you’re staying in the neighborhood and don’t feel like hitting the road, you won’t go wrong at this mainstream blues club. Commanding local acts like Big Time Sarah wither the mics nightly.
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Pressure Billiards & Cafe
Heard the one about the hapless tourist who got heckled off the stage? It’s likely to happen here, where heckling is part of the laughs at Chicago’s lewdest comedy open mic.
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Howl at the Moon
The Guns ’n’ Roses covers, dirt-cheap happy hour specials and flirty singles scene here could make nearly anyone into a piano bar convert. Billy Joel? Sorry, how about AC/DC?
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