55 Years of Operation
Located in the beautiful Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, Illinois, the Two Way Street Coffee House has been in operation since 1970.
Internationally recognized, the Friday Night Concert Series at the Two Way Street Coffee House hosts the finest folk and acoustic artists in an intimate listening room, providing an excellent musical experience.
Additionally, in partnership with our friends at the Plank Road Folk Music Society, we provide outstanding community events–sing alongs, song circles, workshops, barn dances, and more!
ADDRESS:
1047 Curtiss Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Interested in volunteering and joining our community?
Thank you to all the volunteers for 53 years of operation! Quite literally, none of it would be possible without dedicated volunteers.
Immediately, we have openings for counter help and several audio/visual operators at the concerts, a volunteer coordinator, and digital marketing volunteers. Additionally, we will be occasionally looking for extra help for special events as they arise. If you are interested in any of these roles please sign up below and we will provide training and scheduling information.
Want to perform at the Two Way Street Coffee House?
We are a 60 seat intimate, listening room booking primarily folk and acoustic solo, duo and trio performers.
We are proud to be a member of Local 1000 Travel Musicians Union, guaranteeing our performers scale pay.
From The Directors
For 55 years, the Two Way Street Coffee House has been a vital outreach ministry of First Congregational United Church of Christ. Founded in 1970 by Dave Humphreys and a visionary team, it remains a welcoming space where people gather to connect, share ideas, and experience the magic of music and conversation. In 2025, Jennifer and Joel marked their fifth year as directors.
This past year, Two Way Street continued to present outstanding international artists alongside beloved local performers in our Friday Night Concerts. Our loyal audience keeps the room buzzing with community spirit, and we’re thrilled to welcome an increasing number of new neighbors into the fold. Our followers on social media also continue to grow. This summer we provided an internship for a local college student. He is studying business communications at Miami of Ohio and is from Clarendon Hills. He worked with Joel over the summer to help expand our online communication and assist in posting our upcoming events.
Our quarterly Local Artist Showcases, held in place of select Friday concerts, allowed us to feature more local musicians and thoughtfully pair artists to broaden audiences. Highlights included a showcase of two young performers that attracted college-aged patrons—one of whom, Gia, is the daughter of a longtime Two Way Street performer and later appeared as a DJ showcase artist at the Folk Alliance Region Midwest Gathering following her EP release. Another showcase reunited a longtime favorite with his son in a special shared bill.
We continued popular traditions such as sing-arounds and song circles in partnership with the Plank Road Folk and Music Society, along with our ever-popular community Barn Dances—lively, well attended, and pure joy for all involved.
In collaboration with Plank Road, we also continued the 5th Saturdays Workshop Series, held during months with a fifth Saturday. The workshops have been so successful that we are already planning a third year in 2026.
This year we introduced the Heritage Matinee Series, select Sunday afternoon concerts featuring multiple local performers. These events offered an accessible daytime option for music and community while raising over $2,000 to support coffee house operations and programming. The series will continue in 2026.
We also revived the Last Thursday Open Mic for high school and college-aged musicians, a beloved pre-pandemic program. Attendance was strong, the talent inspiring, and the press release resulted in a featured story in The Patch.
New in 2025, we launched Cultural Connections, an umbrella for events celebrating diverse cultural traditions. Our first offerings—Nordic Jams and Nordic Dances—were presented in partnership with Chicago Spelmanslag, the Swedish Heritage Museum, and a Nordic dance instructor. Introduced this fall, these events have been well received and will continue seasonally, much like our Barn Dances.
We are deeply grateful to the church, our dedicated volunteers, and our generous donors. Because of their support, Two Way Street Coffee House remains a vibrant hub for artistic expression, community connection, and shared joy.
Looking ahead to 2026, we are excited to introduce Tunes and Tales, a songwriter-in-the-round series presented on select Sunday afternoons, inspired by the success of our matinee concerts and their appeal to new audiences.
Thank you for the opportunity to carry forward the mission and traditions of the Two Way Street Coffee House!
Warm regards,
Joel Simpson and Jennifer Ashley
Directors
