Lollapalooza is one of the busiest weekends of live music in Chicago. Along with the four-day festival, there are also plenty of aftershows to choose from at venues across the city. One of these venues is Outset, a new event space from Auris Presents, the collective behind Radius, Concord, and ARC Music Festival.
Outset Chicago was announced months ago to much anticipation. The first several weeks of shows were delayed for unknown reasons. Scheduled events like a performance by Nadya of Pussy Riot were moved to Smoke & Mirrors, another Auris venue, just a couple of days before the show.
Outset finally opened a week before Lollapalooza, allowing the four scheduled festival aftershows to go on as planned. We caught Leisure and FifteenOEight at Outset on Friday night, and both the venue and the artists created a satisfying end to day two of Lolla 2024.
Hailing from the Berklee College of Music, FifteenOEight is an alternative pop/electronic music group currently based in Boston. With genre-bending music characterized by creative drum patterns, etheral vocals, and deep bass lines, they made an impressive statement in front of the Outset crowd. The duo also opened up the Bacardi Stage at Lollapalooza earlier that day.
LEISURE headlined Outset this night, and the five-piece collective from New Zealand put on a true performance. Striking an upbeat yet mysterious indie & synth-pop vibe, it’s no surprise that LEISURE drew a packed house for their show at Outset. The chemistry among this supergroup was apparent throughout their set. LEISURE made just a few appearances in the US this summer, playing at Outside Lands the week after Lolla as well as a handful of shows from coast to coast.
Auris Presents is usually known for their electronic music events, but Outset focuses on electronic beats as well as an independent and alternative music lineup. The venue has a full slate of ARC Music Festival afterparties over Labor Day Weekend. Future headlining performances come from artists like Dopapod, Dorian Electra, Hoodie Allen, Thievery Corporation, Oliver Tree, Duff McKagan, Sango, Shallou, and Artemas.
The setup of the venue is unique. Upon entering a lowkey courtyard on the building’s exterior, you are greeted with an outdoor seating section and several bars. An artist merch stand and outdoor decor line the walls of the courtyard.
On the interior of the building, the ground floor features an extended bar in the back of the crowd before the general admission pit area. In addition to the first floor, there is also a balcony area with staircases on both sides of the stage. Reminiscent of a venue like Chop Shop, arriving early and getting a spot on the first row of the balcony makes for a prime viewing location.
Overall, Outset is definitely above average, and it was worth the wait. The audio and visual production was great, and the fan experience offers more than just a standard concert hall or theater. The interior is set up comfortably, and the outdoor area is a nice change of pace. There are easily accessible bathrooms both inside and outside, as well as a variety of bars to choose from. Staff was friendly and helpful, and there were no issues with the crowd. Outset is clearly the product of significant planning and effort to create an event space that is a league of its own.
Outset is another positive addition to the state-of-the-art music scene in the city of Chicago. With a diverse array of headlining performances and a bright future ahead, we’d recommend catching a show at this refreshing music venue.
Author: @michael__premier
Photos: @marz26 and Outset Chicago
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