Rosa's Lounge

Wow, this venue is amazing! So much smaller than other Chi blues places that I've been, but far better. I was seated right up front and they have a blasting sound system.

Melvin Taylor has been on my list for some time and I was blown away by his live performance. Amazing guitar play and I liked that he mixed up his own tunes along with some great covers. Wish I could have lasted til 3am!

What an awesome place!  We love blues, and have been to quite a few places in the city. Rosa's is relaxed, comfortable, and unpretentious.  The place was packed for a random Thurs nt -- and even the audience of locals was entertaining.  I had some prbs booking tkts on the website; when i called, Tony was so amazing - he just took my Groupon info and booked them for me over the phone -- super helpful and friendly. The bartender (Angel?) was great and drinks were well made.  Our Groupon deal included some drinks, but I love that there wasn't any "2-drink minimum."  There was a story-telling segment just before the main show that we only got to see the very end of -- love that they are showcasing new talent, and definitely wish we had come earlier.  The actual band came on abt 10:15 or so (listed as 9:30pm), so ended up being a very late night...and a late this morning :)

We will definitely be returning...likely on a Friday or Saturday

We came up from Indy specifically for the night of fantastic Blues featuring Billy Branch, Guy Davis, Corey Harris and Sugar Blues.  It was great!
The Show:
Billy shared some great stories and a little of his unlimited history of his blues journey.  Guy Davis was really good and his snappy personality brought the party to life.  I love his voice.  Corey Harris gave a great acoustic performance w/a strong voice singing what I would call the 'old' bues style.   (-not an expert, just my opinion)  I really like his song Station Blues. Then last but definitely not least, Sugar Blues did some accoustic and his band joined to fire up the house with electricity!  What a great harp player Sugar is, Rico- plays fantastic guitar effortlessly, Pooky Styx-my hubster has seen before & knew he'd be all over those drums, and Sugar's bass player (his wife) was right on and brought a perky personality to the stage. (not to mention, she brought a pretty good size baby about to come into this world)  What a beautiful name 'Llaria'.  Good show!
The Club:
This is a small club with limited seating, so it was up close and personal.  I called ahead from Indy w/a few questions since the 4day Windy City & these tickets were a birthday present for hubster.  Tony was very helpful.  He also helped us when we arrived there after the doors were open and all the good seats were taken.  The hubster was disappointed, but Tony knew about his B-day and moved a couple chairs up front for us!  -Thanks Tony, it was a great night.
Other Stuff:
--next time I think we'll drive our car there from the hotel, it was a little difficult getting a cab back to the hotel.  One review mentioned stiff drinks, but we didn't think so.  This place is definitely casual & unpretentious so don't be scared of the black plywood entry.
All in all, we'll be back!