The CheckOut transforms former 7-Eleven building into North Side music hub

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago non-profit is openning a new venue and music school, The CheckOut, in the Graceland neighborhood.

The space includes a performance area with a Yamaha concert grand piano and flexible seating for up to 60 audience members, four teaching rooms, and a bar.

The CheckOut will be able to offer classical music concerts, cabarets, album listening parties, film screenings and more.

The CheckOut takes its name from the building's history as a 7-Eleven store and will feature 7-Eleven-themed touches such as adult slushies and bespoke lottery tickets.

Access Contemporary Music is set to open the new location at 4116 N. Clark Street, with a Grand Opening Festival September 13 through 28.

The CheckOut will open with a robust Grand Opening Festival kicking off on Saturday, September 13 and running through Sunday, September 28. The festival includes twelve concerts featuring top-tier local performers and composers including Black Oak Ensemble, Kontras Quartet, and the genre-bending ensemble Wicked Drawl. Presenting a snapshot The CheckOut's diverse and innovative year-round programming, the festival concerts include fascinating and vital programming including a concert of music for piano and video, a concert that explores Studs Terkel's seminal Working, a concert that explores the deep history of the human species, a concert that celebrates the diverse Uptown neighborhood, and a 90th birthday party for beloved contemporary composer Arvo Pärt. From jazz, to cabaret, to classical music and beyond, the Grand Opening Festival has concerts to appeal to every taste.

Festival tickets range in price from $18-$25 with an optional add-on for parking in the building's front lot. A full festival schedule is included below, for more information visit thecheckout.org.