University of Illinois

The University of Illinois campus in Urbana anchors the area's largest and most formal live-music venues, covering everything from arena rock to orchestral concerts to guitar festivals. Foellinger Auditorium, a 1,361-seat concert hall at 709 S. Mathews Avenue on the UIUC quad, was completed in 1907 and designed by noted theatre architect Clarence H. Blackall in the Beaux-Arts style. Over the decades it has hosted artists from every genre, from Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to Weezer and Talking Heads, with many concerts organized by the student group Star Course. Krannert Center for the Performing Arts sits at 500 South Goodwin Avenue and is the campus's principal performing-arts complex. It contains four venues with a combined seating capacity of about 4,000. The Center hosts over 300 performances annually, with past artists including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Buddy Guy, and Yo-Yo Ma, alongside the biennial ELLNORA Guitar Festival and performances by the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and Sinfonia da Camera. Its Foellinger Great Hall is known for its acoustics and has attracted orchestras including the Chicago Symphony and Sydney Symphony for recordings. State Farm Center rounds out the campus scene as the area's arena-scale option.

Venues3

Foellinger Auditorium709 S Mathews Ave, Urbana
Krannert Center for the Performing ArtsKrannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S Goodwin Ave Rm 4-122, Urbana
State Farm Center1800 S 1st St, Champaign