The House Cafe, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, celebrated its 10th anniversary with the Ten Ear Cornhugger’s Best Fest this weekend.

The weekend unofficially began Thursday with a show by Every Time I Die, and featured in this weekend’s lineup were local band Astral Guard as well as Page CXVI, a band hailing from Colorado.

While about 15 local and touring bands rounded out this weekend’s festival, House Cafe manager Matthew Clark considers the tail-end of the celebration to be the Open Mic Night, which happens tonight and every Monday evening at the House. Sign in for performers starts at 7:30 p.m. with performances starting around 8 p.m. Clark estimates the crowd of previous weeks to be around seventy people, and attendance seems to be steadily rising. Anyone is encouraged to participate, given that the House Cafe is a venue that has been known to showcase everything from hardcore punk to jazz to folk music.

“The variety is incredible here, and has been,” Clark said. “I think that’s part of our success.”

Ten years ago, the House had a reputation for its food, not for its music. The House’s first owner, Sven Hansen (now the owner of Glidden Campus Florist ) was more focused on the cafe as an eatery and less on its appeal as a venue. The cafe eventually got too expensive for Hansen to maintain, and was shut down for a little over three months around 2005, according to Kickstand Production’s John Ugolini, who first started booking bands there in 2003. Fareed Haque, a Jazz guitarist and music instructor at NIU purchased the House, reopened it, and focused on recreating it as a music venue. Haque used his connections to begin booking talented jazz acts, and Ugolini, who knew of the venue through his own experience in playing in a local band, began booking bands like the Chicago punk band the Lawrence Arms there.

Many of these indie and punk bands later made it a point to play the House Cafe on their way though the Midwest, because as Ugolini puts it, bands are “treated like gold at the House.” Whether it is a smaller or a larger act, Ugolini and the House staff do their best in promoting, welcoming and showcasing every act that comes through.

And this treatment has paid off; the House has a “sterling reputation” among touring bands, Ugolini said. This is a large part of the reason that the venue has been able to book acts such as MGMT, Of Montreal, Crystal Castles, Metro Station and Boys Like Girls in the past, and continues to bring in bands like Every Time I Die, who brought a crowd of at least 175 people.

Bands that have once played the House are now being covered by MTV and playing arenas, but Ugolini says that bands and their fans often choose the House over larger venues in Chicago because of the intimate environment the House provides.

While Ugolini mentioned that DeKalb is considered a second or third level market, meaning generally smaller crowds and less profit, the House is often packed, because of, as Ugolini puts it, the “magnetic quality” of the venue. There is no real backstage area, so bands, managers, and fans all tend to mix before and after the show and between sets.

“People really respond to that,” Ugolini said.

Besides the music, variety is also a factor in the type of crowd the House draws– it is one of the only all ages venues in the area, which is another point of pride.

“When I was growing up, we didn’t have all ages venues,” Clark recalls, and he wants to continue to work to create an environment where everyone, regardless of age, is welcome.

Maintaining that welcoming environment is Clark’s biggest goal regarding the House’s future. In years to come, Clark would like to continue the “grassroots experience” of the venue by supporting the growing DeKalb music scene and booking as many local bands as possible. While Clark estimates that around 40 percent of business comes from out of town, he makes it very clear that this is a place supported by our community.

“Matthew does an amazing job,” Ugolini said on Clark’s community-based efforts.

While Clark is hoping the future holds more sponsorship opportunities for the House, he’d like to see this venue continue primarily as an independent, all ages spot that makes an effort in bringing our community together.

“I have so much heart and soul, and blood and sweat and tears invested in this place,” Ugolini said. “Everyone does.”

As for immediate plans for the future of the venue, “We plan to keep decorating, because we expect people to come,” Clark said.

The House Cafe,263 E. Lincoln Highway, celebrated its 10th anniversary with the Ten Ear Cornhugger’s Best Fest this weekend.

The weekend unofficially began Thursday with a show by Every Time I Die, and featured in this weekend’s lineup were local band Astral Guard as well as Page CXVI, a band hailing from Colorado.

While about fifteen local and touring bands rounded out this weekend’s festival, House Cafe manager Matthew Clark considers the tail-end of the celebration to be the Open Mic Night, which happens tonight and every Monday evening at the House. Sign in for performers starts at 7:30 p.m. with performances starting around 8 p.m. Clark estimates the crowd of previous weeks to be around seventy people, and attendance seems to be steadily rising. Anyone is encouraged to participate, given that the House Cafe is a venue that has been known to showcase everything from hardcore punk to jazz to folk music.

“The variety is incredible here, and has been,” Clark said. “I think that’s part of our success.”

Ten years ago, the House had a reputation for its food, not for its music. The House’s first owner, Sven Hansen (now the owner of Glidden Campus Florist ) was more focused on the cafe as an eatery and less on its appeal as a venue. The cafe eventually got too expensive for Hansen to maintain, and was shut down for a little over three months around 2005, according to Kickstand Production’s John Ugolini, who first started booking bands there in 2003. Fareed Haque, a Jazz guitarist and music instructor at NIU purchased the House, reopened it, and focused on recreating it as a music venue. Haque used his connections to begin booking talented jazz acts, and Ugolini, who knew of the venue through his own experience in playing in a local band, began booking bands like the Chicago punk band the Lawrence Arms there.

Many of these indie and punk bands later made it a point to play the House Cafe on their way though the Midwest, because as Ugolini puts it, bands are “treated like gold at the House.” Whether it is a smaller or a larger act, Ugolini and the House staff do their best in promoting, welcoming and showcasing every act that comes through.

And this treatment has paid off; the House has a “sterling reputation” among touring bands, Ugolini said. This is a large part of the reason that the venue has been able to book acts such as MGMT, Of Montreal, Crystal Castles, Metro Station and Boys Like Girls in the past, and continues to bring in bands like Every Time I Die, who brought a crowd of at least 175 people.

Bands that have once played the House are now being covered by MTV and playing arenas, but Ugolini says that bands and their fans often choose the House over larger venues in Chicago because of the intimate environment the House provides.

While Ugolini mentioned that DeKalb is considered a second or third level market, meaning generally smaller crowds and less profit, the House is often packed, because of, as Ugolini puts it, the “magnetic quality” of the venue. There is no real backstage area, so bands, managers, and fans all tend to mix before and after the show and between sets.

“People really respond to that,” Ugolini said.

Besides the music, variety is also a factor in the type of crowd the House draws– it is one of the only all ages venues in the area, which is another point of pride.

“When I was growing up, we didn’t have all ages venues,” Clark recalls, and he wants to continue to work to create an environment where everyone, regardless of age, is welcome.

Maintaining that welcoming environment is Clark’s biggest goal regarding the House’s future. In years to come, Clark would like to continue the “grassroots experience” of the venue by supporting the growing DeKalb music scene and booking as many local bands as possible. While Clark estimates that around 40 percent of business comes from out of town, he makes it very clear that this is a place supported by our community.

“Matthew does an amazing job,” Ugolini said on Clark’s community-based efforts.

While Clark is hoping the future holds more sponsorship opportunities for the House, he’d like to see this venue continue primarily as an independent, all ages spot that makes an effort in bringing our community together.

“I have so much heart and soul, and blood and sweat and tears invested in this place,” Ugolini said. “Everyone does.”

As for immediate plans for the future of the venue, “We plan to keep decorating, because we expect people to come,” Clark said.