FAQ

Quick answers to common questions. Still stuck? Contact us or ask the AI concierge.

• What is EmPulse Live NOW?

  EmPulse Live NOW is an independent Chicago events guide. We surface live music, festivals, club nights, and street fests across the city, plus a venue catalogue and an AI concierge to help you plan a night out.

• How do I buy tickets?

  Each event card has a Tickets button that links directly to the venue's or organizer's official ticket page. EmPulse Live NOW does NOT sell tickets and is not responsible for ticketing issues, refunds, or chargebacks — those go through the venue or organizer.

• Can I buy or sell tickets I can't use?

  Yes — visit /resale. Listings are fan-to-fan and reviewed by a moderator before going live. EmPulse Live NOW is not party to the sale, does not process payment, and does not mediate disputes. Buyer and seller transact at their own risk.

• How do I know if a show is all-ages?

  Every event card shows an age badge: All Ages, 18+, or 21+. If a venue updates their policy and we haven't caught it yet, please report it via /contact (category: Venue / event correction).

• Is venue X wheelchair accessible?

  Look for the ADA badge on the event card. If accessibility isn't confirmed by the venue we show a '?' instead. The AI concierge can also filter venues by accessibility.

• How do I get to a venue?

  Tap the Maps button on any event for Google Maps directions, or use Uber, Lyft, CTA (public transit), or SpotHero (parking) — all linked from each event card.

• Can I use the app in another language?

  Yes — use the language switcher in the header. The AI concierge also responds in the language you write to it.

• How do venues or promoters list an event?

  Visit /list-your-event. Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

• How does my brand or social account partner with EmPulse Live NOW?

  Brands and social accounts apply at /partnerships. Hotels, airlines, Airbnb, and VRBO apply at /travel-partners. All partnerships require a signed agreement and we track outbound clicks for revenue share.

• Do you track my clicks?

  We log anonymous outbound-link clicks (which venue, which ride-share, etc.) to power partner analytics. We do NOT sell your personal info or share it with outside marketing agencies. See /legal#privacy.

• I found a bug. How do I report it?

  Go to /contact, pick category 'Bug / IT issue', and attach a screenshot if you can. It routes straight to the IT team. You'll see status updates on your previous submissions when you sign in.

• Why was my account banned?

  Permanent bans are issued for selling illegal items, hate speech, threats, or fraudulent ticket listings. If you believe this is in error, contact us via /contact (category: Safety / conduct report).

• What can the AI concierge do?

  Ask /assistant for shows tonight, venues by neighborhood, all-ages options, accessibility, last-minute resale tickets, or answers to common questions like these. It only recommends real, confirmed events from our database.

• How do you decide what shows to list?

  Only events absolutely confirmed by the venue or organizer are shown. Tentative or rumored events are hidden until verified.

• I run a venue — how do I get my shows listed automatically?

  We have already built a profile for nearly every live music venue in each city we serve. Find yours at /venues, open it, and tap 'Claim this venue'. Once we verify you, you review the profile we generated (name, neighborhood, address, category, description, socials), fix anything that's wrong, then sync your calendar feed and flyers in Venue Hub. From then on your shows populate the listings automatically — every new date on your calendar becomes an event card in your city with your flyer, ticket link, and age policy. No manual posting.

• How does a venue edit a listing or its profile?

  Claimed venues edit everything themselves in Venue Hub — no email, no waiting on us. Changes you make are live immediately.

  1. Sign in with the account that claimed the venue and open Venue Hub.
  2. For a show: find it under 'Your shows' (or My Listings) and tap Edit. Update date, doors, lineup, flyer art, ticket link, price, or age policy.
  3. For the venue page itself: tap Edit profile to change name, address, neighborhood, category, hours, description, contact info, and social links.
  4. Save. Event edits publish instantly; profile edits publish instantly unless the change alters your verified contact details, which we spot-check within 1 business day.
  5. If the wrong info keeps coming back, it's arriving from your calendar feed — fix it at the source, then run Sync verification in Venue Hub to preview the corrected pull before it publishes.

  Timeline: edits by a claimed venue are live immediately; verification spot-checks finish within 1 business day.

• How does a venue request deletion of a listing or profile?

  You can remove your own shows yourself, and request removal of a whole venue page. Here's the process and how long each step takes.

  1. Single show: open it in Venue Hub or My Listings and tap Delete (or Unpublish to hide it while you fix details). Removal from the city listings is immediate.
  2. Stop future auto-imports: clear your calendar feed URL in your venue profile, or turn off the feed. No new shows are pulled after you save.
  3. Whole venue page: in Venue Hub tap 'Request removal' on the profile and tell us why (closed, duplicate page, ownership change). We acknowledge within 1 business day.
  4. We review the request — confirming you're the claimed owner — and action it within 3 business days. Duplicate pages are merged instead of deleted so links keep working.
  5. Not the claimed owner, or can't sign in? Send the request from your venue's official domain email through /contact (category: Venue / event correction). We verify ownership and respond within 5 business days.

  Timelines: show deletion immediate · acknowledgment within 1 business day · venue-page removal within 3 business days · unverified requests within 5 business days.

• My venue isn't listed. What now?

  Submit it at /submit-show or /list-your-event and we'll build the profile, usually the same day. We aim for EVERY live music room in each city — arenas, theaters, clubs, bars with stages, jazz and listening rooms, honky-tonks, and restaurants with regular live music.

• How does EmPulse Live NOW connect to EmPulse Music?

  EmPulse Music is our companion streaming app, where artists keep their own profiles. From an artist in EmPulse Music you can jump here to see where they're playing live, and from listings here you can jump over to stream that artist. Same family, two sides of the scene: EmPulse Music for the sound, EmPulse Live NOW for the show.