Artwork courtesy of Ethan Brown

When Senior Marketing Manager Kris English began working at The Salt Shed, Chicago’s indoor/outdoor music venue and creative touchstone, he had an idea before the roof was even installed that combined his love for film and the endless amount of music that would grace their stages.

His day-to-day prior to the opening of The Salt Shed included finding its brand identity, as well as creating unique programming that could speak to the brand. He thought about his passion for film and how he could bring it to the forefront in a meaningful way. A number of venues in the city could screen music documentaries or films about music; this had to be something unexpected. Thus, Crying at the Shed was born.

A concept built around emotional and creative storytelling, the marketing team quickly got to work on the inaugural event in 2024. It absolutely was a group effort, including Alternative Events Program Manager Mary McKeen, who English said was instrumental in bringing the vibe from concept to reality.

English decided to build the programming around Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, partly due to the fact that he had spent years trying to coordinate an event with the film’s composer, Jon Brion. Soon enough, they were announcing the three-day festival nestled on and around Valentine’s Day. They asked their social media following, “Are you all ready to…shed…a few tears?” February 14 included a special solo performance and Q&A with Brion following the screening of Big Fish, while Paris, Texas and a performance by Douglas McCombs of Tortoise took place February 15. The last day of the event, February 16, screened all three films of the Before trilogy.

The inaugural event was a memorable experience for English. Seeing his idea brought to life, and seeing people actually attending and enjoying themselves, was a special moment. He watched along as Brion performed in the city for the first time in more than a decade. He watched the same people sit through Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight - nearly a four and a half hour commitment. It was exactly how he pictured the event and so much more.

“Seeing people come together and share an experience of watching films together, these curated emotional films, was really special,” he said. “It felt like a community; that we were bringing this community together.”

It was important for English and his colleagues to keep the vibe of the event for its second year. They strayed a bit from the tragic love stories to include more that still impacted the viewer emotionally.

“There’s many different ways that you can get emotional when watching films and there’s a lot of stories that can impact you emotionally,” English said. “We wanted to expand the palette a little bit.”

They chose Julianna Barwick for the performance aspect, allowing her ethereal music and visuals to create what English called a "meditative, hypnotic type of an evening.” He felt that she seamlessly fit into the first film of the night, The Tree of Life.

The rest of this year’s lineup of tear jerkers included Bird, Big Fish, Boyhood, Romeo + Juliet, Chungking Express and Two Lovers. Big Fish is one of English’s all-time favorite films, and watching the audience appreciating the film as much as him was his most cherished moment of the festival.

Integral to the success of the event were partnerships with the Music Box Theatre and the Chicago International Film Festival. Not only was their advice and participation a welcome addition to the event, but their audience of independent film lovers had the potential to bring in an entirely new crowd to the venue.

“Reaching those audiences that maybe The Salt Shed isn’t reaching on a daily basis was really beneficial for Crying at the Shed,” English said. “When these influential film groups in Chicago wanted to get behind it, that really made me happy. It was just such a privilege and it has been a privilege to work with them.”