Kingston Mines, 2548 N Halsted St
You’re drinking: A rum and coke
One of Chicago’s hallmark blues establishments, Kingston Mines has two stages of live blues seven nights a week. Music goes until four in the morning Sunday through Friday, and until five on Saturdays, and over the years has hosted the likes of Junior Wells, Taj Mahal and Koko Taylor.
The interior is covered in blues memorabilia, pictures of past performers and paintings depicting the blues life. The dingy, orange lights and chewed-up bar tables add to the ambiance.
We caught the place late on a mellow Thursday, where a boyish John Mayer-type strolled in with a beat-up Stratocaster on his back and proceeded to tear it up alongside Charlie Love and the Silky Smooth Band.
By the time we got there (around 2 a.m.), the place had died down considerably, but there were still several couples dancing, and a few hardy blues fans sat tossing back drinks and hooting at the band.
For late-night (and early-night) live entertainment, Kingston Mines is the place to be, but the $10-$15 cover charge could be a deterrent to some. Catch the place on a rockin’ night, however, and it’s worth twice that price.
More like it: B.L.U.E.S., 2519 N Halsted St
