The Salt Shed is an indoor and outdoor music venue/entertainment hub located in

West Town, Chicago West Town, northwest of the Loop on Chicago's West Side, is one of the city's officially designated community areas. Much of this area was historically part of Polish Downtown, along Western Avenue, which was then the city's western boundar ...

. The area was previously owned by

Morton Salt Morton Salt is an American food company producing salt for food, Water purification, water conditioning, industrial, agricultural, and road/highway use. Based in Chicago, the business is North America's leading producer and marketer of salt. It i ...

before they relocated their facility. The outdoor section adjacent to the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...

and Goose Island, named "The Fairgrounds", holds a capacity of 5,000 people. The indoor section, named "The Shed", holds a capacity of 3,600 people.

History

In 2015,

relocated their packaging and warehousing facility, leaving the building that they previously used vacant. Chicago-based hospitality collective 16" on Center, Blue Star Properties, R2, and Sky Deck came together to repurpose the vacant building as a "multi-purpose creative hub, with music as its beating heart." The property was sold in 2017 for $15 million. After being designated as an official City of Chicago Landmark, the building went under a $50 million renovation designed by Aric Lasher of HBRA Architects. The Fairgrounds opened to the public on August 3, 2022, with a performance by

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes are an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band currently consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backin ...

. After renovations were completed, The Shed opened to the public on February 18, 2023, with a performance by

Big Gigantic Big Gigantic are an American instrumental electronic hip hop and jazz musical duo based in Boulder, Colorado. The band has played at a wide range of music festivals, including Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Lollapalooza, Ultra Music ...

. In January 2025, Green Thumb Industries and The Salt Shed announced a two-year partnership to sell THC products on-site, including marijuana, gummies and chocolates, and THC

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rock ...

Events

Since opening, The Salt Shed has hosted musical acts including

Bishop Briggs Sarah Grace McLaughlin (born 18 July 1992), known professionally as Bishop Briggs, is an English singer and songwriter. Her single "River (Bishop Briggs song), River" peaked at number 3 on the US Alternative Chart, and has been streamed more t ...

Brent Faiyaz Christopher Brent Wood (born September 19, 1995), known professionally as Brent Faiyaz, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Faiyaz rose to prominence following his guest performance alongside Shy Glizzy on GoldLink's ...

, Cigarettes After Sex,

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

Galantis Galantis is a Swedish electronic music act consisting of producer Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson. Formerly, they were a duo, alongside rising musician Style of Eye, until he decided to part ways with the project shortly after their second albu ...

Japanese Breakfast Japanese Breakfast is an American indie pop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 2013. The project is fronted by vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter Michelle Zauner; she is joined in its current iteration by long-serving music ...

Run the Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip-hop Supergroup (music), superduo, composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed Run the Jewe ...

The Postal Service The Postal Service was an American indie pop group from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Dntel, Jimmy Tamborello (also known by his stage name, Dntel), and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band relea ...

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

, Thundercat,

Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Referring to her autobiographical lyrics, ''Out (magazine), O ...

Tycho Tycho is a masculine given name, a latinization of Greek Τύχων, from the name of Tyche (), the Greek goddess of fortune or luck. The Russian form of the name is '' Tikhon'' (Тихон). People Given name * Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), Dan ...

, and Ween. The venue has also held other types of events since opening such as EEEEEATSCON (food festival) and The Eric Andre Explosion (standup comedy show presented by

Eric Andre The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

). Australian band

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie (vocals, guitar), Ambrose Kenny-Smith (vocals, harmonica, keyboards), Coo ...

recorded their EP '' Live in Chicago '23'' during their performances at The Salt Shed on June 11–13, 2023.

References

{{coord, 41.9064, -87.6593, type:landmark_region:US-IL, display=title Music venues in Chicago