Halloween weekend has two nights left, and then Chicago nightlife settles into its long run toward the holidays. Sound-Bar is throwing its Last Dance on New Year’s Eve, the rooftop chalets at Pendry Chicago light their fireplaces on November 20, and The Drake rolls out the red carpet for dogs in formalwear on November 13. Here is your Chicago nightlife in November 2026 guide, from November 1 to December 7, with the New Year’s Eve tickets worth grabbing early.
Last call for Halloween weekend
Friday and Saturday are the final two nights of Halloween, and our Halloween nightlife guide has every party in full. A few deserve one more nudge.
- Haunted Halsted, Saturday: the fest opens at 11 AM, the street clears at 6 PM, the 30th parade steps off at 7 PM and the costume contest follows at 8 PM with $4,000 in cash prizes.
- House Calls, Friday: Skream plays all night at the Alhambra Palace, with tickets from $50.02 on Dice. The weekend pass is $95.
- TAO Chicago, Saturday: Afrojack headlines at 632 N Dearborn St.
- Sound-Bar, Friday and Saturday: Chapel of the Undead is the club’s Halloween costume party.
- Hallo-Queen!, Sunday, November 1: Metro and Smartbar share the building at 3730 N Clark St, with doors at 9 PM.
Clocks fall back at 2 AM on Sunday, so Saturday night comes with an extra hour.
Sound-Bar’s Last Dance: New Year’s Eve at Ontario and Franklin
Sound-Bar has been River North’s big room since 2003, and it bills this year’s New Year’s Eve party as its last dance. NOVA 2027 takes over 226 W Ontario St on Thursday, December 31, from 9 PM to 4 AM, with resident DJs in three rooms playing EDM, house, Top 40, hip-hop, rock, pop and R&B. The club is 21 and over and asks you to come dressed to impress.
The early party runs from 9 PM to 1:30 AM with an open bar package, a small-bite buffet and a champagne toast at midnight. If you are celebrating somewhere else first, the after show runs from 1:30 to 4 AM with a $5 bar package, and after-show tickets are coming soon. Early party tickets and table reservations are on the Sound-Bar event page.
The first price break arrives on Tuesday, November 3, at noon. Chicago Twenty Something, the promoter behind NOVA NYE, opens a flash sale at 50 percent off tickets that include a premium open bar, a champagne greeting and a midnight toast. Prices rise as tickets sell, so the sale is the cheapest way in. Tickets are on the NOVA NYE Eventbrite page.
The night carries extra weight this year. Nexus Radio said on July 27, citing the Chicago Sun-Times, that the building at Ontario and Franklin has been sold to a developer planning apartments and that the club is expected to leave within about eight months. Until then the calendar stays full, with Snakehips on Saturday, November 7, Bassjackers on Friday, November 13, and Ferry Corsten on Friday, November 20.
November, week by week
November 1 to 7: a free RSVP, a taping and Radius back to back
A Ma Maniére opens its first Chicago store at 1144 W Washington Blvd with an opening night on Thursday, November 5, from 7 to 10 PM. The RSVP on Posh is free, and our West Loop story has the full picture.
The same Thursday, BET tapes the Soul Train Awards at the Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph St. Public audience tickets have not been announced, and the show airs Friday, November 27, on BET and CBS. Our November galas guide has the story behind the taping.
On Friday, November 6, Spybar, 646 N Franklin St, hosts SpyLounge Friday with POPS, Dr. Mar, Ryan Lee and Tati. Doors are at 10 PM, it is 21 and over, and free RSVPs on Dice cover all-night entry, with $10 tickets as the other option. Radius gives the weekend its big room, with Kaskade on Friday and Carl Cox on Saturday, both covered in our Halloween guide.
November 13: black tie, a Logan Square house night and a late set at Hideaway
The 25th PAWS Chicago Fur Ball fills The Drake, 140 E Walton Pl, on Friday, November 13, from 6 PM to midnight. Guests dress their dogs in formalwear and walk the red carpet, then settle in for silent and live auctions, a raffle, dancing and dinner buffets, including a special buffet where the dogs eat from crystal goblets. Tickets are on the PAWS Chicago Fur Ball page, and the galas guide has the rest.
Later that night the dancing moves downtown and north. ØTTA plays Concord Music Hall in Logan Square, with doors at 10 PM for an 18 and over crowd and tickets at $25 on Concord’s calendar. Annicka takes the decks at Hideaway, 5 W Division St, with doors at 10 PM, a 21 and over door and tickets from $17 on Dice.
November 20 to 28: chalets above Michigan Avenue and a Sevilla DJ
Winter Garden returns to Château Carbide, the 24th-floor rooftop bar at Pendry Chicago, 230 N Michigan Ave, on November 20 and stays through February 27. Private chalets with their own fireplaces and faux fur throws seat up to five, and winter small bites and seasonal cocktails come straight to the table. Seatings run 90 minutes at 5, 7 and 9 PM, Thursday to Saturday through December 31. Reservations are required, the fee is $40 per person and comes back in full as a food and beverage credit, and guests must be 21 or older. Book on the Château Carbide page.
Rafa Barrios closes the month at Spybar on Saturday, November 28. The Sevilla producer runs his own Bandidos label, doors are at 10 PM, the night is 21 and over, and tickets are $20 on Dice.
