Though one could hear the blues in 1920s Chicago, the club scene was not well developed until the 1940s. Blues musicians performed regularly at bars and other entertainment venues in African American communities on both the South and West Sides in the '40s, but rarely outside of these areas. Blues clubs spread out as the city's black population grew and the genre's popularity rose, but most remained in or close to African American neighborhoods. By the 1990s, the blues had become widely fashionable, and while the historic pattern largely held, some clubs, especially those downtown and on the North Side, catered to largely non-African American audiences.

Authors: Michael P. Conzen and Max Grinnell (Research assistance: Christopher P. Thale)
Source: Newberry Library