Best Live Music Venues

Chicago’s a musical town. Big bands, little bands, nobody-yet bands, they all want to play in Chicago. Outdoor concerts in Millennium Park and summer festivals bring several hundred-thousand music fans.

Photo courtesy of official website.

Howl at the Moon, River North

Good fun with dueling pianos. Beach bucket slushies look straight out of Disney Land. Find a pen and bit of paper if you want to throw a request in the queue.

Congress Theater, Wicker Park/Bucktown

Buddy Guy’s Legends, South Loop

Green Mill, Uptown

The jazz place. Not to get up and dance, but to witness Ron Burgundy’s rendition of Aqualung.

Schubas Tavern, Lakeview

House of Blues, Downtown, Central, Smack-dab on the river

Photo courtesy of flickr/DoubleDoor.

Empty Bottle and Double Door are everything the small-venue, alternative rock fan could hope for. They sit at one end of Wicker Park’s basement joints showcasing novice acts. The Dive bar type.

Metro, Wrigleyville

The Hideout, Noble Square

Jay Pritzker Pavilion, The Loop

Millennium Park’s outdoor amphitheater hosting summer’s biggest concerts.

Alhambra Palace, West Loop

Aragon Ballroom, Uptown

The Vic, Lakeview

Bad movies on the weekend at Brew and View. Concert hall when the right bands hit town (Black Keys, Jackson Browne). A vintage five-story mansion doubles as a theater. Locals flock to the Vic, even if it makes a better haunted house than charming antique.