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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2026
CHICAGO — The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., one of Chicago’s most storied independent music venues and community gathering spaces, announced Thursday that ownership has been transferred to Teri O’Brien, a performer and former Hideout employee. The owners emphasized that choosing the next steward was a deeply important decision. O’Brien said she is committed to retaining The Hideout’s staff and expanding opportunities for artists and community partners.
“The Hideout will stay the Hideout,” said former co-owner Tim Tuten. “It will remain independent, creative and rooted in the community that built it. Teri knows our room, the people and our history, and she has the heart to carry it forward.”
Tuten, his wife, Katie Tuten, and partners Mike and Jim Hinchsliff bought The Hideout in 1996.
“For 30 years we’ve watched thousands of people walk through our front door looking for connection,” said Katie Tuten. “The Hideout works because of the people who gather in it. That doesn’t change with this transition, in fact it will grow. We are incredibly thankful for the community we built, friendships we’ve made, and the amazing Hideout staff past and present who helped bring our vision to life. Their dedication and talent have been at the core of what we created.”
“The Hideout shaped me,” said Teri O’Brien. “This place helped launch careers, build friendships and bring people together in ways big and small. It is an honor of a lifetime I’m humbled to take on this role, to support the staff and community who make the Hideout what it is. The soul of this place stays exactly where it belongs — with the people who fill it.”
The Hideout will continue its regular programming, with the staff remaining central to the venue’s day-to-day operations. The owners noted that the public will see no major changes in the look, feel or culture of the space.
Notable performers and patrons voiced their appreciation for the venue, including Jeff Tweedy, of the band Wilco.
“The Hideout has always felt like a continuation of the friendly, diehard music community we had back at Lounge Ax, the rock club my wife Susie and her partner Julia owned and operated until it closed in 2000,” Tweedy said. “We’re lucky to have so many great venues in Chicago and each has its good points but the Hideout has always felt most like home. They treat their customers and bands like family.”
Andrew Bird, singer, songwriter and musician, echoed those thoughts, saying he believes the venue has a special vibe.
”The Hideout is one of only a few venues that exists because of and is a manifestation of the personalities of its owners, Tim and Katie Tuten,” said Bird, singer, songwriter and musician. “If it were simply a profit-driven business I don’t think it would’ve worked, or at least it wouldn’t have been so important to me and my music community. The fact that it’s being passed to an employee is definitely encouraging that it will continue in its original spirit and not be acquiring flatscreens behind the bar.”
People of all backgrounds rubbed elbows at The Hideout: musicians, artists, idealists, politicians and politicians to be.
“I think of the Hideout as the people’s place,” said former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, “a critical part of our democracy, where community conversations can take place. Tim and Katie Tuten carefully cultivated and nurtured a fun, inclusive environment, and they should be commended for their contribution to Chicago’s civic life. There’s a real need for these kinds of venues that can give new aspiring artists a place to try new things.”
Tweedy said the sense of openness and community leads to collaborations that might not happen otherwise.
“I’ve loved playing special shows there both on stage and as part of their block parties,” he said. “I’ve also seen life-changing performances at the Hideout. Most memorably, Mavis Staples played with her then new-ish band in the early 2000s that knocked me out so hard, Mavis and I ended up meeting and agreeing to work together leading to what turned out to be me producing three Mavis records and finishing an unreleased record by her dad, Pops Staples. It all stemmed from that Hideout show. Susie and I wish the new owners luck in maintaining the very special quality that Katie and Tim and their staff have created over the years.”
That “very special quality” is part of the city’s essence, said Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“For more than a century, The Hideout has been more than a bar; it’s been a home away from home for generations of Chicagoans,” Johnson said. “It has long served as a hub for artistic expression in all forms, community organizing, and is the embodiment of what I call the soul of Chicago. I am grateful for Tim and Katie for creating a space where everyone who walked through the doors felt welcomed and free to be themselves. I am heartened to know that the next owners will carry forward that same spirit.”
2026 marks the 30th anniversary under the Tutens’ and Hinchsliffs’ ownership, in a building with nearly 150 years of history.
Housed in a 19th century balloon-frame building tucked into the industrial heart of the North Branch, the Hideout has been a landmark of Chicago’s civic and cultural life for three decades. It has hosted everything from early-career sets by rising musicians & comedians to surprise performances by local, national and international acts, community fundraisers, plays, weddings, memorials, talk shows, anniversaries, and late-night dance parties that Chicagoans still tell stories about years later.
Often described as an “institution” in Chicago, The Hideout has also been a foundational space for Chicago’s civic and political life. Its back room has hosted organizing meetings that helped launch campaigns and shape local policy. Teachers, union members and activists regularly met there to plan real work that moved the city forward. Journalists held book talks and live tapings. Soup & Bread nights raised money for hunger relief and neighborhood causes. Progressive groups debated strategy at the bar, and it became one of the rare places where working people, musicians, organizers, comedians and civic leaders mixed in a way that actually felt like Chicago — messy, creative and committed to making things better.
The Hideout regularly hosted a variety of series and annual events, actively supporting the innovative ideas contributed by both patrons and staff. Some examples include Funny Ha Ha, Honky Tonk Living Room, Interview Show with Mark Bazer, Psych Fest hosted by Steve Krakow, Shame that Tune, Girl Talk, Life During Wartime dance parties, SXSW Send Off Parties, A Scientist Walks into a Bar, Immediate Sound Series, Trivia hosted By Paul Durica & Pocket Guide to Hell, Chances Dances, Grelley Duvall, A Day in the Country hosted by Lawrence Peters, Blue Beginnings, HellTrap Nightmare with Sarah “Squirm” Sherman, Mondays with Robbie Fulks, Devil in a Woodpile, Late Late Breakfast, Andrew Sa’s Lonesome Holiday, Christmas Pantos, The Monkey Wrench with Arish Singh, Playbook with Shia Kapos, Cosmic Country, The Flat Five, Waco Brothers, Axios Office Hours with Justin Kaufman and Monica Eng, Girls of the Golden West, Soup & Bread and Veggie Bingo hosted by Sheila Sachs and Martha Bayne, St. Timothy Day Party & Parade,and the 23 legendary Hideout Block Parties,
“There is no other place in Chicago like this little house,” said co-owner Katie Tuten. “We’ve seen this room hold heartbreak, hope, politics, art and joy in equal measure. It has been one of the great honors of our lives to care for The Hideout, where “there is still kindness and goodness!”
Memorable accomplishments include:
The Hideout is the birthplace of CIVL: The Chicago Independent Venue League, which was a model for NIVA: The National Independent Venue Association, in which Katie Tuten is a founder and board member.
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