One of my favorite places for a night out in Blono is The Castle Theatre. And I don’t hear people talk about it enough.
The Castle Theatre is a music venue located in Downtown Bloomington. They host an array of events from concerts, tribute bands, and dance parties. It’s only about a 10-minute drive from the ISU campus.
This is a great place to go with your friends! Tickets are reasonably affordable. I’ve personally never spent more than $25 on a ticket (and if you buy the tickets a few weeks in advance you can usually take advantage of the “Early Bird” admission prices). This is also a fun place for students of all years in College. Most shows are 18+. They check for horizontal IDs at the door if you plan on drinking.
My favorite part of the Castle Theatre is the fun and unique events that they offer. I first found out about the theatre via an Instagram ad. The upcoming show was the “Gimme Gimme Disco”, which I had seen on TikTok before. After attending my freshman year, I’ve gone to one or two shows a year.Â
Recently, the theater has been hosting touring “dance parties”. These are shows that feature a DJ rather than traditional live music. The DJ then plays songs by a specific artist or a specific genre of music. In the past, I’ve been to the Taylor Swift Dance Party, which usually visits the Bloomington Normal area once an academic year. These dance parties usually rotate around ISU and IWU’s academic calendars, so keep an eye out! Set for later this winter there’s going to be Please, Please, Please: The Sabrina Carpenter Dance Party and Pink Pony Club: The Chappell Roan dance party. A newer development in this “subset” of shows is the “rave”. Last fall, the viral Shrek Rave visited Blono. This year, on 2/7, Castle Theatre is welcoming the “Big Bubble Rave” with a SpongeBob Squarepants/underwater theme. These new touring raves revolve around a “silly” theme that encourages people to dress up and have fun!Â
If those DJ shows aren’t your style, don’t worry! The Castle Theatre has plenty of traditional concert-style events as well. They have a variety of artists, bands, and even tribute bands scheduled for this year! I just recently attended the concert of Sarah Place: A Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan tribute band. It was my first time going to a tribute band concert, and I was pleasantly surprised! The band was amazing and the venue was packed! These crowds tend to draw a more diverse age range which was a great time. In the upcoming months, they will be having Cash Unchained (A Johnny Cash tribute) and Rumors ATL (Fleetwood Mac).
So if you’re looking for something new and fun to do this semester, check out the Castle Theatre’s calendar! There are plenty of great events to pick from and you are sure to have a great night out. Â