Kyle Janis As with so many great independent music venues, our time with Chicago’s Crown Liquors was prematurely cut short. A cornerstone of the North Side DIY community, Crown offered not only an unpretentious place to go in a rapidly changing neighborhood, but offered their space to support the neighbors it served… most notably on Sunday and Tuesday nights when some of Chicago’s best (and at times, worst) Pop Punk, Indie, Punk, and Metal bands took the small corner stage for free, two band bill shows.
With the help of MP Shows, they were able to provide nights where even the brokest among us could go see friends play music, sit on the patio, grab an Old Style, and play a round of shot dice. Hell, if you stayed around long enough you’d probably get a free slice, leftover from Dante’s Pizza next door.
Their doors were always open to help those in need, hosting a wide variety of fundraising and support events for groups like the striking Chicago teachers, food/toys/school supplies drives, mental health advocacy, and emergency expenses for service and music industry employees. One time they even let a local hot sauce company fill a kiddie pool full of nachos to support a local food pantry.
The Crown Liquors staff always made sure that everyone was taken care of, so Soothsayer Hot Sauce and MP Shows wanted to help return the favor with the release of Shot Dice: A Compilation for Crown Liquors. The 26 song mix features a selection of bands who called that corner of Milwaukee & Diversey (and Kimball too if we’re getting technical) home. 100% of donations received will go to the Crown Liquors employee fund. Shot Dice can be streamed below or downloaded via Bandcamp.
To contribute to the Crown Liquors employee fund, please visit their GoFundMe.
To contribute to the MP Shows employee fund, please visit their GoFundMe.
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