Acclaimed composer and multi-instrumentalist Dameun Strange is set to present a series of afrofuturist experiments at Elastic Arts. This performance, supported by Sonic Vanguard, serves as a cornerstone of his AACM composition residency.

Join us as The Middle presents an evening of unique musical duos. Each explores diverse eras and styles of music, featuring works by Jazzmeia Horn, J.S. Bach, Shai Maestro, Benjamin Britten, Momo Hasselbring, Alvin Santner, and the world premiere of a new piece by Kes Yager. 

We’re excited to present a special Sunday night Improvised Music Series event with two sets from the trio of Bonnie Han Jones, Jeff Arnal, and Ken Vandermark!

Shake Shook Shaken is a theater/movement workshop series produced by Julie Meckler. The series is designed for people to gently bring body awareness, allowing participants to open up, explore outside of their comfort zone, bond with each other, create and show. By playing with these concepts using our bodies, voices, words, and each other, we will explore our own awareness and sensitivity as artists and people. 

Join us for an evening of Bass Dreams + BYSH!

Join Sixty Inches From Center here at Elastic Arts to hear the latest from poets and creative writers recently published by Sixty Lit, including Vera Blossom, e’mon lauren, Diego Báez, Temperance Aghamohammadi, and Riley Yaxley.

Write That Down! is having another Show & Tell at Elastic Arts in Avondale/Logan Square!
WTD!’s Show & Tell series is possible through our partnership with Chicago’s Guild Literary Complex.

Two trios bringing together generations of Chicago mainstays of jazz, noise, and alt-rock and pop (it wouldn’t be Elastic if it wasn’t alt-!)

Join us for this month’s Pleiades Series! Chicago-based sonic clown and performance artist SAY MAYFIRE opens the evening with Educational Television, a remote-controlled audiovisual performance built from live sound and video manipulation, absurdity, and experimental process. Montreal-based trumpeter and interdisciplinary artist Émilie Fortin follows with a solo set drawing from improvisation, physical theater, and contemporary music practices. Following the performances, SAY and Émilie will co-lead an open workshop/jam exploring sound, clowning, movement, and guided experimentation.

Marcy and AP of the Dovewhether podcast are having a live show! They have hosted Dovewhether, a gay socialist podcast about media and art, for 2.5 years. Last time they tried to host a live show someone almost [REDACTED] one of the co-hosts. After surviving a near-death experience, bottom surgery and coming out as gay on the podcast, they’re ready to put on a show if it’s the last thing they do! The theme of the night will be John Waters' Female Trouble. A queer staple, a rainbow paperclip, gay tape.

Join us as 113 Composer’s Collective presents new work for violinist Maya Bennardo.

Juliann Wang presents music and dance, bringing her own unique brand of modern practice while paying homage to her roots. The evening will feature her group “My Little Realities”, an experimental sound and alt-jazz collaborative. Bridging traditional motifs, poetry, and improvisation across multiple genres. Working with a collection of Chicago’s engaged innovators (Ben Zucker, Graham Nelson, Evan Kopek, John Rozman), they create inspiring moments of shared dialogue and expression, both composed and spontaneous. She will also be presenting a dance piece for this event."

Our May Elastro features visiting audio/visual artist Jason Zeh, a new duo Ancient Futures that includes Scott Rubin and QūJié, and HUMACHINE UNLEARN67NG.

Hedra Rowan and Nick Meryhew’s Tallulah Bankheist performs improvisations on one EWI. Tommy Carroll leads an new ensemble.

Join us for the release show for Casts new album Desire Path.

Please join us for the 8th Annual Elastic Arts Benefit! We need your support to remain a sustainable space for creative music, art, and performance. The event will highlight all of the wonderful human creativity that makes Elastic Arts so special.

The 2026 Elastic Achievement Award will be presented to the legendary Chicago artist Renee C. Baker who is a conceptualist and recontextualist working across sound art, visual art, film, and duration. 

We have a special show tonight featuring Corey Smith’s new work Essay on Resonance with an opening set from Lia Kohl and Nick Meryhew’s Heavy Tiny project!

Welcome Mehrnam Rastegari for her Chicago debut with a Persian Music Salon at Elastic Arts on May 12th!

Presented by People of Rhythm and BIYA BIYA, this culturally rooted evening features a traditional set of Iranian music. Steeped in the sweet vibes of an intimate salon, the night also centers local musicians, poetry, and a mini arts market.

Join us for an evening of bass clarinet music hosted by Tommy Shermulis, the bass clarinetist, clarinetist, and saxophonist currently based in Chicago, Illinois.

The May CLEAT Series welcomes nnirror in from Detroit, Michigan for a solo presentation, a brass ensemble from Elastic mainstay Ben Zucker, and a solo performance from Crystina Windham!

Julian Kirshner assembles a first-time outing alongside saxophonist Nick Anaya and bassist Christopher Dammann.

The Zerang/Shead/Harris/Walter ensemble brings together four singular percussionists—Michael Zerang, Adam Shead, Bill Harris, and Weasel Walter—who collectively represent nearly forty years of evolution within Chicago’s experimental music ecosystem.

8:30 pm: Anaya/Dammann/Kirshner
9:30 pm: Zerang/Shead/Harris/Walter Percussion Quartet

$15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available at the Door

We’re happy to host Okapi Duo in from Asheville North Carolina, with solo sets from Emily Beisel and Nolan Chin to round out the evening.

Please join us for a reading with Imad Al Suliman: a Berlin-based human rights advocate and writer whose work bridges literature and political testimony through the themes of exile, memory, displacement, and belonging.

Join us for an incredibly special night of sounds! The trio of Yea Big, Jon Byler Dann, and Nakatani (winds, double bass, and percussion respectively) first performed together a couple years back when YB booked the Nakatani Gong Orchestra (which YB and Dann both performed in) and arranged with Nakatani for the trio to open the concert.

AfriClassical Futures is proud to present Theresa May and her moniker Dizygotic Energy. For this event we’ll be presenting the series with our friends at The.BlkRoom

Join us at Elastic Arts to celebrate this monumental occasion in Chicago culture: both the first retrospective collection of Dr. Smith's work, as well as the first album of his work made widely available outside the City of Chicago. Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts releases April 3, 2026 on Chicago's Sooper Records. The double vinyl / triple CD collection is the definitive album of Charles' original recordings—and includes 9000 words of liner notes about his life and work, and 30 archival photographs. Sooper is also making his autobiography widely available for the first time to coincide with the release. 

Join us for a special afternoon activation of our current visual gallery exhibition Too Tender Headed with Kush Thompson!

An evening defined by restlessness and sonic curiosity - excited to feature drummer and sound artist Devin Gray on his solo US tour, followed by a new Chicago trio by Will Greene that will take the momentum to new levels.

Chicago percussionist and composer Tim Daisy has prepared a new set of scores for two percussionists and piano, which he will present every Monday in April as part of the Homeroom Residency series at Elastic Arts.

On April 26 at 7:30pm, the next iteration of The Middle features a new trio—flutist Priya Fink, oboist Will Stevens and bassist JT O’Toole—presenting an eclectic, multi-genre chamber music program. All active classical performers, the trio shares a collective desire to present concert music in a way that feels fresh, inviting, and relevant.