The Best Outdoor Concerts in Chicago This Summer
There’s just something about summer in Chicago that makes you want to go drinking in a park, especially when live music is involved. In that spirit, we scoured the city’s summer lineup to find all of the season’s upcoming occasions for al fresco rocking, from high-minded wine sipping at Ravinia to full-throated mullet parties in Tinley Park. Let’s make this summer count, people.
Jack Johnson, Bahamas
An appropriate first concert of the season at Northerly Island. Flowery shirts required.
Future, Migos, Tory Lanez
The Auto-Tune expert, and some of rap’s hottest up-and-comers, in action.
U2
Ever heard of them? They’re the band with that guy with the glasses. The Lumineers, with the suspenders and such, support.
Spring Awakening Music Festival
Armin van Buuren, Diplo, and Martin Garrix headline summer’s big EDM fest.
Chicago Blues Festival
Gary Clark Jr., William Bell, and Billy Branch and the Son of Blues top the world’s largest free blues festival.
Rise Against, Deftones, Thrice
A triple bill of great punk rock. Expect a political joke or two.
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
Dave returns with his virtuoso guitarist buddy for an acoustic evening.
John Legend
Ravinia, the oldest outdoor festival series, kicks off its 2017 season with a true legend. (Sorry.)
Elvis Costello and the Imposters
And then Huntington hosts another legend.
Otis Taylor, Ben Sollee & Kentucky Native
A true storyteller, Taylor provides a unique take on classic Chicago blues.
Old Town School of Folk Music
Old Town School of Folk curates this series of free shows at The Park at Wrigley on select summer Tuesdays.
Paul Simon
Paul always makes for a great evening outdoors
Iron Maiden, Ghost
Yes, Eddie will be in attendance.
Seu Jorge
Performing The Life Aquatic: A Tribute to David Bowie, in which the Brazilian singer covers the Thin White Duke’s hits.
No BS! Brass Band, Dayme Arocena
The spirit of New Orleans runs into East Coast funk for a great party.
Willie Nelson and Family
Something might smell skunky at Willie’s show.
Aretha Franklin
You better not think about the Queen of Soul.
Don Henley
The Eagles’ founding member tours in support of 2015’s Cass County.
Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold
On the WorldWired Tour. Expect much shredding.
La La Land in Concert
Courtesy of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Work on your Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone impressions.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Chris Stapleton
Petty’s first show at Wrigley is part of the band’s 40th anniversary tour. He has a few hits you might have heard.
Sammy Hagar and the Circle
Yep, the Cabo Wabo founder and one-time Van Halen front man still plays music.
Gregory Porter, The Tomeka Reid Quartet
The jazz acts perform for Millennium Park’s Juneteenth abolition celebration.
Hurray for the Riff Raff, Matthew Santos
Cool folk tunes with an energized drive, courtesy of the New Orleans act.
Windy City Lakeshake
Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts, and Thomas Rhett headline Chicago’s big country music fest.
Gipsy Kings
You won’t hear better flamenca all summer.
Common
The local hero performs in support of his most recent album, Black America Again.
Def Leppard, Poison, Tesla
Bret Michaels will be so happy to see you, as will the rest of the ‘80s metal dudes.
Body/Head, Diamond Terrifier Cipher, FACS
Kim Gordon and co. play the cemetery’s annual “Beyond the Gates” summer solstice concert.
Rammstein
German hard rock at its loudest. Pretend you know the words.
Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs
Might as well take a booze cruise before the Yacht Rock stylings of Mr. McDonald.
Old Town School of Folk Music
Old Town School of Folk curates this series of free shows at The Park at Wrigley on select summer Tuesdays.
Diana Krall
A great evening with the jazz vocalist and pianist.
Lady Wray
A protege of Missy Elliott, the soulful Lady Wray is an act you should know about, stat.
Dead and Company
A few members of the Dead and John Mayer come to Chicago for the first time. And they’re back on July 1.
The Moody Blues
He’s just a singer in a rock and roll band.
Train, O.A.R., Natasha Bedingfield
Relive that crazy game of poker, and wash yourself off in some drops in Jupiter.
Styx, REO Speedwagon, Don Felder
Mullets encouraged.
Guster, Dispatch, Esme Patterson
Take in some light college rock with the Dispatch: America, Location 12 tour.
The Beach Boys, The Temptations
Wouldn’t it be nice (if all the band members were still alive and got along)?
