ProFile : WC Social Club
6 illinoisentertainer . com august 2022
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WC Social Club
ntrepreneur , concert promoter , and club owner , Chris Triebes , has been booking national music acts and promoting his own concerts in the area for over two decades . Triebes started promoting shows when he was just 18 years old before owning and running his own venue in Joliet called Mojoes , which was the predecessor to what is now The Forge . Currently , Triebes has been running the new state-of-the-art venue WC Social Club in West Chicago ( at the junction of Roosevelt Road and Route 59 ) for four months before Covid-19 started ( November 2019 ). In hindsight , it was probably not the best possible time to open a concert venue .
“ It ' s been a bit of a rocky road ,” Triebes admits during a recent phone interview . “ But we ' ve gotten through Covid-19 , and I ' m proud to say now I am just working on building this room up , getting the word out , and letting people know about it . It ' s a great space in the suburbs and extremely convenient .” The WC Social Club is a bar / restaurant / concert venue with flexible and comfortable space . Some upcoming highlight events at WC include the reggae legends , The Original Wailers ( Bob Marley ’ s band ) on August 6 ; alt-rock stalwarts Nashville ' s Framing Hanley on August 26 (" Hear Me Now "), and horror punk / metal greats Wednesday 13 on their 20th anniversary Fear Part 2 tour on Oct 12 .
Triebes also owns another venue in Indianapolis and also promotes shows in Ohio , Michigan , Iowa , Minnesota , and Kentucky .
Although Triebes has no formal business degree or financial training , he ’ s learned the ropes of the concert scene throughout the years on his own . Confined to a wheelchair , Triebes has spinal muscular atrophy type three – a neuromuscular disease . Triebes was recently featured in a docuseries called Born for Business about disabled entrepreneurs , the same production company that produced shows such as the Kardashians and Project Runway .
Since Chicago is blessed as being a great musical city , it means a lot to Triebes to be able to bring quality acts to his venue . Of course , as a businessman , Triebes usually looks to at least break even on these events or even make a profit . But his ultimate goal as a labor of love is to create a sense of community . “ Promoting concerts is a lot more than just a job ,” Triebes confesses . “ I think it ' s necessary and extremely important for the function in society to put on live events , particularly music . I think there ' s nothing quite like live music that just gives a lot of people a place ( to gather ). So , I consider it an honor to be able to put on concerts for my community and find it a really important function of my community . I find it an amazing and fun career choice to be able to do that for a living , something I love . To give artists a chance to create a culture and then have a stage through which they can convey that . I think that that ' s really vital to a successful society .”
Local venues such as Double Door , The Forge , Reggie ' s , and other area concert venues have been staples in this city for many years . With a new venue to cater to the suburbs , Triebes doesn ’ t see these other well-established venues as direct competition but rather as part of the same team that can bring great acts to the area . “ Within music , you ’ re always going to have your competitive forces ,” he says . “ But at the end of the day , I think what we all strive to do as a community is to just bring a ton of great talent on offer to Chicago . I think we ' re all just proud to be a part of such a robust entertainment culture and market like this .”
WC prides itself on being a diverse entertainment facility boasting a diverse calendar that provides entertainment for everyone possible . “ I just want people to know that there ' s a good solid place to check out and see concerts ,” Triebes concludes . “ I look at WC as just another place in this area that ' s going to bring even more talent . I have a particular focus on certain kinds of talent , and I think that I can bring my own unique flavor to the suburbs . I also think we ' re the most central and most convenient venue I ' ve ever seen in this area .”