Welcome to our highlights for concerts, festivals and live music in Chicago. From free shows at Millennium Park to large festivals like Ravinia and Lollapalooza, and intimate shows at small local venues, our guide has all the latest music entertainment. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on concerts and events.

Courtesy Chicago Park District

House City Series

What: The Departments of Cultural Affairs and Special Event’s tribute to house music continues with House City, a new series of free events popping up throughout the summer in the neighborhoods that helped create the house music genre over 35 years ago.

When/Where: Event dates and communities are July 8 in Austin, July 16 in North Lawndale, July 23 in South Shore, July 31 on the Southeast Side, Aug. 14 in Humboldt Park, Aug. 28 in Englewood, Aug. 29 in Lakeview, Sept. 12 in South Shore and Sept.19 in Bronzeville. DJs playing include Traxman, Lori Branch, Deeon, Elbert Philips, Duane Powell and more.

Info: For locations and times, visit chicagohousemusicfestival.us

Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra

What: Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra presents HerStory: Woodwind Quintets by Female Composers, a concert performed by IPO principal players Cynthia Fudala (flute), Naomi Bensdorf Frisch (oboe), Trevor O’Riordan (clarinet), Erin Kozakis (bassoon) and Lee Shirer (horn). The program includes Valerie Coleman’s “Afro-Cuban Concerto,” Hedwige Chretien’s “Quintet” and Barbara Harbach’s “Freeing the Caged Bird,” a four-movement tribute inspired by the literary works of four native St. Louis women who struggled to give voice to their creativity. Stilian Kirov conducts.

When: At 6:15 and 7:45 p.m. July 14

Where: Olympia Fields Country Club, 2800 Country Club Dr., Olympia Fields

Tickets: $37

Visit ipomusic.org.

Courtesy Origin Records

Chris Foreman at the Green Mill

What: The Green Mill has reopened and that means the return of Chris Foreman, a Friday night fixture at the popular jazz club. Foreman, a jazz organist blind since birth, is a master on the Hammond B3 and regarded as Chicago’s best. His playing is a blend of blues-gospel and jazz honed in his professional experience, which has included work with Hank Crawford, Albert Collins, Bernard Purdie, The Deep Blue Organ Trio and The Mighty Blue Kings.

When: 5-7:30 p.m.

Where: The Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway

Cost: No cover charge

Visit greenmilljazz.com

Cabaret Concert: Felicia P. Fields and E. Faye Butler

What: Two dynamic stage divas — Felicia P. Fields and E. Faye Butler — star in “Lettin’ the Good Times Roll,” a cabaret concert of jazz, blues, gospel and show tunes.

When: 7:30 p.m. July 9-10.

Where: The parking lot of North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie.

Tickets: $35-$45 (bring chairs and blankets).

Visit northlight.org

Ravinia Festival

What: The Ravinia Festival, the oldest outdoor music festival in the country, returns with reduced capacity. As usual, the lineup is a varied slate of music from classical to pop, jazz and rock. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra returns for a six-week run with conductor Marin Alsop leading seven concerts in her first season as Ravinia’s chief conductor. Also on the roster are: Garrick Ohlsson, Cynthia Erivo, Counting Crows, Kurt Elling, Brian McKnight, John Hiatt and the Jerry Douglas Band, The Roots, John Legend, Madeleine Peyroux, Midori, Joshua Bell, Pinchas Zukerman, the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Joffrey Ballet.

When: July 1-Sept. 26

Where: Highland Park

Tickets: prices vary

Visit: ravinia.org.

Patrick Pyszka

What: The Grant Park Music Festival will be fully open for capacity audiences in the seated area and the lawn when it returns. The season opener is an Independence Day salute at 6:30 p.m. July 2-3 with performances of works by John Williams, Scott Joplin, Robert Lowden, Florence Price, Leonard Bernstein, George Walker and of course Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Carlos Kalmar and Christopher Bell conduct.

When: July 2-Aug. 21

Where: Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph.

Admission: free

Visit: gpmf.org

Denise La Grassa

Courtesy of Denise La Grassa Music

What: Singer, songwriter and keyboardist Denise La Grassa performs an evening of original jazz accompanied by guitarist John Kregor with visual artist Sholo (Cheryl Beverly) who, inspired by the song lyrics, paints during the performance. La Grassa unveils new songs written through the eyes of Lady Liberty in a 21^st century marked by the confusion over the role of American democracy and original identity.

