As a musician and music educator (harp), music education for my girls is one of my top priorities…read more I've worked at many schools from early education to Loyola University and continuing adult education. The staff at Bucktown Music is unbeatable for all ages. The programs offered here are the best in the city with easily applicable curriculum, clear assignments for home, developmentally appropriate challenges, and fun for parents too! My daughters love music class. They are delighted every time we step into the room. From the courtesy at the front desk to the parking options and surrounding activities; the fully stocked bookshelf to the bathroom with diapers available; the clean kitchen to foster community to the shower to support the active staff, they've thought of everything at Bucktown. Thank you for your beautiful resource to our musical city!

Everything about Bucktown Music is fantastic! The people& the program. And the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE…read moreclass so much.

We attended a few music lessons when our toddler was younger! Loved the engagement and the…read moreenthusiasm of the teacher. our toddler and we had a fun time

My daughter was enrolled in Ms. Jacque's class for over two years before we moved out of the city…read more Ms. Jacque is the best! She was one of the "newer" teachers but she is AWESOME! Her energy, enthusiasm, & silliness is very engaging for the kids, and she has a beautiful voice! Because she is newer, her classes were a little smaller, which is kind of nice. The veteran teachers are great too (I signed up for the holiday sing a long with Ms. Julie), but I noticed my daughter seemed a little less engaged in the other teachers' classes. I don't know if it had to do with the fact that classes were much more packed & she got less attention from the teacher (no fault on Ms. Julie, she does a great job connecting with all the parents & kids, her classes are just bigger). The program itself is awesome. My daughter's language development is way above average (not trying to brag but it's true) and I think this program has a lot to do with it. We still listen to the CD's at home, and the recordings are really pleasant even for adults to listen to. The songs are not irritating like some kids albums can be (parents, you know what I'm talking about). My daughter will request "Ms. Jacque music" in the car, so cute! I know my daughter misses her! If you are considering this program, I'd highly recommend it.

What a perfect place to have a birthday party! We celebrated my 8 year old's birthday with 7 of her…read morebest friends. All 8 of the girls including my daughter didn't want the party to end and asked to have their next birthday there. Carmella, the owner, was so wonderful and professional to work with from start to finish. She was responsive and accommodating! And the party itself was perfect. Carmella has 2 of her older daughters helping her with the party. They were also sweet and patient with my 7 & 8 year olds. The space was decorated beautifully. The food and sweets she prepared was delicious. The party went on without a hitch and all the girls had the best time. I cannot recommend Rare Occasions enough!

We loved the Musical Offering during the 4-5 years that our son studied there. Tim, his instructor,…read morewas great in mentoring our son, who learned to play lead guitar, bass guitar, and the drums while also gaining the confidence to sing. Tim would then arrange concerts around town at block parties, bars, and other events-- at a couple of them, the band members actually got paid! The levels of expertise and support were tremendous, and they have an eye towards developing musicians in a really holistic way (in contrast with other music schools that really only seem to train students to play 3-4 songs for a one-and-done kind of performance).

Strange business. You pay upfront for 3-4 months of weekly lessons. Then if your teacher cannot…read moremake your agreed upon lesson time, the burden is on you to find another time for your lesson. If you can't find a different time for a "make up" lesson, then you have the pleasure of paying anyway. No refunds even if it's the teacher who cancels.

So glad to have this space back open! I rented it out for my son's 2nd birthday party. We had a…read moregreat experience and would highly recommend. The kids loved racing around the open space and exploring all of the toys. The toddlers loved climbing through the tunnels. The adults enjoyed the space to gather in the party room. As the host, I had a terrific experience! The owner allowed me to drop in early to store some of my supplies in the fridge. She was very helpful during the party supplying me with things I'd forgotten and checking in to ensure all was well. I look forward to dropping in for classes in the future. As I was dropping things off, there was a cute baby sign language class taking place. The environment is so fresh, clean, and calm! Welcome to the neighborhood, Southport Fundamentals!

We recently attended a birthday party and the kids (and adults) had a great time! The space is set…read moreup to allow children to be active, creative, and engaged. We would highly recommend this space for birthday parties, as the party room is perfect for decorating, storing food/drinks, and mingling. Fun aside, the space is exceptionally clean and the owner was on site to help with the flow of the party. This space would also be ideal for hosting adult gatherings (classes, parties, meetings, etc.). Welcome to the neighborhood!

