Night Clubs in Champaign, IL

Chicago is Illinois' largest city and largest music scene. (Photo: Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images )

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The state of Illinois, also known as the Land of Lincoln, has a long, narrow shape and a long history of live music. Whether you live in Illinois or are traveling through, nightclubs in Chicago and throughout the state regularly schedule live performances by local and touring musicians. Age restrictions apply for entry to some nightclubs.

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in Illinois and has a wide variety of live music clubs. The House of Blues (houseofblues.com) is perhaps Chicago's most famous live-music venue, hosting bands and artists in a variety of popular music styles. On the north side of Chicago, near Wrigley Field, the Metro club (metrochicago.com) features rock and alternative artists at the breakthrough phases of their careers. The Metro is a converted theater, with a high stage and great sight-lines from the audience area.

Springfield

Springfield is the state capital of Illinois, and is located in the central part of the state. The skyscraper Hilton hotel in central Springfield books regular live music in two venues - the club at the top of the hotel hosts original local bands playing blues, funk, rap and rock, and the club in the bottom of the building hosts both national and local acts with an emphasis on roots and rockabilly styles. Other Springfield nightclubs booking live local music include the Trading Post Norb Andy's (norbandys.net) and Marly's Pub

Champaign-Urbana

The twin cities of Urbana and Champaign are home to the University of Illinois campus in the center of the state. Downtown Champaign has a compact but thriving music scene, with several nightclubs hosting live music most days of the week. The Highdive (thehighdive.com) is the largest live-music venue in Champaign, hosting local and touring bands and DJ nights on many weekends. The smaller club Cowboy Monkey (cowboy-monkey.com), also in downtown Champaign, hosts live music most nights of the week, and also has a kitchen. On the UIUC campus, the Canopy Club (canopyclub.com) has been open since 1998 and hosts live music in a converted movie theater with one large and one small room.

Bloomington-Normal

The twin cities of Bloomington and Normal have a combined population of some 110, 000 people, including the student populations of Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University. Coconut Louie's (coconutlouies.com) hosts regular live bands in downtown Bloomington.