What Makes Partying in Chicago So Special?

Axel Fredstorp
2025-09-03T14:19:30+02:00

In the Windy City, there’s no following trends or waiting around. Community and DIY attitudes make this place one of one.

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From the warehouse raves of the South Side to the rooftop sessions overlooking Lake Michigan, Chicago has been writing the playbook on how to get down since house music first pulsed through the speakers of the Warehouse in the early '80s.

But what makes partying in the Windy City so legendary isn't just its history; it's the people who keep that legacy alive every weekend.

We asked three voices from Chicago's underground to share their love letters to their city. Here’s why they believe no place parties better.

Believe karennoid: the party is anywhere, everywhere, wherever you are!

Hailing from Gage Park, karennoid is a Mexican-American DJ, artist, published poet, and producer active across Chicago’s underground. From warehouse raves to major festivals, her sets blend reggaeton, Latin Club, and futuristic sound design with narrative and digital sentimentality. Remezcla, NTS Radio, Apple Music, Muakk, South Side Weekly, Northwestern Magazine have all platformed her work, and just this year, she performed at Sueños Festival and Chicago’s first Red Bull Batalla.

Rooted in her perspective as a Chicana from Chicago’s Southside, kkarennoid is infatuated with the city’s rhythms. No matter where you turn, music engulfs you. The best part? The majority of the Windy City’s soundscape is strum, spun, and sung by DIY champions. Here’s what Chicago means to her.

They say “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” In Chicago, we do it well, and always with the help of our friends.

For me, it started with musical inheritance. I honor it through movement, storytelling, and transmutation. It’s always been a part of me—a gift and a need.

It moved through Theater, 7th-grade juke trains, teenage mosh pits, and earnest Anemoia. It is lyrics, lines, melodies, and rhyme. It is joy and nostalgia, a crowded room, or just two staring eyes. Lately it’s been underground raves, experimental DJ booths— loops, effects, earaches, heartaches, BPM—all DIY.

I wrote in my song “BEYAKEA” that the party is “donde sea.” It’s anywhere, everywhere, wherever you are! The 52 bus, the Orange Line to the Loop, on a stoop watching the sunset, waiting in line, in the bathroom mirror, on a city scooter, in a bedroom, backyard, blizzard, or passenger side. Here you’re never alone, even if you feel like it most times.

In Chicago, music touches every corner and bungalow. No matter the avenue, the bass will boom and people will meet or merge, like the lights that rise and fall in this city.

In Chicago, its people are the stars. We are the nightlife. We’re the party, and you’re the best party you’ve ever been to.

Original Poem Inspired by Chicago - Untitled, 2020

Unpublished by Karen Valencia (karennoid)

I feel a cool breeze,
I can smell the earth.
A new season sits, it simmers
Just underneath the tongue,
Of my sneaks.
It loops through the laces,
Through concrete, grime
And chain fences,
It reminds us, it blesses.
While we press and we rumble,
When we cry and we grumble–
The city thaws,
But shall never crumble.

For DJ IGGY, being met with open ears and minds in his hometown is what makes Chicago’s scene special

DJ IGGY is a Mexican-American DJ and event curator from Chicago, known for his high-energy sets. His genre-blending style has taken him to stages from Paris Fashion Week and Coachella to clubs in London, Mexico City, and NYC delivering dynamic sets that move crowds worldwide.

For our local tastemaker and seamless selector, being an active member in the local scene is what makes Chicago special. He’s been able to give back to the people around him, provide a space to expand taste and perspectives, and play music for his community. Check out his perspective on his hometown.

Some of my favorite memories partying in Chicago come from Global Currency, a quarterly party I co-founded with DJ Mochi. We started it as a Twitch stream in 2020 during lockdown, just trying to stay connected and share music we love. Since then, it’s grown into something way bigger than we imagined.

Global Currency is about celebrating international club music and creating a space where people can hear sounds from across the globe. Every party feels like a journey. I get to dig deep, play tracks you don’t always hear in Chicago clubs, and people show up open and ready for it. Over the years, we’ve built a community around that, a safe space where people can dance and discover something new.

I’ve also had the honor of curating lineups with DJs I admire, which still feels surreal. At the end of the day, Chicago raised me, and I’m just grateful to give back to the city in this way through music and culture.

In the eyes of Wheel Up, spontaneity, diversity, and heritage are what make Chicago special

Racing through the streets and pulling mad stunts is exactly what Wheel Up do. This street bike crew wheelie their way through the Windy City, spreading contagious energy in true daredevil style. You could say this squad are cycling’s equivalent of ravers, cutting shapes on two wheels.

When you’ve covered as much ground as they have, taking everything in from a streetside perspective, you’re gonna get to know the place around you pretty well. Soaking in all those sights and sounds, check out why they think partying in Chicago is one of one.

Partying in Chicago is something you have to experience to believe. One night might start in Fulton Market or the West Loop, and before you know it, you’re at Soho House, sipping cocktails next to Chance the Rapper.

The city thrives on spontaneity-every night holds infinite possibilities. The energy is raw, inclusive, and electric. It’s not about where you go-it’s about who you meet and how the night unfolds.

What makes Chicago unforgettable is its cultural fusion, expressed through music that fills every space. From hidden speakeasies to underground EDM raves, even DJs spinning from the back of a Jeep cruising through downtown, the city pulses with creativity and connection.

Chicago isn’t just a party town-it’s the birthplace of house music, and that legacy still lives in every beat. Afrobeat, hip-hop, Latin rhythms, and techno blend seamlessly, creating a soundscape as diverse as the people dancing to it.

So, must I say more—or are you already on your way?