Sidetrack Chicago

3349 N. HALSTED • CHICAGO

Outspoken

OUTspoken!
LGBTQ+ Storytelling at Sidetrack

Join us for OUTspoken LGBTQ+ Stories, our monthly storytelling event celebrating uniquely personal stories from a cross-section of the LGBTQ+ community. OUTspoken is held on the first Tuesday of each month at Sidetrack.

Doors to MainBar open at 6pm
Stories begin at 7pm

Typically there will be 6 storytellers and one intermission.

Sidetrack is open daily: Weekdays 3pm-2am, Saturday 1pm-3am & Sunday 1pm-2am. No cover. 21+

IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING OUTSPOKEN AND REQUIRE SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS, PLEASE EMAIL
INFO@OUTSPOKENCHICAGO.COM

Rave Reviews for OUTspoken!

“The room was abuzz after.
People introduced themselves to the storytellers,
hugged them, and thanked the emcees…
It was truly great to be a part of it,
even just as an audience member.”

-Parker Stockman Chicago Literati

“Consistently great stories…and it’s ground-breaking.”

–WBEZ Afternoon Shift

OUTspoken is now a Podcast – ON THE MIC: OUTSPOKEN LGBTQ+ STORYTELLING at Sidetrack! Since its inception, we have recorded all audio from the stories each month and have created a podcast around these stories.

Check out all our episodes of ON THE MIC: OUTSPOKEN LGBTQ+ STORYTELLING at Sidetrack available on:

PODBEAN:
Click here

SPOTIFY:
Click here

STITCHER:
Click here

Everyone has a story. Interested in telling yours?

Contact our Curator Archy Jamjun at
info@outspokenchicago.com

Storytellers

Wendy Cole
September storyteller Wendy Cole has lived in the Chicago area for nearly half her life. A longtime journalist, she was working for Time Magazine in New York in the mid-1990s when she let her bosses know she was interested in becoming a foreign correspondent: They sent her to Chicago and she’s been here ever since. For 13 years, she focused on finding and writing stories in 15 Midwest states. She’s covered politicians, serial killers and precocious children. Tonight she’s doing something much more daunting: telling her own story. Hear Wendy’s story Tuesday, September 3, at OUTspoken at Sidetrack....
Ken Mejia Beal
September storyteller Ken Mejia Beal is a writer/politico/ and activist. Ken started his career as an HIV/AIDS activist on the south side of Chicago in the early 2000s. In 2015 Ken began writing for the platform DemWrite Press. In 2021 Ken became the first openly LGBTQ political Chair in the State of Illinois. In his first term, his administration turned the second reddest county in America, DuPAge County, into a solid blue county for the first time in history and saw the election of the first African American to the County Board. In 2024, Ken served as...
Clay Lawhead
September storyteller Clay Lawhead hails from the town of Peachtree City, Georgia, in which there are no peach trees. Clay Lawhead is a fan of the three S hobbies – surfing, skateboarding, and swimming – and the four M’s – mimosas, margaritas, mojitos, and Moscow mules. Clay wants to be just like Jojo Siwa and start a new genre of storytelling called “gay stories.” Clay can’t wait to tell stories that are personal and inspirational – if the audience can understand him. Hear Clay’s story Tuesday, September 3, at OUTspoken at Sidetrack 7-9pm....
Chi Williams
September storyteller Chi Williams has loved stories for as long as she can remember, and she suspects that nothing is more central to the human experience than storytelling. Chi has been sound designing, voicing, writing, directing, and producing audio content for the past five years, pushing the bounds of genre, sound, and story with her series Between Heartbeats (in production). Chi’s hobbies are martial arts, sound design, and imagining a better world. She now lives in Edgewater, where she can be found doing all three. Hear Chi’s story Tuesday, September 3, at OUTspoken at Sidetrack 7-9pm....
Ernest Holden
September storyteller Ernest Holden has been a performer for as long as he can remember. He has spoken his truth to as many people as he could get to listen across New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina, much to the annoyance of those with actual and/or perceived authority over him. Today, Ernest lives here in Chicago where he’s learning to more effectively perform that truth to affect change and build community in a look, sound, and style all his own. Hear Ernest’s story Tuesday, September 3, at OUTspoken at Sidetrack 7-9pm....
Brad Berlage
September storyteller Brad Berlage is originally from the Washington, DC area but is proud to call Chicago home. A former CPS math teacher and teacher coach, he now works in the corporate world pushing paper from one side of his virtual desk to the other. A proud member of the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus since 2000 he is also an avid board gamer, biker, swimmer and kayaker, hitting the water in his foldable kayak. Hear Brad’s story Tuesday, September 3, at OUTspoken at Sidetrack 7-9pm....