Kyle's Brew Fest at The Volcano Room

The scene was the Volcano Room..its the upstairs concert space at The Bottom Lounge on the Near West Side. The idea to have a beer festival with free shuttle service to the sold out  String Cheese Incident concert was brilliant.  Kyle’s Brewfest Chicago served as a pre-game of sorts before the SCI show, this is the 1st full tour for the jam band in four years. So the deal is this-for twenty five bucks you can try unlimited samples from 12 breweries. You can bid on silent auction items and, experience an afternoon concert featuring Chicago’s own Family Groove Company w( Kyle Hollingsworth on the keys)

Family Groove Company & Kyle Hollingsworth of String Cheese Incident

Kyle's Fest Founder Kyle Hollingsworth of String Cheese Incident

Honestly I had never heard any music from SCI or FGC before that day, but I was a fan by closing time. The vibe felt like a summer festival as ladies in colorful outfits danced near the front of the stage. The breweries lined the walls and kept festival pours flowing, it was nice catching up w the guys from Windy City Distribution who were responsible for many of the taps there. Of the 12 in attendance 2 I had never heard of before- Bent River (Moline, IL) and Boulder Beer Company (Boulder, Co) The Jingle Java Stout from Bent River was sweet, and loaded with coffee, exactly what I wanted. The Killer Penguin from Boulder was a 10%ABV American barleywine, that hid the alcohol very well. This event was nice partly because the weather around town is starting to suck and , the festival season is practically over. It was cool to be in a packed venue trying 14 different beers with the sounds of an awesome jam band providing the soundtrack.

silent auction

The Bottom Lounge is one of those spots that is just ultra cool and quintessentially Chicago. I was last here for Dogfloydapalooza II last year (the Dogfish /3 Floyds ) concert event. The venue has 6 pinball machines, the bottom floor serves as a full restaurant and concert hall for 700. The Volcano Room upstairs has a full bar, outdoor patio and a capacity 300. Kyle’s Brew Fest is a benefit for Conscious Alliance, an art program that operates through ongoing hunger awareness programs.  The 9yr old program has collected food for pantries all over the country. ‘Art That Feeds’ is the company’s slogan. Over the years they have hosted hundreds of food drives at music festivals. Many of the items to support their cause were available for bidding.

Many of the party goers I spoke with were visiting from out of town. They follow String Cheese Incident, had been to see them last night and, were going again tonight. One lady in particular shared that she enjoyed the Family Groove Company crowd because, there was a nice balance of women in the crowd. She explains much like the SCI shows there isn’t this 20-1 ratio you see with other jam bands, it was something she had an appreciation for. The band put on a kick ass show, highlights for me were the cover of Billy Preston’s classic ‘ Will It Go Around In Circles’ and ‘Taxman’  from The Beatles -Revolver album.

… I enjoy live music, rarely do I get to enjoy while sipping a Lolita from Goose Island, Gnarlywine from Lagunitas, Levitation from Stone or Pegasus from Argus. I look forward to the day whern parties like this one are an option every weekend.

— Nkosi

photos by of Nick Stock

For more scenes from Kyle’s Brew Fest  be sure to visit our facebook page  (dont forget to hit the like button)