December 7: Midnight in Chicago at ROOF on theWit
The Curio opens the holiday season with Midnight in Chicago: A Holiday Fashion Soirée & Show on Monday, December 7, from 6 to 9 PM at ROOF on theWit, 201 N State St, 27th floor. A runway show at 7 PM and live model vignettes until 8:30 PM bring holiday and New Year’s Eve looks from four Chicago designers: Dana Asady, KIVANCHI and NEISA in womenswear, and Provenance by Diana Michelle in menswear. Models come from 10 MGMT, DJ Andrew Emil plays, and every showcased look can be ordered at the event.
General admission is $75 and includes a welcome cocktail from Tequila 1349. VIP tickets are $150 and add reserved seating. Tickets are on The Curio’s site.
More ways to ring in 2027
Château Carbide does New Year’s Eve too. The Winter Garden hosts a December 31 party from 5 PM to 1 AM, with a live DJ from 10 PM to 1 AM, a complimentary champagne toast at midnight and a front-row view of the fireworks over the city. It is 21 and over, reservations are required, and the price is $75 per person on the Pendry reservation page.
Rooms to fill the nights in between
Between the big dates, the fall’s newer rooms keep the week moving. Sip & Guzzle pours Thursday to Sunday at the Four Seasons’ Mile High Cocktail Club, Carlyle Club fills the Reid Murdoch Building on the river, and the Champagne Room at the Ambassador keeps the coupes cold in the Gold Coast. Logan Inn turns a Logan Square corner into a cocktail night, The Lair waits under Stardust at 710 N Clark for the last drink, and Kermess is now playing Premonitions Inc. in its Belgian Spiegeltent on Floor 14 of 32 W Randolph St.
Also new in Fulton Market: Gibsons Tavern at 925 W Fulton Market is the Gibsons family’s first restaurant in the neighborhood, with steaks, seafood and Prohibition-era cocktails under vaulted ceilings.
On the radar
Two more rooms are getting close, and neither has announced an opening date. Osaka Nikkei is preparing Kero Bar, a cocktail lounge with weekend DJs, at 1101 W Lake St, and The Lake at 205 W Superior St is taking shape as a five-story private members’ club with restaurants, cocktail bars and a roof terrace.
Your November and December at a glance
- Tue Nov 3, noon: NOVA NYE flash sale for Sound-Bar’s New Year’s Eve party, 50 percent off
- Thu Nov 5: A Ma Maniére opening night, 1144 W Washington Blvd, 7 to 10 PM, free RSVP
- Fri Nov 13: PAWS Chicago Fur Ball at The Drake, 6 PM to midnight
- Fri Nov 20: Winter Garden opens at Château Carbide, seatings at 5, 7 and 9 PM Thursday to Saturday
- Sat Nov 28: Rafa Barrios at Spybar, 10 PM, $20
- Mon Dec 7: Midnight in Chicago at ROOF on theWit, 6 to 9 PM, $75 general admission
- Thu Dec 31: Sound-Bar’s Last Dance, 9 PM to 4 AM, and New Year’s Eve at Château Carbide, 5 PM to 1 AM, $75
Frequently asked questions
What is happening in Chicago nightlife in November 2026?
Hallo-Queen! fills Metro and Smartbar on November 1, A Ma Maniére holds its opening night on November 5, and the PAWS Chicago Fur Ball takes over The Drake on November 13. Pendry’s Winter Garden chalets open November 20, and The Curio’s holiday fashion show at ROOF on theWit follows on December 7, 2026.
What is Sound-Bar’s Last Dance in Chicago?
Sound-Bar’s Last Dance is the club’s NOVA 2027 New Year’s Eve party at 226 W Ontario St on Thursday, December 31, 2026, from 9 PM to 4 AM. The early party includes an open bar package, a small-bite buffet and a midnight champagne toast, and the after show from 1:30 AM has a $5 bar package. Entry is 21 and over.
When is the NOVA NYE flash sale at Sound-Bar?
The NOVA NYE flash sale for Sound-Bar’s New Year’s Eve party starts Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at noon Central time. Promoter Chicago Twenty Something takes 50 percent off tickets that include a premium open bar, a champagne greeting and a midnight toast. Prices rise as more tickets sell.
How much are tickets to The Curio’s Midnight in Chicago at ROOF on theWit?
General admission to The Curio’s Midnight in Chicago is $75 and includes a welcome cocktail from Tequila 1349. VIP tickets are $150 and add reserved seating. The holiday fashion show is Monday, December 7, 2026, from 6 to 9 PM at ROOF on theWit, 201 N State St, with the runway at 7 PM.
How do I book the Winter Garden chalets at Pendry Chicago?
Reserve a Winter Garden chalet through Château Carbide’s page at Pendry Chicago, 230 N Michigan Ave. Each chalet seats up to five for a 90-minute seating at 5, 7 or 9 PM, Thursday to Saturday through December 31, 2026. The fee is $40 per person and is credited in full toward food and drinks.
Further reading
- Sound-Bar: NOVA 2027 New Year’s Eve party
- NOVA NYE flash sale on Eventbrite
- Nexus Radio: Sound-Bar to close after more than two decades
- Chicago Sun-Times: Leahy Building sold for conversion to apartments
- A Ma Maniére Chicago opening night on Posh
- PAWS Chicago Fur Ball
- Château Carbide and the Winter Garden at Pendry Chicago
- The Curio’s Midnight in Chicago
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