When: 7 p.m. June 26 and July 10

Where: New Rhythm Arts Center, 1772 W. Lunt

Tickets: $10. Visit deniselagrassa.com

Chicago Philharmonic

Courtesy of AdrianDunn.com

What: Chicago Philharmonic returns with a three-concert outdoor chamber series at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts parking lot, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie. The opening performance at 7 p.m. June 27 is “Chicago Phil Brass: Brass with Sass” and features Edward Elgar’s “Chanson du Matin,” Astor Piazzolla’s “Oblivion,” Fats Waller’s “That’s a Plenty,” Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” and more. There’s also a free streaming concert “Redemption” (June 29-Aug. 27), which features spirituals and gospel songs conducted by Adrian Dunn.

When: Subsequent concerts are July 25 and Aug. 5.

Tickets: $36-$42

Visit: chicagophilharmonic.org

Summer Nights with Northlight

What: Summer Nights with Northlight is a cabaret series held at Evanston restaurants to benefit Northlight Theatre. The performers are Alexis J. Roston and Kelvin Roston Jr. (June 10, Good to Go Jamaican, 711 W. Howard), Linda Solotaire (July 27, Sketchbook Brewing Company, 4901 Main, Skokie) and Heidi Kettenring (Aug. 24, Peckish Pig, 623 W. Howard).

When: Performances times are 6 p.m.

Tickets: $60 includes light dinner and select drinks. Visit northlight.org.

Tuesdays on the Terrace

Copyright MCA

When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays June 1-Aug. 31

Where: Museum of Contemporary Art’s outdoor sculpture garden, 220 E. Chicago

What: Tuesdays on the Terrace returns to the Museum of Contemporary Art’s outdoor sculpture garden. The popular jazz concert series features an array of Chicago jazz musiciansFirst up on June 1 is Alexis Lombre’s Ancestral Awakenings. Free with advance reservations. Visit mcachicago.org.

Labyrinth Arts and Performance Collective

What: Labyrinth Arts and Performance Collectivepresents “Emerge,” a new cabaret series featuring music, drag performance, comedy and spoken word.

When: every second Friday of the month

Where: Porkchop, 1132 W. Grand

Tickets: $20. Visit labyrinthartsperformance.com.

Lollapalooza

When: July 29-Aug. 1

Where: Grant Park

What: Lollapalooza returns to Grant Park July 29-Aug. 1 with Foo Fighters, Post Malone, Tyler, the Creator, Miley Cyrus, Dababy, Marchmello, Journey, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Kaytranada and more. $375+/festival pass. Visit lollapalooza.com.

Pitchfork Music Festival

When: Sept. 10-12

Where: Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph

What: The Pitchfork Music Festival returns to Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph. Performers include Erykah Badu Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent, The Fiery Furnaces, Angel Olsen, Kim Gordon Waxahatchee, Flying Lotus, Thundercat and more.

Tickets: $90/day, $195 festival pass. Visit pitchforkmusicfestival.com.

Riot Fest

When: Sept. 17-19

Where: Douglass Park, Chicago

What: Riot Fest is back, this year with Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, Run the Jewels, Pixies, Faith No More, Devo, Lupe Fiasco and more.

Tickets: $125+/day $155+/festival pass. Visit riotfest.org.

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Two people were shot, one critically, near Benito Juarez High School in Pilsen about an hour before students were released for the day Thursday afternoon.

A 16-year-old boy and a 34-year-old woman were in the 2100 block of South Ashland Avenue when someone approached and opened fire about 12:10 p.m, Chicago police said.

The woman was hit in the neck and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said. The teen was shot in the leg and was in good condition at the hospital.

About an hour after the shooting, cars lined up as students were released from the school. Groups of students huddled together near the bus stops on Cermak.

According to witnesses, gunfire erupted after two women were seen fighting outside the school and a car pulled up near Ashland Avenue and Cermak.

“Kill that (expletive),” a man was heard shouting. Another witness heard someone say, “Shoot her.”

A woman who had been waiting for the bus said she ran south on Ashland when the car pulled up next to the school’s outdoor space.

“I started running,” said the woman, 50, who did not want her name used. “When I heard the first shot, I looked back and I saw her fall to the ground.”

Another woman, 40, said she was walking near the area when she saw the car pull up and heard someone say, “Shoot her.”

“I just froze,” she said. “I don’t remember anything.”

The women, who were interviewed separately, both said someone attempted to perform CPR on the woman until paramedics arrived. The car involved in the shooting took off, according to the witnesses.

The 50-year-old woman said she asked if the woman who had been shot would make it. She was told they had found a heartbeat. “They said it ain’t looking good,” she said.

A mother and daughter waited near the scene of the shooting. The mother had come to pick up the 14-year-old from school. She was participating in a program for freshman and sophomore students.

