Chicago's Berlin Nightclub will reopen this month as Decibel & The Belmont The combined cocktail bar and dance club is opening up the Belmont Avenue space of the legendary Chicago LGBTQ+ institution on April 25.

Story we're following:

Chicago's Berlin nightclub reopens this month as a combined cocktail bar + late night dance club

5mag.net/news/berlin-...

They Call Me EP, by Lovebirds 3 track album

Snag the full EP for the full 360 Lovebirds experience ❤️🐦

windingroadrecords.bandcamp.com/album/they-c...

Premiere: Lovebirds - Bali Birds [Winding Road Records] 5 MAG PREMIERE: 15 years after the release of the Lovebirds and Stee Downes classic

Full track on 5 Mag's soundcloud: soundcloud.com/5magazine/pr...

SHARING this gorgeous deep house gem from LOVEBIRDS, marking their first EP on Winding Road since 2011's classic "Want You In My Soul" 💎✨

Nothing is promised to any of us. We're all just passing through. Some of us will leave our mark on this planet either with our children or the legacy of our life's work. My music is my legacy. And the audience I play for are the children who will benefit from this legacy. —A quote from Frankie Knuckles

16 years ago he passed. Remembering Frankie Knuckles today and why we do this ❤️

Put That Record Back On: Remembering DJ Dan - 5 Magazine An icon of North American DJ culture and catalyst of the '90s rave explosion in the Bay Area and the United States, DJ Dan has passed away.

DJ Dan was a huge influence on this scene, in the music people listened to, the people that played it, and the environment in which it was heard, none of which was the same after he started and won’t be the same now that he's gone.

Read More: 5mag.us/djdan

"We chose our DJs well and everyone understood that we were bringing the most underground, even experimental music to our parties. This was our baby and we wanted it to be 100% our vision.”

“The original parties started in San Francisco and were very elaborate in decor and always had the best sound systems. The decor was very tribal and organic… like you were in the middle of the jungle somewhere with really fucked up, funky music that you did not hear at any other parties."

"Funky Tekno Tribe was run by two friends of mine (which I introduced) and our concept was to bring the most funky psychedelic music to the Bay Area rave scene,” he told 5 Mag in a 2012 interview.

... , a “neo-mythical clan of promoters, artists and performers” who threw legendary raves that played a huge part in building the electronic music scene on the West Coast and the US.

Born Daniel Wherrett in Lacey, Washington, DJ Dan lived in Seattle and Southern California. He left a career-spanning legacy in both, but his name would be written in history in connection with events in San Francisco in the ’90s. Dan was co-founder of the Funky Tekno Tribe...

Put That Record Back On: Remembering DJ Dan - 5 Magazine An icon of North American DJ culture and catalyst of the '90s rave explosion in the Bay Area and the United States, DJ Dan has passed away.

DJ Dan — a massively influential DJ, promoter and co-founding member of San Francisco's pioneering Funky Tekno Tribe — has passed away.

5mag.us/djdan

Dropping acid with PBR Streetgang 🤯

Darker Shades is a bangin' 4 track of acid-heavy grooves. Tom and Bonar of PBR Streetgang tell us how they made it.

Turn this up 🤘😵‍💫 5mag.net/.../pbr-stre...

A new night called SOUL COHESION is bubbling up next Saturday night

Soul Cohesion features Chicago house legend Mike Dunn with 5 Mag's Czboogie and founders Twan b2b Adorio at the California Clipper.

More:

5mag.net/calendar/chi...

CLUB LAND: Roy Davis Jr reissues classic EP from the late, great Paul Johnson

5mag.net/tracks/new-c...

Ardalan: 2010 — Today / 5 Mag Cover Story Producer & DJ Ardalan burst onto the scene like a holy comet in 2010 with the release of Mr. Spock. 16 years later, we talk about production techniques, his upbringing in Iran and dealing with that ki...

📌 5 Mag Cover Story:

Ardalan burst onto the scene like a holy comet in 2010 with “Mr. Spock.” Made in a garage when he was 19, Ardalan’s debut release on Dirtybird — his first release ever — became a smash at parties and in clubs he was too young to (legally!) enter

5mag.us/ardalan

Chicago Electronic Music Conference announces 2026 return The Chicago Electronic Music Conference or CEMC is back for year two on April 11, 2026 at Chicago's Ramova Theatre.

CEMC features

📌 industry panels and conversations with cultural leaders, producers and promoters
📌 hands-on workshops on DJing, music production, etc
📌 vendor hall with demos and showcases
📌 DJs all day + performances by Hyperactive + Kate Simko

5mag.us/cemc2026

This year's CEMC revolves around the theme of “Your Cue,” conceptualized as “a response to the shifting electronic music industry and a direct invitation for the community to shape what comes next — for DJs, producers... every contributor to the scene.”

Chicago electronic music conference April 11 at Ramova Theatre Chicago

NEW: Chicago Electronic Music Conference announces the 2026 return and expansion of the CEMC, touching down on April 11 at Ramova Theatre

Damian Rausch drops another bomb on "What's Your Name?" Music to stomp your feet and blow up your heart. Deep house like you love it from Damian Rausch on What's Your Name? from his own Rausch Recordings.

Music to stomp your feet and blow up your heart: Damian Rausch drops another #deephouse incendiary device on "What's Your Name?"

5mag.net/tracks/new-r...

(The picture is not the CEO of Spotify, just an incredible simulation.)

Spotify CEO: We are now the R&D Department of the music industry AI is going to benefit everyone, rich man tells his increasingly impoverished suppliers and customers.

CEO: Spotify is now the "R&D department of the music industry" ☠️

The platform has influenced how tracks are written, arranged and exploited for commercial profit & is signaling their intention to inject AI into everything, to help listeners better "interact with content"

5mag.net/news/spotify...

Spotify jacks rates for the second time this year Starting in February, Spotify Premium subscribers will pay $12.99 per month, a price increase to "keep delivering a great experience."

This is the second Spotify rate increase in the last 7 months.

In related news, yachts for coked out tech execs are expensive 🛥

5mag.net/news/spotify...

Hi, Spotify can't figure out how to keep pumping their stock without soaking you so we're increasing our rates from $11.99 to $12.99 per month starting in February.

Next month US subscribers will be getting this email telling them Spotify is raising monthly subscription rates again to "keep delivering a great experience" 😂💰

Featuring Gilles Peterson, Louie Vega, Ron Trent, Soul Clap and the annual celebration of the life of Frankie Knuckles

Come early, come often: @smartbarchicago.com and @metrochicago.com are selling a multi-day pass to this weekend's blockbuster lineup of events

5mag.net/news/smartba...

Bandcamp bans AI generated music Bandcamp users are encouraged to flag any music which appears to be AI generated.

New: @bandcamp.com just banned AI generated music from their platform

Users are encouraged to flag music they suspect was generated via AI or relies heavily upon it for review:

5mag.net/news/bandcam...

STOP and put this on!

120 minute house music workout from Detroit's DJ Cent in this week's 5 Mag RISE ☀️ mix

soundcloud.com/5magazine/dj...

'We Are Da Bears!': Chicago DJ Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk makes new anthem for Monsters of the Midway YouTube video by ABC 7 Chicago

Chicago house music legend Farley Jackmaster Funk recorded a new #ChicagoBears anthem called "We Are Da Bears" 👀

5mag.net/news/farley-...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZWP...

Inside the Tampa Rave Revolution A new book reproduces every issue of the seminal Florida rave zine TRiP MAGAZEEN, spotlighting an overlooked chapter in dance music history.

The latest in the 5 Mag Book Club 🤓

5mag.net/features/5-m...