Thirsty Ears, Chicago’s only classical music street festival is back with an all-new lineup and a new format!
We’re thrilled to present an exciting combination of musical audio walking tour and in-person outdoor concert. Discover Ravenswood and Lincoln Square as you’ve never seen or heard them before!
The live performances were all held the weekend of October 9th, but you can still enjoy the innovative Thirsty Ears Walking Tour!
Explore ten sites in Ravenswood and Lincoln Square chosen for their historical and cultural significance. At each site you’ll hear about its history and then hear a short piece composed especially for the site.
To enjoy the tour, please fill out the information below:
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Audio Tour
Sites Include:
Deagan Building
– a former musical instrument manufacturing company that developed and produced instruments from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.Music by: Roydon Tse
Krauss Music Studio
– a National Historic landmark building, the Krauss Music Studio is an adaptive re-use of a 1922 vintage structure and the final work of famed architect Louis Sullivan, considered one of the greatest architects of the Chicago School of Architecture.
Music by: David Keller
All Saints Church
Chicago’s oldest wood-frame church was built just one year before the city annexed the Ravenswood community.
Music by Trevor Patrick Watkin
Carl Sandburg House
This wood-frame house is the only Chicago home for the noted Chicago poet and journalist Carl Sandburg, who occupied a second-floor apartment in the building from 1912 to 1915. It was here that he lived when writing his ground-breaking poem “Chicago.”
Music by Sarah Wald
Curt Teich & Company Postcard Factory
Curt Teich & Company Postcard Factory was founded in 1898 on Irving Park Road and Ravenswood in Chicago, Illinois. At the peak of production, the company could print several million postcards in a single day. Curt Teich & Company operated from 1898 to 1978.
Music by Seth Boustead
Giddings Plaza
Lincoln Avenue — and its well-known Giddings Plaza — has been a popular destination for Chicagoans for over three decades, proof that some planning success stories take years to mature before showing their true value.
Music by Jonathan Hannau
Welles Park
Did you know that one of the most famous organizations in professional sports and entertainment, the Harlem Globetrotters, was a Chicago-born institution? Founded by a short, Jewish man from the North Side, Abe Saperstein, and a group of African-American athletes from the South Side, the Globetrotters were based in Chicago for 50 years, from 1926 through 1976.
Music by Amy Wurtz
Davis Theater
Built in 1918, the theater has operated in different capacities in its history, showing silent films, German-language films, and various forms of stage performance. It is one of the few operating neighborhood movie theaters in Chicago. Its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Music by Victoria Malawey
Lillstreet Art Center
Since 1975, Lillstreet Art Center has been a community of artists and students working side-by-side. From the beginning, our intent has been to offer an alternative space to create, connect, and find community.
Music by Brandon Harrington
ACM School of Music
For thirteen years Access Contemporary Music has taught musical creativity to students of all ages on Wilson Ave. in Ravenswood. This is also normally the site of the Thirsty Ears Festival, Chicago’s only classical music street festival.- Music by: ACM Students