“It’s ugly because there are children who come here alone,” the mother said in Spanish. The mother asked not to be identified.

Patricia Dominguez, 69, of Pilsen, walked her dog Tsipeni not far from the scene. She didn’t see the shooting, but she said it broke her heart to hear about it.

“Of course with the gentrification, it’s changing but we are still reminded that this is the barrio and sometimes they don’t let us forget that,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez, who is an artist and author of children’s books, said more arts and sports programs for children are needed to help curb violence in Chicago. She said that’s why she sponsors Benito Juarez’s girls soccer team.

“That’s what I feel is going to really, really help,” Dominguez said.

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When Pat Curry spotted bite-sized wood-fire rotisserie chicken with portabello mushroom at her local Costco in early June, she felt “giddy.” After a 14-month hiatus, free samples were back.

“It was one of the markers that told me that we turned a corner,” said the 60-year-old who lives in Augusta, Georgia. “It’s the little things that you do that were taken away, and now they’re back.”

When the pandemic was declared in March 2020, retailers worried about the potential spread of the coronavirus, so they cut off free sampling of everything from food to makeup to toys.

Now, with vaccinations rolling out and the threat of COVID-19 easing in the United States, stores are feeling confident enough to revive the longstanding tradition.

For customers, sampling makes it fun to shop and discover new items — not to mention getting all the freebies. For retailers, they’re critical tools to keep shoppers coming back and battle against online retailers like Amazon.

Food sampling converts browsers into buyers at a 20% higher rate than if customers weren’t allowed to test, says NPD Group Inc., a market research firm. The conversion rate is 30% higher when beauty products are sampled.

“Sampling is critical,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst. “Impulse alone drives 25% of the retail business.”

Jake Tavello, a senior vice president at Stew Leonard’s, said promoting new items had been challenging without sampling, a tradition started by his grandfather who founded the regional grocery chain in 1969. Sales of a new item pink glow pineapple were OK this past spring, for example, but have tripled since demonstrations were reintroduced.

“When people taste it, that’s what can makes people want to buy it and decide what they want to eat for dinner,” Tavello said.

While sampling is back, it’s not clear whether everyone is ready to bite. With that in mind, some retailers are putting various protocols in place to ease any health concerns.

At Costco, masked workers prepare the hot and cold samples behind plexiglass counters and distribute to its members one at a time. Stew Leonard’s also brought back hot samples with similar safety measures.

Walmart and its wholesale club division Sam’s Club are serving only pre-sealed food samples. And Sam’s Club is limiting to sampling on the weekend. Target said that staffed food and beverage sampling has remained on pause since March 2020, but it has been allowing self-service sampling of individually wrapped items.

With beauty testing, retailers appear to be even more cautious. Ulta Beauty said it’s still figuring out how to bring back makeup testers. Target said in May it will resume beauty product sampling in stores this year where customers can take home individually wrapped items.

Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University, said the problem during the pandemic with food sampling hasn’t been the handling of the items but that food sampling can lead to people congregating, and that increases the risk of transmission.

He also points to concerns about food sampling that go beyond the coronavirus: “Multiple hands grabbing samples can lead to the spread of germs, while contaminated gloves can also disperse unwanted bacteria.”

As for makeup testing, Gostin said it’s “much safer and wiser” to use samples that are fully packaged. And with letting kids play with toys, frequent sanitizing of objects is recommended to contain viruses like influenza, which unlike COVID-19 can be easily spread through touching contaminated surfaces.

Toy retailer Camp, which centered its shopping experience around children playing with toys, now has individually wrapped craft kits in the store instead of letting kids dig around for art supplies, said Tiffany Markofsky, the company’s marketing director. For testing out toys, it’s sticking to items that can be easily cleaned, like remote-control toy cars instead of dolls with faux hair.

Marianne Szymanski, president of Toy Tips Inc., a toy guide, said she thinks toy testing overall will be “limited” because of lingering fears about germs due to the pandemic.

Some retailers are doing away with sampling altogether. For instance, West Hollywood, California-based beauty company Blushington isn’t reopening its six stores and is instead moving more toward virtual makeup sessions and offering services at shoppers’ home, according to Natasha Cornstein, the cmpany’s chief executive officer. Cornstein said she thinks shoppers believe they have better control of their environment and hygiene in their own home.

“The consumer is coming out of COVID with very different habits,” she said. “It’s not only about COVID now.”

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A Chicago man allegedly told authorities he opened fire on an unmarked car carrying a police officer and two federal agents early Wednesday because he thought they were “opps” — or rival street gang members — surveilling a neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Now Eugene “Gen Gen” McLaurin, 28, faces federal charges in connection with the shooting that wounded the officer and two agents just ahead of a visit by President Joe Biden to the Chicago area.

