General Booking Information

These are the general rules, etc. for booking at all of our venues. Each venue has specific genres of music they book, so please scroll down this page to see what genres of music each venue accepts before you submit your request for booking.

Please give us about 2 to 4 weeks to listen to your demo. We do listen to every demo we recieve and will get back with you as quickly as possible. Pleaes be patient, due to an overwhelming amount of submissions, it takes a little time to get through them all.

Please Note: Booking is handled by email only; no calls will be taken for booking
(meaning if you want to be booked here, DON'T CALL - EMAIL BRETTLY).

So if you are submitting a demo via US Post, please include an email address you can be contacted at.

All follow up booking inquiries, requests for information, set times, sound information, etc, should also be done via email only.

Please email a link to your website, or a link to what you want us to hear and see.
Generally, we prefer a website, where we can see when and where you have played, hear your music, and get a general idea of your band and what you do. If you don't have a website, a Myspace page or Something similar will do.

We do accept and prefer EPK's (electronic press kits). We accept them through Sonicbids or you can email a link to your press kit to our booking agent BRETTLY

We do accept submissions from all genres of music, however each venue has specific genres it accepts. Please see each venus genre information. (Near the bottom of this page)

If you must use snail mail :
Demos (CD's ONLY) and Press kits can be mailed to:
Attn: Brettly
The Heartland Cafe
7000 N. Glenwood Avenue
Chicago, Il 60626

Please do not mail cassette tapes, or vinyl - we can't play them

We generally expect all acts playing at any of our venues to have some local draw, so touring acts, we may not be an ideal venue for your first times out to Chicago, however, we do book out of town acts as we can fit them in.

To all acts playing at, or intersested in playing our venues, we ask that you do not play any other local shows (25 Mile radius of our venues) 2 weeks prior to and 1 week after your shows here. It's not that we don't want you to play out, however, by playing too many local shows, you hurt your attendance, not just at this show, but shows you have booked in other venues as well.

We are usually booked 2 to 4 months in advance.

We do not book cover bands, so don't ask!

After You have Been Booked, etc

You will receive a confirmation letter via email from the venue within about 2 - 3 weeks of your show. Please make sure you and your bandmates read it, and follow the instructions in the letter, by doing so, it will just make the night go along a little more smoothly.

Upon load in the soundperson will instruct you on where to store your gear, etc.

Volume is an issue at our venues, as we do have neighbors directly behind us. Please listen to the soundperson's instructions. If you are asked to turn down, please do so, odds are you are too loud for the room, and, who really wants to hear LOUD GUITAR PLAYER and XYZ band that you can't hear because your amp is too loud. It's also nice to actually be able to hear everything, including vocals.

Posters/Flyers/Promotions
Please drop off posters at our venues or mail them in. It's a good way to help promote your show to people who patronize our venues. Additionally, DO NOT Post any posters, etc. on City Of Chicago Property. There are several locations in the city to legally leave your posters.
Additionally, we also deliver posters for shows within our venues to several locations on the north side of Chicago and In Evanston. If you would like us to drop off yours as well, please include an extra allotment for us to do so.

For acts playing at, we do send our weekly listings to a number of local media and press. Please, don't rely on this as your only form of advertisement. Please drop flyers and play copies off to us, so we may post them in our venues, and play your CD in our venues as well, so please, do your part in booking a show here as well. If you did not promote your show, and no one comes out to see you, well you know the reason why.

Media/Press you can contact to promote your show

The Chicago Reader
The Illinois Entertainer
New City
The Onion
Chicago Innerview
Metromix
Oh My Rockness

The Heartland Cafe, Red Line Tap, or the No Exit Cafe or The Heartland Studio Theater cannot be held responisible for any equiptment left behind after performances. If you get to drunk and can't remember where you left something, it's not our fault (remember you're the one that got drunk), however if we do find something after a show here, it's held in the main office; check with Brettly (via email only).

After you have been booked, and you do not see a link to your website on our site, please email the link to the WEBMASTER