The Chicago Tribune loves us for our "spectacular acoustics and sight lines." - No seat is farther than 45 feet from the stage, even in the balcony. Considered by many as one of of Chicago’s best listening rooms.
Szold Hall is a flexible space where audiences can get up close and personal with their favorite dancers and troubadours. Szold Hall's capacity is 150 and all concerts are general admission seating.
While we highly encourage and recommend taking public transportation to Old Town School (we are mere steps away from the Western Avenue Brown Line stop and right off the Western Avenue and Lincoln Avenue bus routes), there is also parking in the neighborhood. There is an Old Town School lot (you can pay with a credit card) and a City of Chicago lot on the east side of the street (you need money for that), and metered street parking.
All of your transportation and parking questions are answered here
There is a discount available for Old Town School Members. In addition to special member pricing, members have access to purchase tickets before they are on sale to the general public. Ensure you get your favorite seats and score a discount by becoming a member today.
Our box office, will call, front desk, and class registration are all conveniently located in the same place. Come in our front door off Lincoln Avenue, take an immediate left, then look left (at 4544) or look right (at 4545), and there you are. You can't miss it!
Yes. However, you cannot utilize your gift certificate for online ticket purchases. To redeem your gift certificate for concerts, either stop by our front desk or call 773-728-6000. To purchase gift certificates visit oldtownschool.org/gift
On evenings with events, the box office is open an hour before showtime. Box office will remain open until the intermission of the concert.
The box office is open for in-person purchases during posted business hours, generally 10:00am - 5:00pm. Please call 773-728-6000 or live chat with customer service to check hours for the day of your visit.
The variety of excellent places to dine within walking distance of Old Town School truly boggles the mind. A multitude of fares and cuisines await you to dine either before or after a concert. Indian? Check. Italian? Check. Mexican? Check. Greek? Check. German? Check. Thai? Check. Czech? Check please! OK, so you get the idea.
Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce list of neighborhood restaurants
Can you ever. Maybe you don't have time before the concert to grab a bite. Do not fear. The Old Town School café is open before and during the concert. We serve a variety of cold beers, wine, pop, juice, and coffee (4544 only). We also have delicious snacks and sweets to tide you over. You may bring drinks bought at our café into the concert hall, but please do not place them on the railing if you are sitting in the balcony.
Coming in from out of town and you need a place to lay your weary head after the concert? Check out this list of hotels in the area. Take note of the hotels that offer a special Old Town School discount!
Our venues are accessible to folks with disabilities. We have a ramp at our back door, located at 4527 North Oakley Avenue. The front door of our building at 4545 North Lincoln Avenue is accessible, and there is an elevator to get you to the concert hall on the second floor. If you would like accessible seating for a concert, please call us for tickets and mention your seating needs. We'll be happy to help you. If you require an Assistive Listening Device for a concert you are attending, please send a note to accessibility@oldtownschool.org.
No, the Music Store is not open during weekend evening concerts.
No way! Just your regular old street clothes are fine with us. You wanna wear a top hat and tails? That's cool too, but certainly not required.
Yes. Old Town School shows usually start right on the money, so if you want to see that opening act, be sure to arrive on time!
For most of our shows in Maurer Hall, the seating is assigned. However, it depends on the show. Most adult shows are assigned seating, while most kids shows are not. All shows in Szold Hall are General Admission.
If your ticket says GA or General Admission, then there are not assigned seats. If your ticket has a seat number on it, that's your spot for the night.
Tickets are required for all attendees except where noted. Tickets are required for children ages 6 months and older.
No refunds, no exchanges. Event date and time subject to change. Unauthorized or unlawful resale or attempted resale is grounds for seizure and cancellation without compensation. We are not responsible for tickets purchased from unauthorized sources. Tickets purchased from such sources may be lost, stolen or counterfeit, and if so are void. It is unlawful to reproduce this ticket in any form.
Holder agrees by use of this ticket, not to transmit or aid in transmitting any description, account, picture, or reproduction of the performance, exhibition, or event to which this ticket is issued.
Holder grants permission to the Old Town School of Folk Music and its designees to utilize holder’s image or likeness in connection with any live or recorded transmission or reproduction of such event.
The Old Town School of Folk Music reserves the right, without the refund of any portion of the ticket purchase price, to refuse admission to or eject any person whose conduct is deemed by management to be disorderly, who uses vulgar or abusive language or who fails to comply with these or other management rules.
To ensure our concerts are enjoyable experiences for everyone, we'd like to remind you of a few do's and don'ts.
Ours is a listening room. Please turn cell phones off. Please do not talk or make excessive noise during the performance. Please try to keep your little ones quiet; if necessary, bring them out into the lobby for a time-out.
Our venue is accessible to folks with disabilities. We have a ramp at our back door, located at 4527 N. Oakley Avenue. If you would like accessible seating for a concert, please call us for tickets and mention your seating needs. We'll be happy to help you. If you require an Assistive Listening Device for a concert you are attending, please send a note to accessibility@oldtownschool.org.
We do not allow cameras or recording devices in the concert halls. Ours are smoke-free facility. We do sell beer, wine, and soft drinks at our café, and you're welcome to bring those beverages into the halls but don't set them on the railing upstairs and please take your empties out with you.
We aren't perfect! Sometime we have mix-ups with seating or miscommunicate information about an upcoming event. We will always try to fix our mistakes, and we apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused. Your understanding and cooperation is not only greatly appreciated, it's also one of the reasons the Old Town School is such a unique place. Our customers are the best and we try hard to keep them happy.
Each concert has a specific reschedule and refund policy and procedure related to cancelations or reschedules. Please refer to the email you receive when a show is rescheduled for deadlines and additional specifics.
If you have purchased tickets to a concert that has been rescheduled, your tickets will automatically be transferred to the new date. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled date and would like a refund issued to your credit card, please email us at customerservice@oldtownschool.org. For security purposes, we do not store your credit card information. Refunds, when available, are offered for a limited period of time. Refund deadlines will be included with your reschedule email.
If you have purchased tickets to a concert that has been canceled, your ticket purchase will be refunded automatically as a credit on your Old Town School account to be used for any future purchases at Old Town School. If you would like your refund issued to your credit card, please email us at customerservice@oldtownschool.org. Please note that each show has a unique refund date, deadline, and policy. Please refer to the email you receive about a cancelation.
If you would like to request that we book an artist, please email your suggestion to bookings@oldtownschool.org
If you are an artist interested in submitting materials for consideration, please email a URL to your home page to bookings@oldtownschool.org. We are no longer accepting unsolicited CDs and promotional packages. E-mail is checked daily, and we will contact you within a month or so if we have an opening that makes sense. If you wish to follow-up, e-mail is preferred (no phone calls please).
All concert related media inquiries should be directed to:
Nick Macri, Concert Marketing Manager
nmacri@oldtownschool.org
(email is preferred)
For General inquiries please visit our Press Room or Contact Us.