McLaurin is charged with one count of using a dangerous and deadly weapon to assault an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. During a brief court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain, a prosecutor said the feds want McLaurin held in custody as a danger to the community.

A defense attorney for McLaurin waived a detention hearing for the time being, meaning McLaurin will stay in federal custody.Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo said McLaurin was initially arrested by Chicago police at 8:35 a.m. Wednesday, and he was transferred to federal custody at 11:03 a.m. Thursday.

The shooting happened just before 6 a.m. Wednesday as the officer and two ATF agents were getting onto the northbound lanes of Interstate 57 near 119th Street, about a mile from the Morgan Park police station, authorities said.

The police officer was grazed in the back of the head, one ATF agent was shot in the hand, and another ATF agent suffered a wound to his side, police said. All were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center and have been released.

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) made an appeal to Biden after the shooting, saying, “We’re at a critical point in the city of Chicago. We need help. Police can’t do it alone.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden had expressed his personal support for the officer and agents during a meeting with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on the tarmac at O’Hare Airport.

McLaurin is a convicted felon who was previously sentenced to five years in prison in 2015 for illegal gun possession and delivery of methamphetamine, and one year in prison in 2013 for illegal gun possession, court records show.

A seven-page criminal complaint filed Thursday against McLaurin says the officer and agents were working on an undercover investigation near the 400 block of West 118th Street around 5:45 a.m. Then, a white Chevrolet Malibu began to follow an unmarked Chrysler 300 in which the officer and two agents were riding.

The complaint identifies the Chicago police officer as an ATF task force officer.

The Malibu followed the Chrysler as it traveled west on 119th, according to the complaint. At one point, it said the Malibu pulled ahead of the Chrysler, parked, then began to follow the Chrysler again after it drove by.

The Chrysler turned north on Ashland to get onto I-57, and the officers inside the Chrysler took down the Malibu’s license plate number. Then, when the Chrysler reached the I-57 on-ramp, the officers inside saw the Malibu on Ashland Avenue.

That’s when the driver’s side window of the Malibu rolled down, and a Black male with a “twist hair style” pointed a black handgun at the officers and opened fire, according to the complaint.

Authorities later tracked the Malibu to a house in the 200 block of East 89th Street, according to the complaint. There, officers found two Hornady 9mm shell casings on the driver’s side of car. Three such casings were also found at the scene of the shooting, according to the complaint.

A Chicago police officer also saw someone with a hairstyle matching the shooter’s in the backyard of a house next door to where the Malibu was parked, authorities said. Officers knocked on the door at 7:15 a.m., and McLaurin eventually stepped out.

McLaurin was sweaty and “visibly nervous,” according to the complaint. He allegedly told authorities he had been with his girlfriend that morning and had just been dropped off. An ATF agent took his picture and texted it to one of the victims of the shooting, authorities said. The victim allegedly said McLaurin’s hair matched the shooter’s but couldn’t say definitively it was him.

However, authorities arrested McLaurin and questioned him at a police station, according to the complaint. There, McLaurin allegedly admitted he was driving the Malibu near 118th Street and Normal Avenue early Wednesday, and that he began following the Chrysler.

McLaurin allegedly explained that a friend told him Tuesday that a white Chrysler 300 had been seen surveilling the area, and he thought the car he found was being driven by “opps” — or members of a rival street gang.

The feds say McLaurin admitted opening fire on the Chrysler with a Glock 9mm that he had purchased for personal protection a few months earlier, and he said he later dropped the gun into a drain.

Authorities said they found a key to the Malibu in a dryer vent tube during a search of the home where McLaurin was found.

Contributing: Lynn Sweet

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Welcome to our highlights of events and entertainment on stage at Chicago’s theaters. From local productions to Broadway hits, our guide has the latest on shows in the city. Bookmark this page and check back for updates and ticket information.

Michael Doucet

Teatro ZinZanni

What: The immersive, whirlwind theater experience that is Teatro ZinZanni reopens featuring a new show with a cast of comedians, aerialists, acrobats, singers, dancers and a gourmet meal, it brings comedy, music and cirque back after a long pandemic hiatus. Included among the performers are powerhouse vocalists Storm Marrero and Cunio, aerial acts Lea Hinz and Duo 19, veteran comedians Frank Ferrante and Joe DePaul and acrobatic dancers Mickael and Vita.

When: Re-opens July 8

Where: Spiegeltent ZaZou on the 14^th floor of the Cambria Hotel, 32 W. Randolph

Tickets: $119-$189; limited show only tickets $69.

Visit zinzanni.com/chicago.

