Chicago's Smart Bar has revealed plans for what looks to be an extensive renovation project.
The well-loved Windy City club will be closed from January 7th through the 14th to facilitate the upgrades. According to a press release, "the dancefloor will be restored to its beautiful natural wood grain," while new lighting is installed throughout the venue and the DJ booth is expanded and outfitted with Funktion One monitors, to go with a re-tuning of the entire sound system.
To celebrate the makeover, Smart Bar will host a series of events in the second half of January under the banner Relight the Night. The first one, a Housewarming on Thursday the 15th, will have longtime club favorite Derrick Carter taking to the decks along with some as-yet unannounced special guests—admission for this one will be free all night. An Oktave party with Dasha Rush and a Hugo Ball session featuring Norm Talley are up next over the following two nights. Then on Sunday the 18th, Tony Humphries, Louie Vega and David Morales, among others, will play For Frankie, a soirée celebrating the life of Frankie Knuckles, who passed away earlier this year. The rest of the month will see headlining sets from John Roberts, Addison Groove, Ivan Smagghe and Orchard Lounge.
Smart Bar, which was the scene of our first RA party in Chicago a few months ago, has already announced its residents roster for 2015—you can read all about the crew right here. Tickets to many of the club's events are available on RA.