Six Months in Chicago: An Austin DJ's First Impressions

It’s been just over six months since I moved to Chicago. I arrived almost fully blind, only having visited the city once before signing a lease in Uptown, so I had little idea what to expect or what kind of music scene I was moving my career to.

Coming from Austin, Texas, I had played just about every room in the city - from superclubs to popups. Chicago, being a much larger city, offered an enormous increase in scope with nearly unlimited corners of the music scene to explore.

Here’s what really stuck out to me in my first six months:

Small Rooms With Huge Personality

In some cities, the best shows are reserved for the biggest venues; it’s understood that you’re going to be dancing in a large crowd to see your favorite artists. Not in Chicago, where the quality clubs seem to come in just about every size possible. I’ve had incredible nights in the 150-capacity Podlasie and the 300-capacity Spybar, venues that offer just as great a time as the start-of-the-art, 4,000-capacity Radius.

It’s worth noting that these smaller rooms pull no punches when it comes to their experience! The sound is top notch, the staff professional, and the bookings incredible.

Not Just A Restaurant / Not Just A Club

Speaking of venues, there are a number of hybrid spaces that have surprised me as really great places to eat, grab a cocktail AND listen to a local DJ. Spaces like the incredible Arbella, Celeste, and Fulton Market Kitchen offer great food, craft cocktails, and live DJs all under the same roof. Watching the evolution of a night at these venues from seated dinner service, to pushing tables out of the way, to a full dancefloor frenzy, is a sight to see.

These venues make the most of their curated spaces, blending hospitality and nightlife seamlessly with neither feeling like an afterthought.

Local Talent & Collaboration

Coming in as an outsider, I was a bit worried that some people would interpret me as encroaching on their turf - a threat to their current gigs and the scene’s stability. Thankfully, reality has proven to be very much the opposite.

Almost everyone I’ve met has been more than willing to stick their neck out for me: recommending me to a promoter for a gig, introducing me to a potential collaborator, or coming out to my first shows in the city. I’ve easily made new friends, collaborated on tracks, and played shows alongside other local DJs.

Professionally Independent Promoters

Chicago has some outstanding independent promoters that not only throw good parties but have also curated incredible communities of diehard fans. The two I’ve gotten to see firsthand are Rituals and House Calls: two very different sounds with their quality in common. House Calls juggles a weekly residency at a suave lounge while throwing ambitious, large-scale shows on a routine basis. Meanwhile, Rituals regularly throws events with an unrelenting attention to detail. Decor, sound, performers, unique venues - nothing is off limits for the Rituals team to bring their vision to life.

For both of these groups, and many others I surely haven’t seen yet, to do what they do without the financial backing of a major promoter or venue is a testament to their love of the music and the dancers that show up at each and every event.

Progressive House Sticks Together

When I arrived in Chicago I didn’t have many friends in the city, but the ones I did have were connected to Chicago’s progressive/deep house communities. In Austin progressive was a niche genre with a few scattered old heads bemoaning how the youth don’t listen to Sasha & Digweed anymore, but in Chicago progressive is alive and thriving. The community regularly throws events with DJs both local, regional and international, and if you go to more than a few parties you’ll start to see a lot of familiar faces. Instead of a feeling of being left behind by trendy music, Chicago Progressive House and other small promoters have taken matters into their own hands and are very much succeeding at keeping their favorite genre alive.

In Conclusion

Overall, Chicago has been nothing but pleasant surprises for me. The friendliness of the community has made integrating myself a treat, and I’m lucky enough to have already graced some of the legendary DJ booths in the city.

There’s a lot going well for Chicago electronic music. It feels like every subgenre, no matter how niche, has a home in the windy city. Venues of all sizes operate to their strengths, and on any given Friday or Saturday there are dozens of amazing dancefloors for patrons to choose from. My first six months here have been spectacular, and I’m excited to continue diving into the one-of-a-kind music scene that Chicago has cultivated.