Darkroom Closing At The End Of The Month [UPDATE]

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 21, 2012 8:45PM

Chicago is losing another music venue since it's come to light Ukrainian Village club Darkroom is closing its doors September 1. According to a source of ours, there will be new owners but it's unclear what their plans for the space will be. In our personal experience the club served an important role in helping local bands hone their skills and taking a risk on inviting lesser known touring groups onto their stage. Competition in Chicago is fierce though and the room's size made it difficult to fill considering most major acts that would play a comparable space would get snapped up by other venues. And recent hotspots like the music room at The Burlington and the opening of Township only made the fight for talent even more difficult.

We're going to miss the room, but there are two events happening between now and the final lights out that we believe will help see Darkroom out on a high note. This weekend the longstanding Britpop and 120 Minutes-style college rock night Panic! holds their final party there on Saturday, August 25. And next week on the club's final night, August 31, The Ladies & Gentlemen headline a show while DJs Rudy Tuesday and Josh James get the honor of playing the final tunes the Darkroom sound system will carry.

UPDATE: Well, maybe not the final tunes. We've been told by another source that there will still be music featured and it will be frequently programmed, only not as Darkroom. We'll keep you updated as we learn more.