In houses and apartments across Chicago, the hosts of underground music venues take “doing it yourself” literally. People gather in cramped spaces, where the electricity of raw sound reverberates against walls and moving bodies, creating a harmony of shared excitement. Despite the potential for spilled beers and warped floors, the organizers are eager to connect listeners and musicians of different genres together. 

“Being able to give a platform to people who deserve a space and watching them grow is really exciting,” said Grant Lendvay, a musician and event organizer for a Lincoln Park venue called The Society. “It’s all shared space, and it’s all common interest.”

DIY venues make live music an interactive experience, as the organizers transform their basements and living rooms into spaces for artistic expression. These shows prove that with a little innovation and local talent, the DIY scene can thrive without the commercial industry. 

DIY venues have roots in the 1970s hip-hop and 1980s hardcore punk movements. Shows were held across the country in unconventional places to showcase independent artists, often highlighting alternative music that pushed the mainstream barriers of popularity and conformity.  

Today, interested concertgoers can find shows through social media. They’re often advertised with flyers that embrace the traditional DIY theme, featuring handwritten lineups of musicians pasted over drawings and collaged photographs. The promotions feature common sayings, such as “ask a punk” for the location and “pay what you can.” 

Dan Wright, the bassist of the local rock band Péng, admires that artists in the DIY scene are often creative with the resources they have on hand. At a recent show, he watched as a musician substituted a guitar amplifier with an old rewired television set.

 “That was just the coolest thing to see,” Wright said, describing how the TV also provided a backing track and videos that went along with the song. “So it’s very authentic. But it’s f—ing weird, and I love it for that.”

Lendvay agrees that experiencing music from a seemingly average house makes it even more impactful.

“I love seeing people do peculiar things,” Lendvay said. “It makes heads turn, like my neighbors who like what we’re doing. They hear the music blaring out of our home, and they’re like, ‘Wow, that’s definitely different.’”

That said, not everybody is a fan of these shows. Several spaces have faced issues and sometimes get closed down due to noise complaints, building code violations and general conflicts among hosts and guests. 

Colin Richey, a DePaul junior, founded the local venue Sunflower House in his duplex after attending DIY shows in his sophomore year. Richey said despite minor conflicts, he wanted to keep the space alive by complying with the city’s noise curfew and legal codes, while still hosting energetic events. 

“I think morally in their eyes we’re still illegal, but there’s nothing I could find that would get us popped,” Richey said.

Richey is motivated by the ability to expose people to new sounds and blend the lines between genres. For him, the enjoyment of the experience can make up for the difficulties of running a venue.

“I want to show them things they didn’t know they liked because they just never really experienced it,” Richey said, adding that he also likes to “couple that new understanding and new discovery with a sense of community.”

As concert ticket prices rise and third spaces steadily decline, the DIY scene encourages creativity through music to form diverse communities. Although the scene has changed over time, the goal of creating spaces for the passion of music instead of profit is still alive and well in Chicago.

“It’s just really fun to bring people together and celebrate each other’s art and music,” Lendvay said. “Go to shows. Make the show. If you have a backyard, or if you have a roof, you have a show.”

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