Where: The 14^th floor of the Cambria Hotel, 32 W. Randolph

Provided

Cabaret Concert

What: Two dynamic stage divas — Felicia P. Fields and E. Faye Butler — star in “Lettin’ the Good Times Roll,” a cabaret concert of jazz, blues, gospel and show tunes.

When: 7:30 p.m. July 9-10.

Where: The parking lot of North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie.

Tickets: $35-$45 (bring chairs and blankets).

Visit northlight.org.

Elizabeth Larson Photo

Rivendell Theatre

What: Rivendell Theatre presents “The Princess Strikes Back: One Woman’s Search for the Space Cowboy of Her Dreams,” a solo show written and performed by Victoria Montalbano. In 1997, 13-year-old Victoria was introduced to her perfect man, Han Solo, and she’s been looking for her version ever since.

When: Livestreams at 7:30 p.m. July 9-10 and on demand to July 16.

Tickets: $15

Visit victorianotvicky.com.

Todd Rosenberg Photography

American Ballet Theatre

What: The American Ballet Theatre returns to town with “ABT Across America,” Presented by the Auditorium Theatre, the acclaimed company performs pieces from its repertoire — Lauren Lovette’s “La Follia Variations,” the pas de deux from “Don Quixote,” Jessica Lang’s “Let Me Sing Forevermore” set to the music of Tony Bennett and Darrell Grand Moultrie’s “Indestructible Light” featuring music by Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Billy Strayhorn.

When: 7:30 p.m. July 8

Where: Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion, Michigan and Randolph.

Visit auditoriumtheatre.org.

Philamonjaro

Chicago Tap Theatre presents “Tap Secret!,” a new original show with a story conceived by JC Brooks with director Mike Weaver and choreographer Mark Yonally; the score is by Brooks. As the story goes, there’s a nefarious plot afoot to ensure pop music stays smooth, simple and easy to digest. Three young women hatch a plan to thwart the plan and ensure music remains rich and rhythmically complex. “Audiences can expect a fun satire of ’90s pop, amidst a story that deals with the importance of rhythmic sophistication both in our lives and in our music,” says Yonally. Performances are at 3 and 7 p.m. July 10 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Tickets: $40. Visit chicagotaptheatre.com.

The Artistic Home Theatre

What: The Artistic Home presents “Summer on the Patio,” a seasonlong event which invites theatergoers to share in the creative workshop process via free staged readings and open rehearsals of three contemporary plays: Maria Irene Fornes’ “Mud” (To Aug. 27), Martyna Majok’s “Ironbound” (To Aug. 28) and Craig Wright’s “The Pavilion” (To Aug. 22).

Where: It all takes place at the company’s new space at 3054 N. Milwaukee with rehearsals in July and staged readings in August.

Admission: free

Visit theartistichome.org

Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre

What: Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre collaborates with interdisciplinary, conceptual storyteller S.L. Feemster for a staging of “ConFront(ed),” a digital-physical work with a trip-hop soundscape, crafted around the observations of nine bodies in motion.

When: Streams to July 14

Tickets: $5-$25

Visit: https://www.acphysicaltheatre.com

Interrobang Theatre Project

Interrobang Theatre Project

What: Interrobang Theatre Project’s season closes with the online world premiere of Susan Chenet’s “Dingleberries,” directed by Georgette Verdin. The dark comedy, based on actual events, follows the story of a middle school theater teacher whose playwriting dreams begin to come true when a regional company selects her avant-garde play as its next production.

When: The play streams June 24-July 18

Tickets: $15

Visit: interrobangtheatreproject.org

Courtesy of Neil Verma

Summer in the Parks

What: Brightside Theatre and the Naperville Park District present “Summer in the Parks: The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein.” The free hour-long revue features tunes from the iconic composers’ musicals including “The King and I,” “South Pacific,” “Oklahoma,” “The Sound of Music” and more.

When: Performances are at 7 p.m. June 30, July 21 and Aug. 11

Where: Wagner Family Pavilion in the 95^th Street Community Plaza, 3109 Cedar Glade Dr., Naperville.

Visit: brightsidetheatre.com

Steppenwolf Theatre

Joan Marcus/WP Theater

What: The final entry in the Steppenwolf NOW virtual season is “Where We Stand,” a storytelling tour-de-force about community and accountability written and performed by Donnetta Lavinia Grays. Through poetic verse and music, the drama challenges our ability to forgive and our ideas of mercy and who might deserve it. The filmed play captures a performance originally presented at Baltimore Center Stage co-produced with WP Theater.

