Concertgoers of all ages at Park West Credit: Steven Abraham
Looking for stuff to do this weekend and beyond? Read on!
FRI 6/3
Do-Division Street Fest (Division between Damen and Leavitt) benefits from handing over its music programming to outside local venues, and this year’s lineup (booked by Empty Bottle and Subterranean) doesn’t disappoint. Tonight you can catch several acts that we’ve written about including Oui Ennui (5:45 PM on the East Stage), “musical polymath” Nnamdï (8:45 PM on the East Stage), and Oso Oso (9 PM on the West Stage). The entire festival includes fashion shows, music all weekend, family activities, and local vendors. You can see more music set times and other information at the festival website. Festival hours are tonight from 5-10 PM, and Sat-Sun noon-10 PM. (SCJ)
Now in its 12th season, dropshift dance asked its ensemble to explore family history and tradition in their newest offering, DWELL/burrow, opening tonight at 7 PM and continuing at 7 PM tomorrow at Links Hall (3111 N. Western). In collaboration with interdisciplinary musician and improvising violist Scott Rubin, the company dove into written archives, memories, and interviews with their parents to build this piece out of “lists of words and phrases mined during creative research while considering themes of visibility within the space and the context of time.” Also on the bill is Ghost Ensemble, an original improvised solo developed by collaborative dance group The Space Movement Project (TSMP) and performed by company artist Anne Kasdorf. Tickets are $34 ($28 senior/student, $18 under 16), with a livestream option available 6/4, and can be purchased through dropshiftdance.com. (KR)
At 10 PM, London-based neo acid house duo Paranoid London will be manning the decks at Smart Bar (3730 N. Clark). As I wrote in a concert preview, “Their music seems to imagine an alternate history where acid house evolved not in Chicago in the 1980s but rather in the UK underground punk scene in the 2000s.” Opening for them are local ethereal beatmakers Justin Aulis Long and Sassmouth. Tickets are $20 ($25 after midnight) and available to those 21 and up. (MC)
SAT 6/4
Today is a very special Dim Sum & Drag at Furama (4936 N. Broadway). Internationally renowned drag performer Rani KoHEnur—perhaps best known for her season one appearance on the drag/singing competition show Queen of the Universe—will be headlining a stacked bill that includes Aunty Chan, Gigi Madid, K’hole Kardashian, and Mac K. Roni. Bollywood Barbie Abhijeet will be the mistress of ceremonies while Club Chow provides beats. The 11:30 AM show is all ages, but the 2:30 PM show is 18+. Tickets start at $35 and include brunch. Masks and proof of vaccination are required. (MC)
From noon-5 PM today, the Chicago chapter of the New Era Young Lords will be celebrating the legacy of José “Cha Cha” Jiménez at the Humboldt Park Fieldhouse (1440 N. Humboldt). Around 1960, the Young Lords started as a Lincoln Park street gang, but in 1968, Jiménez inspired them to reorganize and fight gentrification. During the 70s, those successes grew into a national civil rights movement that benefitted Puerto Ricans and other colonized people of color. But similar to the Black Panther Party, the organization they modeled themselves after, their political gains were interrupted by FBI sabotage. At this event, community members are invited to connect with one another while civil rights leaders from that time advance Jiménez’s legacy and inspire a new generation of organizers. (MC)
The Martin (2500 W. Chicago) is hosting a free, all-ages pop-up spotlighting small local BIPOC artists and vendors. It’s running from 6-9 PM, and proof of vaccination is required. But earlier in the day, the Promontory (5311 S. Lake Park West) is hosting a similar event called the Chicago Black-Owned Marketplace from 11 AM-6 PM. It’s $5 to attend (children 16 and under get in free), and guests can expect a bevy of local and regional Black-owned businesses as well as a photobooth, food, and music. For those 21 and up, there will be a separate afterparty to marinate in all the good community vibes that kicks off at 10:30 PM. Tickets are $20. Both are organized by Afro Soca Love, which hosts events aimed at the African diaspora across the country. (MC)
