Hungry Brain

Hungry Brain is a low-lit bar at 2319 W Belmont Ave in Roscoe Village, furnished like a retro rec room with arcade games and a jukebox. Musicians Mike Reed and Josh Berman launched the weekly Sunday Transmission jazz series at the bar in January 2001, and jazz and improvised music still fill much of the calendar alongside country, indie and DJ nights.

What to know

• Reed revived the bar after a sudden closure in December 2014, Time Out Chicago reported.
• Reed also opened Constellation, the jazz and new-music venue nearby on Western Avenue.
• Matt Ulery has a Thursday-night residency on the fall 2026 calendar.
• Since 2015 the bookings have widened to early jazz, blues, electronic music and singer-songwriters.
• The bar sits on Belmont between Oakley and Western avenues.