Sketchbook Brewing Co. — Evanston

The Fat Shallot is an all-ages Evanston sandwich shop that hosts live music a couple of times each month, generally on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The room holds about 100 standing or 75 seated and books local acts working in acoustic, blues, classic rock, jazz, R&B, singer-songwriter, and soul. Performers must bring their own PA and microphones. A public booking channel is not confirmed, so artists should establish the appropriate contact route along with available dates, set times, compensation, stage footprint, and load-in expectations before making plans. The limited monthly calendar and restaurant setting favor a compact act with controlled volume. This is a sandwich shop with music, which is a perfectly respectable arrangement so long as the guitar rig does not require its own table.

Andy’s Jazz Club is a River North music room presenting multiple live jazz sets every night alongside a full restaurant and bar. The venue balances serious listening with a polished dining experience, making jazz trios, quartets, vocalists, piano-led groups, blues, soul-jazz, standards, and small horn ensembles especially natural fits. For musicians, the frequent nightly schedule rewards professionalism, tight arrangements, and consistent sound rather than oversized production. The audience is seated close to the performers and generally comes expecting live jazz, so subtle dynamics and musicianship register clearly. A compact ensemble works best, and strong stage communication matters because the room is intimate. Andy’s is a strong Chicago target for experienced jazz players and touring small groups looking for a centrally located room with multiple nightly sets, an established audience, and a professional music-and-dining format.

Arcada Theatre is historic concert theater operated by Onesti Entertainment with a dense schedule of touring rock, pop, tribute, blues and other live performances.. The listed capacity is About 900 seats — 700 main floor + 200 balcony, which gives performers a useful sense of the audience scale. Musically, Rock / pop / blues / tribute / mixed fit naturally with the programming here. For musicians, the theater setting puts more attention on musicianship, pacing, stagecraft, and a complete show. A seated audience also rewards detail and a deliberate presentation. Arcada Theatre is best suited to performers that understand the room, adapt their dynamics to the audience, and approach the date as a specific venue fit rather than a generic booking. Overall, it offers musicians a distinct performance setting where the live show can become a meaningful part of the audience experience. A concise, well-paced set and professional transitions will help the performance feel complete.