Unfolding Disability Futures is a multi-organization, site-specific dance and visual arts event organized by local disabled artists and held throughout the Plant, (1400 W. 46th), a former meatpacking facility in Back of the Yards. Audiences will be led in groups of ten to experience five different original dance works as well as five visual artist spotlights, staggered by 30-minute “cycles.” The first cycle kicks off tonight at 6:30; performances will continue tomorrow beginning at 2 PM, and then next Saturday and Sunday 6/11-6/12, at 6:30 PM and 2 PM, respectively. ASL interpreters will be available at all performances. Tickets are free, but donations are accepted, and those will be used to supplement the stipends for participating artists. Information and reservations available at unfoldingdisabilityfutures.com. (KR)
SUN 6/5
’Tis the season where everything is better outdoors in Chicago, and the visual arts are no exception. And throughout this weekend, you’ll have a chance to check out art fairs on the sidewalks of our city (and perhaps purchase something new to adorn your indoors with). Sat and Sun from 10 AM-4 PM, the Uptown Art Fair holds court around 4620 N. Broadway. Expect artist vendor booths, giveaways, and, on Sun from noon-6 PM, a pop-up beer garden featuring beer, wine, and seltzer from local breweries. It’s part of a larger group of programming dubbed Uptown Art Week (see the Uptown Chamber of Commerce’s website for more information). And south siders will enjoy the 57th Street Art Fair, now celebrating its 75th year, which makes it the oldest juried art fair in the midwest. Artists can be found in booths lining both 57th Street (from Woodlawn to just east of Ray School, and also Kimbark between 56th and 57th. Expect everything from woodworking to contemporary sculpture, and if that doesn’t satisfy—there’s also a food court. 57th Street Art Fair is open Sat from 11 AM-6 PM and Sun from 10 AM-5 PM. Both fairs are free to attend. (SCJ)
Starting now through October, the first Sunday of every month will be devoted to Vinyl & Vittles at Englewood Village Plaza (5800 S. Halsted). From noon-5 PM, local record stores and restaurants will gather to provide tunes and treats to Englewood. While there will be bigger vendors like Shady Rest Vintage and Vinyl and Doughboy’s Chicago, there will also be smaller sellers like DJs, home kitchens, and more. (MC)
Evanston’s Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre has been a longtime center for work by Black playwrights and artists. Their latest production revives a modern classic of African American drama: 1980’s Home, by Samm-Art Williams, which was nominated for both the Tony and Drama Desk Awards in its inaugural appearance. Cephus Miles (Lewon Johnson), a recently orphaned young man, is content to work on the family farm he’s inherited, until a series of setbacks persuade him to try his luck in the city. Fleetwood-Jourdain artistic director Tim Rhoze stages the production, and promises that it will honor the overlooked “American Travelling Tent Theatre utilized from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century,” which emphasized intimate storytelling over fancy production values. It runs through June 19 at Noyes Cultural Arts Center (927 Noyes, Evanston) at 7 PM Sat and 3 PM Sun; tickets are $30 at fjtheatre.com. (KR)
Senior writer Leor Galil’s cover story for our late May issue on a thriving Chicago music and artistic scene composed of local teens and very young adults is just the sort of thing that we love to tell you about here at the Reader. And tonight you get a chance to experience the joy that Galil had when hearing some of these bands for the first time, as Horsegirl anchors an all-ages show at Thalia Hall (1807 S. Allport), along with Lifeguard, Friko, and Post Office Winter. The music starts at 7 PM, and advance tickets are available. (SCJ)
MON 6/6
Remember that baby formula shortage? There are some local places collecting donations—for instance, the Austin Peoples Action Center (5125 W. Chicago). New Moms (5317 W. Chicago Ave) is also accepting drop-offs (Enfamil is highly desired in their community!) but they’re putting monetary donations towards formula right now, too. In the suburbs, Block Club recently reported: “Suburban community fridges at The Hampton House, 804 S. 17th in Maywood; Oak Park’s Carnival Grocery, 824 S. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park; and Euclid Church, 405 S. Euclid in Oak Park have designated pantries accepting drop-off donations of formula.” (MC)
