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.
Sunday in the Park with Lyric’s Rising Stars
The Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park.Copyright Todd Rosenberg Photography
WHAT: Lyric Opera of Chicago launches its 67th season with the free outdoor performance “Sunday in the Park with Lyric’s Rising Stars.” Appearing with the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the concert features the members of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center — sopranos Mathilda Edge, Maria Novella Malfatti and Denis Velez; mezzo-sopranos Katherine Beck, Katherine DeYoung and Kathleen Felty; tenors Martin Luther Clark and Lunga Eric Hallam; baritone Leroy Davis; basses Rivers Hawkins and Anthony Reed with conductor/pianist Donald Lee III and pianist Chris Reynolds.
WHEN: 6 p.m. Aug. 29
WHERE: Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph
VISIT: lyricopera.org.
Wilco and Sleater-Kinney
WilcoAnnabel Mehran Photo
WHAT: Wilco is in the process of working on its next album so expect some new tunes here as well as tunes from its 2019 album, “Ode to Joy,” released in fall 2019 just before the pandemic shut down all tours. Sleater-Kinney is touring behind its new album, “The Path of Wellness,” the first effort since parting ways with longtime drummer Janet Weiss, which shows frontwomen Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker in fine form both lyrically and musically. Chicago multi-instrumentalist NNAMDI opens the show.
WHEN: 6 p.m. Aug. 28.
WHERE: Millennium Park
TICKETS: $45+
VISIT: jamusa.com
Bronzeville Blues Festival
John PrimerMarilyn Stringer Photo
WHAT: The Bronzeville Blues Festival features four stages featuring classic Chicago blues in the neighborhood where it grew up. This is where many of the most famous blues musicians (Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Sonny Boy Williamson) lived and played (Checkerboard Lounge, Pepper’s Lounge, 708 Club). Among the festival’s performers are John Primer & the Real Deal Blues Band, Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, Melody Angel, Big James & the Chicago Playboys, Mississippi Gabe Carter, Harmonica Hinds and many more. Plus, there are self-guided walking and biking tours of historic sites and food trucks.
WHEN: From noon-7 p.m. Aug. 29 at 43rd and Calumet
ADMISSION: free
VISIT: chicagobluesrevival.org.
World Music Wednesday
Bomba con Buya Amy Young Photo
WHAT: The Old Town School of Folk Music’s weekly showcase of world music and dance, returns beginning Sept. 1 with Jazz a la Mexicana, a concert featuring traditional and folkloric Mexican music mixed with jazz. A celebration of Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center’s 50th anniversary follows on Sept. 8 with performances of Puerto Rican bomba music by Bomba con Buya and Mancha E’ Platano. The current roster of concerts runs through Dec. 1.
WHERE: Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln
Admission is free, a $10 suggested donation is appreciated. For updated information regarding the venue’s Covid 19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit oldtownschool.org.
Grace Pettis
Grace PettisNicola Gell Photo
WHAT: Singer-songwriter Grace Pettis showcases her recent album, “Working Woman,” a set of songs in the tradition of Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton’s strong working women. American Songwriter says, “Pettis writes vibrant pictures of the world around us today with fierce accuracy and soulful grace.” Also on the bill: Minnesota indie-folk songwriter Rachael Kilgour.
WHEN: At 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31
WHERE: Hey Nonny, 10 South Vail, Arlington Heights.
TICKETS: $15-$30. For updated information regarding the venue’s Covid 19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit heynonny.com
House City Series
DJ TraxmanCourtesy Chicago Park District
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: vent dates and communities are 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
Chris Foreman 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. Fridays
Where: The Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway
Cost: No cover charge
Visit greenmilljazz.com
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.
Tuesdays on the Terrace
“Tuesdays on the Terrace” at the MCA in Chicago.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.
