Chicago's Music Scene

Greats like Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters made Chicago the place to find great blues music. But that's not all Chicago has to offer. The city is also home to a variety of jazz, popular, classical, and international music, like Irish and African. Many major music acts constantly travel through Chicago. The city is also home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Day and night, Chicago music plays on. There is an endless rotation of bands visiting and living in Chicago. There is an excellent local band scene in the city. It seems that almost every bar in the city will have live music at least one night a week. Many have it on multiple nights. But bars aren't the only place you'll find good music.

There are a number of smaller venues, like theaters and coffee shops that are musically inclined. In the smaller places it's common place to find acoustic or folk type acts. If you visit a strong ethnic neighborhood, like the Little Village, you will most likely discover some wonderfully traditional music. However since Chicago is such a diverse community, many of these styles fuse together into something completely new. This gives the Chicago music scene quite a unique sound.

If you would rather listen to more familiar styles of music, the blues and jazz clubs of Chicago are nothing short of mythical. All the greats have played in the city, as well as quite a few famous faces in the crowd listening to them. Back in the day, these clubs put Chicago on the musical map. The city was virtually unrivaled in this arena. Many of yesterday's hotbeds are still around today and they're still pumping out the rhythms they are so well known for.

The venues below are just some of the places you can find your favorite musicians perform. There are also many bars and nightclubs that feature live music.

Some Musical Interests in Chicago:

Chicago Jazz Festival
World Music Festival
Grant Park Concerts

Major Chicago Venues

Allstate Arena 6920 Mannheim Road Rosemont, IL 60018 312-559-1212	House of Blues 329 N. Dearborn Chicago, IL 60610 312-923-2000
Chicago Opera Theater 2936 North Southport Chicago, IL 60657 312-704-8414	The Lyric Opera 20 North Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 312-332-2244
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Hall-Symphony Center 220 South Michigan Avenue 312-294-3000	First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre 19100 South Ridgeland Avenue Tinley Park, IL 60477 847-614-1616