Monday Night Foodball is back tonight at the Kedzie Inn (4100 N. Kedzie) after a brief period of respite in May, and the new menu of chefs coming up does not disappoint. Reader senior writer Mike Sula gives us a full list of Foodballs to come (booked through August) in his column this week, including tonight’s visit from Jennifer Pou-Alesi and Mike Alesi, who offer Malaysian fare under the name Kedai Tapao. Pre-ordering is available and encouraged. The event happens from 5:30-9:30 PM. (SCJ)
TUE 6/7
From 5-8 PM, El Paseo Community Garden (944 W. 21st) is holding a Reiki y Sanacion Community Clinic, which will continue on the first Tuesday of every month as the weather holds. This free, volunteer-run event is designed to promote healing through alternative health treatments such as reiki, acupuncture, massage, limpia, and more. While everyone is welcome, this is especially aimed at community members who are struggling to access pain management services. Minors must be accompanied by adults. If you have questions (or a massage table to donate!) or you want to volunteer at a future event, email Cristina Puzio at [email protected]. This is a bilingual event. (MC)
The 90s are back! Well, not really, but some good stuff from Chicago in the 90s never really went away: it just relocated for a while to recharge and recreate itself into a next-level form. The mighty Flying Luttenbachers are one such entity, and will offer a taste of their new album tonight at Burlington Bar (3425 W. Fullerton). Doors open at 8 PM and $10 tickets will be available at the door. The Burlington is a 21+ venue. (SCJ)
WED 6/8
If you’re still looking for some healing vibes or just want to spend extra time outside, come back to the El Paseo Community Garden (944 W. 21st) at 6:30 PM for a community meditation and sound bath led by the Papalotzin Collective. There’s a $5 suggested donation, and you’re encouraged to bring a mat and water bottle. This is also a bilingual event. (MC)
Musician and licensed therapist Jessica Risker is back at Cafe Mustache (2313 N. Milwaukee) for another live recording of her podcast, Music Therapy. Each month, she hosts an in-depth conversation with a different band that focuses on how their relationships, anxieties, creative processes, and other inner mysteries shape their music. And then the bands perform! At 8 PM, she’ll be in session with giddy and freewheeling local punks Spread Joy. Satirical self-helper Leslie Tanner will also make a cameo. There’s a $10 suggested donation at the door, and proof of vaccination is required. (MC)
THU 6/9
Drag and burlesque performer Ramona Slick hosts a monthly film series at Music Box (3733 N. Southport) called Rated Q where they screen queer cult classics accompanied by drag performances and live-action cosplay. (In case you missed it, freelancer Dora Segall wrote about it for us in February.) This month’s screening is To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, where 90s icons of masculinity Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swazye, and Pest-era John Leguizamo star as three queens on a cross-country quest to a national drag competition. Tickets are $15, and the projector starts rolling at 9:45 PM. (MC)
Longtime theater fans probably remember Will Kern’s Hellcab, which first premiered at now-defunct Famous Door Theatre in 1992 under the direction of Jennifer Markowitz and became a recurring long-running hit. (Markowitz has since moved into fiber arts; her work is part of “Fiber-Fashion-Feminism” at the Art Center Highland Park through 6/11.) That gritty slice-of-life realist story about a night in the life of a Chicago cabbie may find echoes in Pat Radke and Dave Satterwhite’s The Coming Out Party, opening tonight at the Jarvis Square Theatre (1439 W. Jarvis) with NealShow Productions and directed by Radke. Described as a “dystopian satire,” the show follows Candyce, a state-mandated rideshare driver, as he ferries “Pat, a high-strung socialite with a lust for flesh, and Dave, a mellow music maven” to the eponymous social event. Experimental composer Coleman Zurkowski created the original score. It runs through 6/25, Thu-Sat 8 PM; tickets are $20 through eventbrite.com. (KR)
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