When/tickets: A $75 ticket includes all six of the productions in the NOW series available online through Aug. 31

Visit: steppenwolf.org/now

Writers Theatre

Michael Halberstam

What: In Reginald Edmund’s “Ride Share,” a co-production of Black Lives, Black Words and Writers Theatre, everything in Marcus’ (Kamal Angelo Bolden) life is going smoothly until he’s laid off from his job. To make ends meet, he becomes a ride share driver. Edmund says the drama, directed by Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway, “takes us on a journey into the depths of the Black male experience in America.”

When: Streams June 23-July 25

Tickets: $40-$100

Visit writerstheatre.org

Summer Nights with Northlight

What: Summer Nights with Northlight is a cabaret series held at Evanston restaurants to benefit Northlight Theatre. The performers are Alexis J. Roston and Kelvin Roston Jr. (June 10, Good to Go Jamaican, 711 W. Howard), Linda Solotaire (July 27, Sketchbook Brewing Company, 4901 Main, Skokie) and Heidi Kettenring (Aug. 24, Peckish Pig, 623 W. Howard).

When: Performances times are 6 p.m.

Tickets: $60 includes light dinner and select drinks. Visit northlight.org.

Labyrinth Arts and Performance Collective

What: Labyrinth Arts and Performance Collectivepresents “Emerge,” a new cabaret series featuring music, drag performance, comedy and spoken word First up at 10 p.m. June 11 is the retro blues trio Improper Behavior featuring vocalist Sharon Waltham, guitarist Keith Fort and upright bass player Gregory Redfeairn.

When: every second Friday of the month

Where: Porkchop, 1132 W. Grand

Tickets: $20. Visit labyrinthartsperformance.com.

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NEW YORK — Lawyers for R&B singer R. Kelly were granted a little more time Thursday to prepare his defense for his upcoming sex-trafficking trial in New York City.

At a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly said jury selection would go forward on Aug. 9 as originally planned but agreed to delay opening statements until Aug. 18 rather than start the openings right after the panel is picked.

The jailed Kelly switched legal teams less than a month ago. His new attorneys had asked a judge Monday to postpone the New York trial for a longer period, saying they couldn’t adequately prepare.

The lawyers said they had been unable to meet with him in person while he was quarantined for 14 days in a Brooklyn federal jail after being brought there from a Chicago lockup on June 22. Federal jails have been quarantining transferred and newly incarcerated inmates since early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legal team also asked Thursday that Kelly be released on bail so he could better assist in his defense — a request the judge quickly denied. She assured them that they could now see Kelly in person at the jail seven days a week if they wanted.

“You’re going to have full access to Mr. Kelly,” she said.

Kelly, 54, was making his first in-person appearance in a New York court since his transfer. He didn’t speak, except to exchange greetings with the judge.

The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling R&B singer is charged with leading an enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex. Federal prosecutors say the group selected victims at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly.

The case is only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Chicago and Minnesota.

He denies ever abusing anyone.

Kelly won multiple Grammys for “I Believe I Can Fly,” a 1996 song that became an inspirational anthem played at school graduations, weddings, advertisements and elsewhere.

Nearly a decade later, he began releasing what eventually became 22 musical chapters of “Trapped in the Closet,” a drama that spins a tale of sexual deceit and became a cult classic.

But Kelly has been trailed for decades by complaints and allegations about his sexual behavior, including a 2002 child pornography case in Chicago. He was acquitted in that case in 2008.

Scrutiny intensified again amid the #MeToo movement in recent years, with multiple women going public with accusations against the singer. The pressure intensified with the release of the Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” in 2019.

Criminal charges soon followed.

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White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez is set to begin a rehab assignment at High-A Winston Salem, the team said Thursday.

He could be back in a White Sox uniform in three weeks.

Enjoying an eight-game lead on an off day Thursday despite a rash of injuries, the Sox (51-35) have been planning ahead knowing two of their premium players, Jimenez and center fielder Luis Robert, should be back in time for the stretch run and playoffs.

“The team is winning, and I feel happy I will be back to help the team,” Jimenez said Thursday. “They said six months but I’m back in three months.”

Jimenez has been out since he tore his left pectoral muscle leaping over the wall during a Cactus League game during spring training. He had surgery on March 30, and has been training at the team’s spring training facility in Glendale, Ariz.

“I feel better than I did in spring training,” the 2020 Silver Slugger winner said. “I feel 110 percent, let’s say 200 percent. I feel normal. I can finish my swing with one hand, two hands, whatever. It’s not going to hurt.”

The maximum minor league rehab time for a position player is 20 days. General manager Rick Hahn recently said the 20-day clock would begin after Jimenez arrived at an affiliate.

