UPDATE: On Wednesday, Davenport’s Piano Bar and Cabaret launched a press release on its Instagram and Fb accounts confirming the cancellation of all upcoming exhibits “attributable to challenges associated to low profitability.” The assertion singled out cabaret exhibits, particularly, stating that ticket and beverage gross sales weren’t sufficient to maintain the enterprise. It additionally referenced “a downward development within the piano bar,” citing complaints from patrons needing to listen to greater than “classical piano music.”
“We imagine that by altering our programming we can give Wicker Park what they’ve been asking us for,” administration wrote. “We’re waiting for new alternatives and thrilling plans for the long run at Davenport’s.”
As of Wednesday, the venue rebranded as “Davenport’s ULTRA Lounge on Instagram” and introduced plans to supply bottle service and dwell DJs.
The next story was revealed on Tuesday:
Scheduling modifications at Davenport’s Piano Bar and Cabaret have native performers involved about its future as a dwell music venue.
A longtime cabaret establishment, the Wicker Park institution has canceled all of its upcoming cabaret performances. Along with artists confirming the cancellations, the venue’s web site additionally options notices of cancellation for some exhibits and lacking ticket hyperlinks on its occasion web page.
Chicago singer Lexa Maxa’s Might 14 present was a part of Chicago Cabaret Week, a 10-day, city-wide competition produced by Chicago Cabaret Professionals and different organizations. When inquiring in regards to the cancellation, a Chicago Cabaret Professionals board member was advised by Davenport’s administration that the venue was canceling all dwell music occasions.
Davenport’s didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark from the Solar-Instances.
This shift in programming follows an possession change on the institution, which opened in 1998. In 2023, house owners Donna Kirchman and Sue Berry offered it to an entrepreneur, whom former staff have identifed as Houda Tahbaz. Tahbaz couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
Amid hypothesis that Davenport’s is rebranding as a nightclub, the cabaret group is mourning the lack of one in all its most beloved venues.
“We’re all scrambling,” mentioned Anne Burnell, managing director of Chicago Cabaret Week, who’s actively on the lookout for a alternative venue for Maxa’s present.
“It’s an enormous loss for the cabaret group. Hopefully there can be different venues that may step up and have this type of intimate music as a result of we don’t actually need it to be gone from Chicago. Davenport’s helped us put cabaret on the map.”
Maxa mentioned she solely discovered yesterday that her present had been canceled.
“I wasn’t given a selected cause,” mentioned Maxa, who additionally shared that ticket-holders have acquired refunds. “There’s numerous onerous work that goes into placing on these exhibits. So, cancellations are actually upsetting. However I’m a part of the bigger cabaret group in Chicago, so we form of simply work collectively to assist one another out. From what I’m seeing on Fb and [from] speaking to different artists, some folks paid deposits, in order that they’re unsure in the event that they’re going to get them again.”
Different artists beforehand scheduled at Davenport’s have posted about their live performance cancellations on Fb.
“Bought an electronic mail yesterday telling me that they [Davenport’s] are altering route,” singer Karen Mason wrote on Friday.
“Chicago fam, my Might exhibits there are canceled,” singer Levi Kreis wrote on Monday. “Davenports is closing. They assured us that they are going to be refunding all tickets. I’m gutted.” (Nobody that the Solar-Instances spoke to indicated that Davenport’s is closing, and Kreis didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.)
A Sinatra tribute artist who performs beneath the identify Gary Thomas mentioned he seen modifications at Davenport’s, which has a entrance room and a again room, at his present in March.
“I may form of see the writing on the wall,” he mentioned. “Often there’s some form of synchronicity between the entrance bar and the again bar when it comes to the form of music that’s being performed and the group. However after I confirmed up, there was very loud modern music being performed by audio system within the entrance bar and a youthful, rowdier crowd hanging out in there. I used to be considering, ‘This isn’t the environment at Davenport’s that I’m used to.’”
Davenport’s present house owners had talked about the opportunity of turning the venue right into a nightclub, based on a former worker who requested to stay nameless, citing considerations about authorized retaliation.
“That was the risk whereas I used to be there,” the previous worker mentioned. “I used to be at all times continuously having to show that the group of cabaret and the group of dwell music musicians in Chicago had been invested within the bar.”
Davenport’s has since transformed its inside, and former worker Nikki Krzebiot mentioned she heard speak of further modifications throughout her tenure.
“None of it actually pointed in direction of them not desirous to do dwell music anymore, however there was speak of them wanting to remain open a lot later, like till 2 or 3 a.m.,” mentioned Krzebiot, who labored as a server, host, and advertising and expertise supervisor. “It didn’t appear to be that they had an understanding of what sort of house we had been attempting to create and domesticate.”
Krzebiot was one in all a number of folks let go because the new administration crew arrived.
She mentioned she wasn’t given a cause for her dismissal in August 2024.
“As a venue, they’ve burned numerous bridges, so I don’t essentially know that there’s actually any coming again for them,” Krzebiot mentioned. “I’d like to see town as a complete embrace cabaret somewhat extra. And we’ve misplaced so many venues during the last 10 years or so. It will be actually nice if a few the locations within the metropolis needed to select up the mantle of scheduling extra dwell efficiency, particularly for smaller acts like Davenport’s used to.
“It’s unhealthy to have misplaced the house, however the factor that made that house what it was, was the group and the relationships.”
