New music venue opens down the block from embattled Congress Theater

By Lee Jian Chung
New music venue opens down the block from embattled Congress Theater
Gogol Bordello performs at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins, Colorado. Booking agency Riot Fest moved Gogol Bordello’s performance to the Concord Music Hall from the Congress Theater, which is closed due to numerous building code violations. Wikimedia Commons/Greg Younger
New music venue opens down the block from embattled Congress Theater
Gogol Bordello performs at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins, Colorado. Booking agency Riot Fest moved Gogol Bordello’s performance to the Concord Music Hall from the Congress Theater, which is closed due to numerous building code violations. Wikimedia Commons/Greg Younger

New music venue opens down the block from embattled Congress Theater

By Lee Jian Chung
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A new music venue will open in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood next week, just down the block from the embattled Congress Theater.

The Concord Music Hall will feature music from punk to electronic dance music. Riot Fest, React Presents and Silver Wrapper will book performers there. The promoters say the venue fills a void for a “fun and safe environment.”

“A lot of the fans that we see living in the Logan Square and Wicker Park area have to travel to different parts of the city to go see a lot of the shows they are interested in,” said React Presents publicist Zach Partin.

Partin wouldn’t say whether the closure of the Congress Theater due to building code violations played a role in opening the new venue. Riot Fest had to move a show from the Congress to the Music Hall.

Lee Jian Chung is a WBEZ arts and culture intern. Follow him @jclee89.