“If everything goes smoothly in that time period, you’ll see [Jimenez] back in Chicago,” Hahn said.

“I think I can be around the end of this month,” Jimenez said.

A four- to five-month recovery period was expected following surgery. But he might be on track for a return that could conceivably come the last weekend of July.

Manager Tony La Russa on Wednesday said Jimenez would likely be used “a lot” as a designated hitter when he returns. Jimenez reiterated that he doesn’t want to DH but he might not have a choice.

“That would be one way to get his bat in and not have to worry so much about his legs,” La Russa said. “The depth we have now in the outfield allows us to think about Eloy maybe getting a lot of swings as a DH.”

Andrew Vaughn moved to left field from first base after Jimenez was injured. The Sox have played 12 different outfielders due to injuries to Jimenez, Luis Robert, Adam Engel, Adam Eaton, Billy Hamilton and Jake Lamb.

Vaughn, who was projected to be the DH, has filled in just fine defensively. Yermin Mercedes covered the DH spot with aplomb in April but has since been demoted to Triple-A Charlotte. La Russa has rotated different guys since, including Jose Abreu, the now-injured Yasmani Grandal and Gavin Sheets of late.

The Sox have also been without Robert since May 2 with a Grade 3 strain of his right hip flexor. Robert was medically cleared to increase his level of baseball activities at the Sox complex on June 30, a phase of the rehabilitation process estimated to take approximately four weeks, or to the end of July. A rehab assignment with an affiliate would follow.

“I’ve seen him [in Arizona], he’s going to be back sooner than later, too,” Jimenez said. “We’ve been working hard to get back to our team.”

Jimenez said he’s about to start his “spring training” and cautioned that, while feeling 100 percent, “I don’t how I’m going to react when I start playing nine games back to back.”

So there are hurdles to clear, but signs have pointed up for weeks now, allowing La Russa to “play around with different lineups” knowing he’ll likely have Jimenez to pencil.

“It’s part of the fun,” La Russa said. “Wait until we get to the end [of the season] and see where we end up. Because it’s got a chance to be a hell of a story. Losing him in spring training and the way the guys responded, it’s been very typical, very special.”

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Alina Clark is about as tired of her pandemic wardrobe as her comfort clothes are stretched and torn.

“I have four sets of jeans, seven shirts and five sweaters that I wear every week,” said Clark, co-founder of a software development company in Los Angeles. “They’re everything I’ve worn in the last two years. Me and my wardrobe are suffering from COVID fatigue.”

A wardrobe purge is on for some as vaccinations have taken hold, restrictions have lifted, and offices reopen or finalize plans to do so. The primary beneficiaries: resale sites online and brick-and-mortar donation spots, continuing a trend that’s been building for the last several years.

Among those benefiting from the pandemic reawakening in clothes are dry cleaners.

Tom Ryan, vice president of franchising for CD One Price Cleaners, with 34 locations around Chicago, said they’ve been seeing an upward turn in dry-cleaning customers after a plunge of 80% during the pandemic.

“In March, we started making progress again given the vaccine distribution,” Ryan said. “As more people go back to work, we’re finally starting to see more people bringing their in-office clothes back for professional cleaning. Still, we expect post-pandemic attire and fashion trends to be different going forward, with more people in the office less often.”

Ryan expects business casual to be more the new normal — swapping out button-up shirts for more polo-style wear.

At the resale site Poshmark, orders are up from last year for handbags, work-worthy dresses blazers, suit jackets and heels.

Projections show the trend growing stronger. The secondhand clothing business is expected to more than double, from $36 billion to $77 billion in 2025, according to a recent report commissioned by the secondhand marketplace ThredUP and the research firm GlobalData.

The growth is driven by an influx of new sellers putting high-quality clothing into the market, said James Reinhart, co-founder and chief executive office of ThredUP. He estimates that nine billion clothing items that are hardly worn are sitting in shoppers’ closets.

Even before COVID, buying and selling secondhand clothing was popular. But the pandemic seemed to make people’s appetite for thrift even more appealing.

The post-pandemic shopper is more environmentally conscious and is showing a greater desire for clothes that have good resale value, rather than disposable fast fashion, Reinhart said. People who haven’t been able to wear most of the items in their closets for a year are more aware of waste and want to put their clothes back in circulation.

“There’s a new mindset around clothing consumption,” Reinhart said. “It’s not this buy, wear, throw out. There is this consciousness that happened during the pandemic where people were much more sensitive to this notion of waste.”

Maia DiDomenico’s mother introduced her to ThredUp during the pandemic. A recent college graduate who began a new job working with kids on the autism spectrum, the 23-year-old in Cranford, New Jersey, purged some Athleta sportswear on the site and received $557.60 in Athleta gift cards in exchange.

