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Chicago · Venue

Subterranean

A compact Wicker Park club where touring bills share space with long-running local dance and hip-hop traditions.

Upcoming shows
80
Capacity
375
Address
2011 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647
Next show
Tue, 29 Sept 2026
Official siteDirections
Subterranean in Chicago

About Subterranean

Subterranean is a 375-capacity music venue in Chicago’s Wicker Park, built for close-range shows across rock, indie, hip-hop, reggae, electronic music, drag, and dance nights. Its main room carries an unusual piece of the building’s past: an original Tiffany-glass-and-brass chandelier hangs above the dance floor, framed by vintage woodwork and a wrap-around balcony. The result is a club room with architectural character and a clear view of the crowd’s movement below.

A former banquet hall becomes a club room

The building dates to 1889, when it served as a speakeasy and brothel; it then operated as a Polish banquet hall for five decades before opening as the present bar and music venue in 1995. Owner Robert Gomez later shifted the first-floor restaurant and upstairs hybrid space fully toward live music and DJs, giving both rooms a performance-led purpose. That programming grew around recurring local events as well as touring artists.

Reggae Gold has run Thursday nights since 2004, making the room a dependable weekly stop for reggae and dancehall crowds. Subterranean also hosts the 606 Open Mic, described by the venue as the nation’s longest-running hip-hop open mic; Gomez told Glide that Chicago MCs including Vic Mensa and Chance developed their craft there. Those repeat events explain the club’s range better than a long list of passing headliners: the calendar is built around scenes that return.

The room today

Subterranean’s booking mixes touring acts with protected residency slots, including reggae, emo and pop-punk sing-alongs, cumbia and post-punk parties, French house and disco, plus industrial, EBM, and hard-techno nights. A booking inbox and two listed talent buyers provide a direct route for artist and promoter inquiries. In the main room, the 30-by-14-foot stage faces a dance floor overlooked by the balcony; two private bars serve the space, and the venue lists a full band sound system with monitors and digital front-of-house console. DJs bring their own turntables.

Sources

  1. Venue History — Subterranean Live
  2. Private Parties — Subterranean Live
  3. Chicago’s Subterranean Keeps It Loud In 130 Year Old Room — Glide Magazine
  4. Residencies at Subterranean — Subterranean Live
  5. Venue Specs — Subterranean Live
  6. Contact — Subterranean Live

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