I drove by Itsy Bitsy a couple weeks before they opened, and I'm glad I saw them. I followed them…read moreon Instagram immediately because what they offer is REALLY useful--an indoor play space and co-working space. But they go beyond just the standard indoor playground; they offer care (play care, in their terminology) so your children are well cared for whilst you bring home the bacon. Their "playmakers" (it's whimsical; I love it) engage in fun and meaningful play and I love the idea that I could be nearby when my daughter is here but actually get work done. Because I was following their social media, I saw that Little Giggles Speech Therapy was holding a class called First Signs here, which is what has brought me to Itsy Bitsy for now. Itsy Bitsy's facilities are really nice and very clean. When you enter, you walk into the cafe area. There's a limited menu but for coffee drinkers you'll probably find something here! There are a few tables as well. To the right of the door is the co-working space with several desks ready for you to roll up your sleeves and get to work. On the left side of the building is the children's play space, and I think it's a smart way to design the place--it helps keep the distraction down. I'm not sure what the youngest age limit is for play care here. I met a woman who's purchased a membership here and her son is about seven months old; mine is only about four so she may be too little for the place, still. But I'm going to ask when I'm back next week for the signing class, because this is a great concept and I think it would be incredibly useful to be able to come here on my remote workdays and the rates are very reasonable. This business also offers open play times and you can rent for events, so it will be a place for me to keep in mind for birthday parties--though parking seems to be street only, and though at least some of the side streets around here don't appear to require a permit the parking is still limited. I'm just loving the concept of this business and really hope to use it more fully soon, and to see the community that builds here.

We held our daughter's second birthday party at Itsy Bitsy today and it was fantastic. It's a…read morewonderful space - very clean and organized while at the same time offering so many different activities for a group of kids. It's a bright and cheerful space. It's also very spacious - there's a large play area, a cafe in front where we were able to put food to adults, and a back room for the kids to eat lunch and have cake. The owner was great to work with.

Great space and affordable studio time or space you can rent out. Classes are super affordable.read more

We held an event here and it went perfectly. Lilly and Vic made the planning and execution so easy…read morefor us. The event space was large enough for our big crowd but we also had the flex space for overflow which people took advantage of for quiet conversations, plus there was a really interesting art exhibit up to look at. The event was seamless thanks to them. I've also gotten to play around a bit in the dance studios and they're very high quality. Couldn't recommend enough!!

I came here after renting a clarinet from Quinlan & Fabish because I wanted to get a real…read moremouthpiece and not use the crappy stock mouthpiece that came with the rental. I got here 15 minutes before they closed on a Saturday, but never felt rushed. Bea showed me the new mouthpiece they have but also asked if I was interested in used. (That grosses me out a bit, but I was assured they're sanitzed). I looked through the mouthpiece drawer and actually saw 2 Larry Combs mouthpieces. That's what I played on the entire time I played clarinet as a kid/teen, and what I originally wanted to buy (only to find out they stopped making them years ago, so they're hard to find). I have no idea if I had an LC1 or LC3 back then, but they had both in the shop. I didn't want to try it out that day since I had literally never touched a clarinet in 23 years and didn't want my first time trying it to be where other people could hear me (lol), plus it was closing time. But I came back on Monday and was able to go down to their practice room and try out both mouthpieces, and ended up buying one for $50. Not too shabby. Both the guy (I didn't catch his name) who got me set up in the practice room and Bea (who helped me check out afterward) were super nice. Bea was a gem helping me both times. PM Woodwind also has my old ligature for sale so I may go back to buy one once I decide if I want to actually keep this hobby going long-term. They also have reeds for comparable prices to Amazon, and I'd rather support them than Bezos, so I'll happily come back here once I figure out what strength reed I need these days.

I've had 3 experiences with this shop. They're highly recommended, but unfortunately they're 0-3…read morefor me. Twice I took my horn in, and I never seemed to get even a fair level of customer service that I felt I should. I certainly am not a professional player which maybe would put me in front of the line, but commitments made were never met. I continually had to call it was one delay after another. I then years later was interested in a used horn they had on their website. $4,500+ horn. I received a quick response to my email interest, but EVERYTHING then has to go through Paul and he's TERRIBLE with any attempt at a timely response. He's ALWAYS going to give me a call TOMORROW. The employees there are careful in what they say, but it's obvious during my conversations with several of them, that they, too, are frustrated with Paul's lack of timely attention. I waited 2 months for answers to simple questions and finally gave up. I don't need to put myself through such unprofessionalism. I checked 3 months after my initial inquiry and it was still for sale. My original questions were simple due diligence questions. I would've easily bought the horn, but I guess they aren't too motivated to sell it. Bottom line? It's Paul's store and he can do whatever he wants, but I don't have to tolerate it.