Where Do Desi Singles Go in Chicago? Devon Avenue Deserves a Dating Show.

Chicago has the second largest South Asian population in America after the NYC/NJ corridor, and somehow nobody has built a proper desi dating night for this city. Devon Avenue alone could fill a venue twice over. Schaumburg, Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook. The suburbs are deep with desi families, which means there are thousands of single South Asians scattered across Chicagoland who are tired of the same rotation of apps and aunty setups.

The show that sells out in New York every few weeks: real contestants go on live dates on stage while a packed room watches, reacts, and picks favorites. Afterward, the whole crowd mingles. It's the opposite of sitting alone on your phone hoping the algorithm blesses you. Chicago's fragmented desi scene needs exactly this kind of unifying event.

The Chicago desi scene is massive but weirdly fragmented. You've got the Northwestern crowd, the UChicago crowd, the UIC and IIT crowds, the downtown tech workers, the suburban professionals. Everyone knows other desi people, but the circles don't overlap enough. This show puts everyone in one room.

We're building the Chicago waitlist now. When we announce a date, the waitlist gets first access to tickets. If you want to be on stage as a contestant, apply below and you'll be in the system when we arrive.

If you've ever said there's no way to meet people in this city while living in a metro area of 9 million, this is your sign to stop blaming the city and start showing up.