Indie/Alternative Shows in Chicago

For current health & safety information, please visit www.auditoriumtheatre.org

* * Prices below INCLUDE ticket fees, no other fees added. * *

For current health & safety information, please visit www.auditoriumtheatre.org

There is a delivery delay on all orders until approximately one week prior to the show. This show will be taking place in our outside Fairgrounds space.

One of the lynchpins of Chicagos flourishing songwriter scene is Steve Dawson, a songwriter and vocalist who elevates everything he touches. - WBEZ Chicago An evocative, brilliant songwriter who imbues his songs and recordings with folk, country, and a smattering of soul he should, by all rights, be a household name. - Popmatters Steve Dawson will look back over 35 years of songs and music making, including songs from his first Chicago band, Stump The Host, through Dolly Varden, Funeral Bonsai Wedding and up to his more recent critically acclaimed solo albums, Ghosts, and At The Bottom of a Canyon in the Branches of a Tree. Over the course of 6 albums with Dolly Varden, 4 solo albums, and 2 albums with the jazz / folk combo, Funeral Bonsai Wedding, Dawson has delved into all corners of American music and dug deep into the mysteries and wonders of life, mortality, love and memory. Dawson will be joined by a few guest musicians for this evenings show. Originally from San Diego, California, he spent his teen years in Hailey, Idaho, where he learned guitar and started writing songs. After a few years at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Dawson moved to Chicago and formed the band, Stump the Host, with his future wife, artist and singer, Diane Christiansen. Later he formed, recorded and toured with Dolly Varden and Funeral Bonsai Wedding. More recently he has created critically acclaimed solo albums for the Pravda record label. Dawson also teaches songwriting at the legendary Old Town School of Folk Music and co-wrote a book on songwriting and the creative process with Mark Caro called, Take It To The Bridge: Unlocking The Great Songs Inside You. In 2020 Dawson was awarded the Esteemed Artist Award from the City of Chicago.

Unabashedly poppy and shimmery, Biitchseat was formed in Cleveland in 2017 by best friends and guitar players Talor Smith (she/they) and Kristin Schmit (she/her). The pop sensibility and sparkle in their music is only matched by their live performances, which are always energetic and, at times, captivating and vulnerable. - Empty Heaven is a project that asks you to get lost in it. Between the cavalcade of releases from the year 2025 (6 albums), the performances that are never the same twice, and a very broad emotional bandwidth, it's Anthony's internal world made manifest. Sometimes, it's the 6-piece band version of Empty Heaven creating a dizzying sonic atmosphere, or it's Anthony solo at the piano doing an interactive, freewheeling show. Either way, EH puts on a show to be remembered and mulled over. - Whenever generations look back on the downward trends and jostled psyches of the post-lockdown 2020s, they might do so while revisiting a cavernous, inactive shopping mall. Once titans of monoculture, then obliterated by two-day timelines, these ransacked husks are reminders of the shuttering divide between commerce, community, and the grey areas that rest between those two nebulous, often opposing ideas. Like all of us stuck indoors ruminating on every data point beamed into our brains, Cleveland songwriter Molly O'Malley alternated between honing another batch of hooky, textured arrangements and finding eurekas in those liminal betweens.

The Burney Sisters are a powerhouse sibling duo redefining indie-folk with their soulful harmonies, heartfelt lyrics, and magnetic stage presence. Originally from the Midwest, sisters Emma and Bella Burney create music that blends folk, indie, and Americana into a sound that feels both timeless and fresh. Drawing inspiration from iconic artists like Paul Simon and Lake Street Dive, as well as contemporary trailblazers like Lizzy McAlpine, Madison Cunningham, Phoebe Bridgers, and First Aid Kit The Burney Sisters bridge generations with a style that is uniquely their own. Emma's multi-instrumental talents---on piano, violin, guitar, and cello---pair seamlessly with Bella's commanding basslines, showcasing a maturity and versatility far beyond their years. Their music explores themes of love, resilience, and self-discovery with a raw honesty that resonates deeply with fans of all ages. For the past eight years, The Burney Sisters have traveled extensively, performing across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. Their journey has not only shaped their sound but also fueled their passion for connecting through music.

