The Looney family has owned and operated The Abbey Pub since 1984. Bridget met Tom Looney on a blind date the day she arrived in Chicago from County Mayo in Ireland and they were married in 1966.
For years The Abbey was the premiere venue in Chicago, providing live telecast of major sporting events from Ireland as well as Six Nations Rugby and World Cup soccer. During this period Bridget, or Breege, as everyone calls her, worked behind the scenes doing the accounting, banking, licenses, etc. She enjoyed the camaraderie with the regulars and was known as “The Abbey Bank Lady” because she was able to cash checks for the boys in the construction industry and kept them coming back to drink after work.
Their son, Chicago fireman Pat Looney, locally known to most as the guy who was inches away from becoming Bartman (from the infamous 2003 Cubs playoffs) currently oversees operations. While Breege is no longer known as The Bank Lady, she still comes in every morning to work in the office. You can also hear her on The Irish Radio Show every Saturday morning.
Since its inception, The Abbey has hosted a diverse mix of national and regional acts. Even local legends like Andrew Bird and Wilco have performed here. The Abbey also prides itself on cultivating and supporting the local music scene with various weekly and monthly residencies. But you don’t have to be a groundbreaking rock pioneer to take the stage. The Green Room Pub holds a weekly open mic night on Tuesdays for those aspiring musicians looking to showcase their material to local crowds.
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Past Performers
Arlo Guthrie
Bassnectar
Beats Antique
Benevento-Russo Duo
Black Kids
Brad Paisley
Brothers Past
Camper Van Beethoven
Carol Palmer
Chateau Marmont
Chicago Afrobeat Project
Cold War Kids
Cornmeal
Cut Copy
Daedelus
Dick Prall
Dickey Betts
Dinosaur Jr.
Diplo
Drive-By Truckers
Emmit-Nershi Band
EOTO
Florence & The Machine
Flosstradamus
Future Rock
Garaj Mahal
Ghostface Killah
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
GZA (Wu-Tang)
Head For The Hills
Hot Buttered Rum
Hugh Cornwell
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Jeff Tweedy
JJ Grey and MOFRO
John Popper Project
Karl Denson Trio
Kasim Sulton
Kid Koala
Kris Kristofferson
Land of Atlantis
Los Lonely Boys
Lotus
Mannequin Men
Mucca Pazza
Mumford & Sons
Murder By Death
Neko Case
Nickel Creek
Of Montreal
Orchard Lounge
Particle
Pegboy
Pnuma Trio
Redman
Rick Wakeman (of YES)
RJD2
Rubblebucket
Sage Francis
Snow Patrol
Split Lip Rayfield
Steve Kimock Band
Strange Arrangement
Tapes n Tapes
Tea Leaf Green
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The New Deal
The Presidents of The United States of America
The Shams
The Strawbs
The Ting Tings
The Travelin’ McCoury’s
Tilly & The Wall
VHS or Beta
Vic Chestnutt
Wilco
Wiz Khalifa
Yonder Mountain String Band