“It cleans your closet out quickly, and you have the chance to donate unwanted clothes,” DiDomenico said.

For months, Clark, 29, has had the urge to declutter her overflowing wardrobe. She started piling up clothes for donation weeks ago. But she’ll be buying new clothes, looking for “glitz and glamour” as her Zoom life soon ends and physical get-togethers have begun.

Consumers are purging more than their worn-out pandemic wear. At the luxury resale site TheRealReal, with more than 22 million members, the total value of pre-owned goods sold this year through May was about $239 million, up 53% over the same period in 2019, according to the company.

Not everybody is looking to abandon their COVID style, though. In Lynchburg, Virginia, 33-year-old Cameron Howe is ready to burn just about everything she has worn during the pandemic — except her impressive legging collection — as she transitions to a new career.

“I bought 15 to 20 plus pairs of leggings,” Howe said. “In a few weeks, I’ll start a new career as a project manager for a local nonprofit. I plan on wearing leggings to work. Thankfully, both my past and new employer are legging-friendly. I don’t really want to wear real pants again. I developed an absolute love of leggings during the pandemic.”

While piles of pandemic clothes are going to churches, donation boxes and online thrift and resale sites, some people are keeping them in the family.

Like many, Samantina Zeon, 31, from Queens, New York, has gained weight during the pandemic. She has plenty of clothes she can no longer fit into. So she’s sending the stylish ones to a cousin in Haiti.

“She plans on reselling them in her neighborhood for extra cash,” Zeon said.

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A man was ordered held on $2 million cash bond Thursday for allegedly killing a weed dealer who owed him a half pound of marijuana.

Cortez McGary told detectives he shot 32-year-old Lesean Long in self-defense after Long lifted up his shirt and exposed a small handgun in his waistband as they talked outside Long’s girlfriend’s Brainerd home on Feb. 28, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney James Murphy said.

McGary also said Long owed him a half-pound of marijuana, Murphy said.

Officers responding to shots fired that day saw McGary as he sped away from the scene in a gold Chrysler Pacifica, but he refused to pull over and escaped, Murphy said.

Long was found unresponsive in the 9100 block of South Emerald Avenue and pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.

Three .40-caliber shell casings were recovered at the scene.

McGary allegedly used the same gun during an armed robbery a little less than a month later on March 17. In that incident, the victim suffered a graze wound when McGary fired a shot, Murphy said.

That victim managed to wrestle the gun away from McGary, who dropped his cellphone in the process, Murphy said. McGary then allegedly fled in the same gold Chrysler.

McGary was taken into custody four days later after he was pulled over for a traffic violation while driving the Chrysler, Murphy said.

He was charged with attempted murder and armed robbery for the March incident and later released from Cook County Jail after posting $20,000 bond, Murphy said.

When officers attempted to place McGary under arrest Wednesday for Long’s murder, he jumped from a third-floor window in an attempt to escape, breaking multiple bones when he landed, Murphy said.

McGary remained hospitalized Thursday and did not appear at his bond hearing.

Judge Susana Ortiz, meanwhile, approved prosecutors’ request to revoke McGary’s bail for a pending fleeing and eluding case he was on bond for at the time of Long’s murder.

If McGary can post his bond in his murder case, Ortiz said she’d recommend that he be placed electronic monitoring while he awaits trial.

McGary is expected back in court July 15.

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Matt Mauser’s emotional performance moved the “America’s Got Talent” crowd to a standing ovation. Mauser is the widower of Christina Mauser, one of the nine people killed in the 2020 helicopter crash in which Kobe Bryant died in February of 2020.

In tribute to his wife, Mauser sang Phil Collins’ 1984 song, “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now).”

The 51-year-old singer shared his gripping backstory with the judges beforehand.

“I’m a singer, and I’m here because my wife,” he began, cracking with emotion. “And we’re both schoolteachers and we retired from teaching so that I could do the music full-time, and she got the opportunity to coach girls basketball with Kobe Bryant. But on Jan. 26, 2020, I lost my wife in the same helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant. Before Jan. 26, me and Christina lived this dreamy kind of life. We met in 2004, she saw me playing at this dive bar and I asked her out and we sat in my car and we talked about music.”

The Mausers were married for 15 years and they have three children, who joined Mauser for his audition.

“When she left that day she kissed me and she said ‘I love you.’ That was the last thing my wife ever said to me,” Mauser said, teary-eyed. “Your whole life changes in a second.”

The singer’s rousing performance easily wowed judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell, and moved him onto the next round of the television competition.

Read more at usatoday.com

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