Tuesday, October 13 Holywatr – Deo Gratias Tour * mercury $25 Adv. / $30 Day of / $105 VIP / All Ages / Doors: 6PM / Show: 7PM VIP Ticket Includes: One General Admission Ticket Early Merch & Venue accessProcession Laminate (signed) Exclusive Indulgence (multiple merch items)Acoustic Performance Q&A with band Photo Holywatr is a unique, gritty blend of alternative metal, emo, and metalcore, forging a new path that transcends genres and leaves audiences begging for more. Fresh off tours with Architects, Chiodos, Warped Tour, and a sold out headline run, Holywatr has continued to stoke the fire on social media earning them millions of streams and a die-hard fanbase of over half a million monthly listeners. Armed with crushing riffs and soaring melodies, and their most recent full length project Deo Gratias , Holywatr has cemented their place as one of heavy music’s most promising new acts.

Cobra Lounge presents... Victor Jones w/ special guests TBA. $26 ADV // $29 DOS - All Ticket prices inclusive of taxes and fees. What you see is what you pay, no surprises later.

Ive always wanted to make work thats a reflection of my life experience, says singer-guitarist James Petralli, leader of venturous L.A.-based rockers White Denim. The just-below-the-surface significance to 13 as an album title is that I was born on the thirteenth of August. 13 in numerology can signify independence, creativity, and a solid foundation, but inversely is often considered to be unlucky and can signify chaos and misfortune. Like everyone, I can certainly see both sides in my life.13 also happens to be the thirteenth album of White Denims career. An incandescent, groove-heavy alchemy of rock, funk, dub, soul and down-dirty blues and plenty more besides its imbued with the same questing spirit thats been the bands trademark since first starting in Austin, Texas, some 20 years ago.Petrallis wide-ranging musical appetites have become more voracious over time. The sounds and textures of 13 are informed by everyone from Scritti Politti to The Gap Band, Terry Reid to King Tubby, Caetano Veloso to John Cale, Stevie Wonder to 80s-era Steve Winwood. Such diversity is reflected in multi-faceted gems like (God Created) Lock And Key, Only A Fool and Thats Rap.The seed of the project is rooted in the irresistible Chew Nails. Its a straightforward glam-rock tune, says Petralli. My take on the New York Groove, which is itself a take on the Bo Diddley beat. It has a big ol guitar riff and a singalong chorus. Its familiar territory for me, yet the vocal is perhaps more forward than most things Ive done for the band. Its the song that made me feel like I was definitely making a White Denim album.The duality of 13 is immediately apparent. The pungent funk-blues of opener (God Created) Lock And Key begins with a piece of waggish self-mythology On the thirteenth day God created White Denim but soon goes somewhere darker. This is a Beefheart / Sun Ra sort of thing, Petralli explains. I hope that its a somewhat terrifying, startling, and visceral piece for everyone that hears it. Everything I say in that song is the truth. Its about power, generational cycles of abuse, shame, violence, and survival. The things that we all understand and know and see and push down to get through the day.

Tickets starting at $29.50 + fees

Tickets starting at $29.50 + fees

21+ 8pm Doors

Skye Peterson is a singer-songwriter from Nashville, TN who loves Jesus and daffodils. As much as she likes answers, her music is a journal entry full of questions, stories, and doubts. Even as she wrestles and wonders, she feels an urge to sing about spring in December, light on darker days, and love during lonely weeks. She released her first album Where The Winter Was in 2023 after studying theology in England and Kentucky. Thomas Austin is a theo-folk singer and writer who really doesn't like writing about himself in the third person, but here he is, doing it anyway. He has released two EPs, Indiana and Evergreen, and one full-length album, Eternal Life, which you can find anywhere music is streamed, sold, or held ransom. He also writes stories and essays which he sends to his email list.

Riot Fest presents... Dear Maryanne Kiss The Scientist MooseCreek Park $26 ADV // $33 DOS - All Ticket prices inclusive of taxes and fees. What you see is what you pay, no surprises later.

Portland, OR-based singer-songwriter Laura Veirs has forged a career singing personal songs of romantic intoxication, everyday vignettes, and social commentary that are often heavy on introspection and intense character scrutiny. She is fascinated with the intersection of poetry and science and explores this in her lyrics.While Found Light is technically the 12th studio LP from the esteemed Portland, OR-based artist, it also, in many ways, feels like her debut: Found Light is her very first record with co-production credits (alongside Shahzad Ismaily), and finds Veirs embracing a self-sovereignty and artistic independence shed never known previously.If 2020s My Echo was Veirs divorce album, Found Light is about what comes after.

Kweelag is 3-piece fuzzed out Dark Souls rock. T. Maguire is a five-piece post-hardcore band from Chicago, IL FFO: Title Fight, At the Drive-In, La Dispute, and Slint. Laikaa is a 4-piece band heavily influenced by the late 80s - early 90s alternative underground music scene. Taking inspiration from artists such as Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive. Laikaa brings the energy by performing with atmospheric sounds, grungy guitars, ratty vocals, kick ass drums, and Josh busting some moves throughout the set.

