While Harry Styles performs at the Kia Forum arena in California on Oct. 29, fans in Champaign-Urbana can get a similar taste of the Harry Styles experience at The Canopy Club’s first-ever Harry-ween night.

The Director of Marketing at The Canopy Club, Ian Strasser, said Styles is “just someone that a lot of people really love at the moment,” adding that the venue received many suggestions from patrons to host a themed night for the celebrity.

“Harry Styles is just absolutely crushing it right now and selling out every single show he does and has people lining up around the block hours beforehand,” he explained.

Although The Canopy Club’s schedule consists mostly of live concerts, Strasser said the venue has recently shifted its usual programming to include more themed nights.

“Before the last two semesters, most of the nights that we’ve had at The Canopy Club have been, you know, full concerts is a good way to say it,” he explained. “But then we’ve found that a lot of students and people in the area are really interested in a bit more of a theme night event.”

After receiving positive feedback from its Latin Nights, Strasser said the venue hosted a Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo night in early October, which sold out. He said the idea for the Harry-ween night came from patrons who voiced their interest in attending the event.

“We’ve been hearing from what people think they’d like to see at The Canopy Club,” Strasser said. “When we were gauging, ‘Oh, what kind of other themed nights would you like?’ a lot of suggestions for Harry Styles and One Direction were coming up, and that was kind of our inspiration.”

Unlike themed nights at bars, Strasser said The Canopy Club has a larger focus on the music itself.

“When you go out to a bar and they have a theme night, a lot of people that don’t even know there’s a theme night going on are still going to show up there,” he said. “So it kind of offers a mixed crowd.”

At The Canopy Club, however, Strasser said themed-night patrons can interact with a like-minded crowd.

“The really cool part about The Canopy Club is when you see a night you like and you come on out here, you are automatically surrounded by a lot of the same similar people that are there to have the same good night that you are,” he said.

He also explained how the club’s full-scale concert production will create a unique experience for attendees, as opposed to going to a normal bar and listening to music over its speakers.

The purpose of Harry-ween is fairly straightforward, he added.

“(It’s meant) to just let everyone in town have a really good night and walk away feeling happy that they had a good time and enjoyed themselves,” he said. “Pretty much as simple as it is.”

Strasser said The Canopy Club is looking to plan more themed nights in the future, adding that he couldn’t disclose any specific details. However, he said people with theme suggestions can contact the venue via its email, [email protected], or through social media, @canopyclub.

“We are very receptive and willing to create these nights that people want,” he said. “Whether it’s a Taylor Swift night, Harry Styles, Emo Night or Latin Night — like we’ve done in the past — or branching out into other themes that people really want to come out and have fun with.”

If Harry-ween has a large turnout, Strasser said the venue would consider scheduling another Harry Styles, One Direction night.

“It’s definitely a possibility,” he said. “I can’t say how frequent they would be because we do just have a lot going on all the time … But yeah, if the night does well and everyone there seems to be wanting to do it, it’s definitely something that we can look into in the future.”

For those interested in attending Harry-ween on Oct. 29, visit the event page. Tickets cost $10 if purchased in advance and $13 on the day of the show. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 9 p.m.

[email protected]