Doors: 8PM / Show: 9PM / 21+Its hard to pin down Faux Real. The Franco-American art pop duo, comprised of brothers Elliott and Virgile Arndt, have been steadily broadening the scope of their project. Their high-octane DIY performances, involving matching costumes, synchronised dance routines, and crowd-splitting high-kicks, are taking on a more established and ever more unhinged form think Iggy Pop meets Eurodance boyband. Toeing the line between undeniable pop potential and an off-kilter flair lies at the core of everything they do. The contradictions between order and chaos, between the visceral and the artificial thats where Faux Real truly shines. That said, no one really knows what is real and what is faux, and thats the magic of it all.

Friday, October 16 Medium Build: The King of Having Fun on Tour with Bella White $31 Adv. / $36 Day of / $106 VIP / All Ages / Doors: 7pm / Show: 8pm Medium Build is partnering with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold goes to REVERB and their work creating a more sustainable music industry and empowering fans to take action on environmental and social issues. VIP Ticket Includes : One General Admission Ticket Pre-show soundcheck experienceSolo acoustic performance (2–3 songs)Q&A sessionExclusive merch item Commemorative laminate Early entry Crowd-free merch shopping Medium Build’ s Nick Carpenter never planned for a career as a singer-songwriter to take him to great heights. But when it did — an ascent made possible on the merits of his razor-sharp and fearlessly reflective tunes, electrifying performances, and acerbic, hilarious wit — he certainly wasn’t prepared to end up so close to the edge. Now, on the heels of his breakthrough 2024 album Country , years of relentless touring under increasingly brighter lights and bigger stages, and recovery from the subsequent fallout that often follows fame, comes King of Having Fun , Medium Build’s most cohesive, extroverted, and joyful record yet. An album made not in an isolated bedroom like much of his past work but live in a studio with his closest friends and collaborators, it is fueled by a fresh rock-and-roll energy paired with the artist’s familiar lo-fi-meets-indie-and country sound yet still driven by the biting lyrical insight and potent self-examination that has endeared Carpenter to throngs of fans worldwide. Sure to bring Medium Build to a whole new level of stardom through its sheer sonic power and songwriting prowess, King of Having Fun is the sound of a fractured soul picking up the pieces out of the darkness of rock-bottom and rediscovering real love — for others, for joy, and for oneself.

21+ // 8pm doors

Artist GA Presale: Tuesday, June 16 @ 10:00 AM General On Sale: Thursday, June 18 @ 10:00 AM In an effort to mitigate scalping, Bottom Lounge does not certify any secondary ticket sales via third parties and is not responsible for fraudulent ticket sales on third party websites. Please be mindful of scammers. Tickets for this event will be sent on a delay (extra time is required to process and confirm all orders), but you'll always receive your tickets in time for your event. If you have not received your tickets one day before your event, be sure to let TicketWeb know.

Formed out of deep love for Todd, we bring together a band of well-known Chicago musicians- Ernie Hendrickson, Gerald Dowd, Adam Gardner, and Brian Wilkie, plus Dave Zollo from Iowa, who played with Todd himself in The Nervous Wrecks and later projects, to celebrate the songs and legacy of the legendary troubadour on what would have been his 60th birthday weekend. We will be digging deep into Todd's extensive catalog, from every era to bring you a heartfelt night of music from our gonzo stoner folk hero, gone way too soon. Let's do this once more, just like old times, for Todd.

Come celebrate the release of Emily Bjorke's multi-genre debut album 'Are You Going To Heaven Or Hell' on its release day at Color Club in Chicago.

Hollow Bastion is the musical project of Illinois native Teagan Brey, AKA Twooba, that began as a solo venture but has since developed into a full band featuring Michael Whalen on drums and Ruben Steiner on various instruments. Harlow is a Minneapolis-based folk rock band formed in 2021. Their debut album, 'Cows Come Home', is a breezy collection that takes you where you need to go, or at least somewhere nearby. Taking on several iterations since forming, the group has settled into their most realized sound so far with their upcoming album 'Dumb Luck'. The third single 'Live Without It' is available now. The band consists of Samuel Ketcham, Desmond Lawrence, Henry Patterson, Julia Kneen, and Jonah Hatten. Toadvine! Variegated rumblings from the garage - scrappy, slippery, flecks of psychedelia. Bit of alt-country, bit of British Invasion. New album out in late 2026.