311, New Politics, The Skints
Skate or die, dude.
Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie
The Fleetwood Mac members go their own way.
Nine Worlds Ensemble
Celebrate Independence Day with the sounds of this chamber-pop group.
Third Eye Blind, Silversun Pickups
It’s billed as “The Summer Gods Tour.” Do with that what you will.
Buddy Guy, Booker T. Jones
A great chance to see the local blues legend and some soul royalty outside of his usual South Loop digs.
Boston, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Just a band out of Beantown and a hard-rocking lady who doesn’t care if she has a bad reputation.
Sheryl Crow
Playing all the hits on her Be Myself Tour.
Sam Hunt, Maren Morris, Chris Janson
The former Kenny Chesney/Keith Urban songwriter is now a bona fide country star in his own right.
Slightly Stoopid, Iration, J Boog
Expect “healthy” amounts of bong smoke and tattoos.
Natalie Prass, Angelica Garcia
From the Pitchfork Music Fest stage to the Pritzker Pavilion, the singer-songwriter puts on a great show.
Old Town School of Folk Music
Old Town School of Folk curates this series of free shows at The Park at Wrigley on select summer Tuesdays.
Chicago, The Doobie Brothers
Chicago in Chicago. What more do you need?
Toto La Momposina, Xenia Rubinos
Check out the musical blend of Colombia’s African, Indian, and Spanish cultures.
Pitchfork Music Festival
LCD Soundsystem, A Tribe Called Quest, and Solange headline the annual hipster-palooza.
Chicago Open Air
Kiss, Korn, and Ozzy Osbourne are the biggest names at the Bridgeview metal fest.
Phish
Night one of a three-night stand (or stagger).
OneRepublic, Fitz and the Tantrums
Fitz is worth the admission price alone.
Jimmy Buffett, Huey Lewis
Suburban dads, rejoice!
James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt
Carolina may be on his mind, but this is Wrigley dammit. See these two legends together while you can.
Big Thief, Overcoats
Two indie rock acts you’ll be hearing much more about soon.
Old Town School of Folk Music
Old Town School of Folk curates this series of free shows at The Park at Wrigley on select summer Tuesdays.
Drive-By Truckers, Honeysuckle
Patterson Hood and company are still doing their acclaimed Southern rock thing after 20-plus years.
Umphrey’s McGee
The Chicago favorites return for more jams.
Blondie, Garbage
The Rage and Rapture Tour, featuring two of the most badass women in rock.
Jill Scott, Bell Biv Devoe, Kelly Rowland, Nelly
See the R&B greats at of V103’s third Summer Block Party.
Vans Warped Tour
The long-running punk tour features Anti-Flag, Bowling for Soup, GWAR, and about a billion others.
Violent Femmes, Echo and the Bunnymen
Solid bill of stalwarts.
Andrew Bird, Esperanza Spalding, Mucca Pazza
The whistling violinist singer-songwriter headlines the finest indie rock show at Ravinia this year.
Mamby on the Beach
MGMT, Walk the Moon, Local Natives, and Flying Lotus perform at this annual South Side beach throwdown.
Goo Goo Dolls, Phillip Phillips
Another opportunity to relive your ‘90s glory days.
Amadou and Mariam, Frank Waln
The blind African duo provides one of the best free shows of the summer.
Paul McCartney
Sir Paul returns for more epic sets of Beatles, Wings, and solo classics.
Goo Goo Dolls w/ Collective Soul
Does it get more ‘90s than this?
Stephen Stills and Judy Collins
It’s just like Crosby, Stills, and Nash without Crosby and Nash, but with Judy Collins.
Dierks Bentley, Cole Swindell, Jon Pardi
The three-act country bill is coming in support of Bentley’s 2016 concept album, Black.
The Roots
Fat Tire’s annual Tour de Fat carnival of oddities brings the tireless hip-hop outfit and a bunch of circus performers to Chicago.
Incubus, Jimmy Eat World
Still kicking ass after all these years.
Lollapalooza
Chance the Rapper, The Killers, Muse, and Arcade Fire headline North America’s largest music festival.
Tony Bennett
90 years old and still smooth as ever.
Rod Stewart
72 and still looking for hot legs.
Darius Rucker
The former Hootie and the Blowfish front man continues his solo success.
Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Bouncing Souls
Punk never dies (it just gets a little older).
Old Town School of Folk Music
Old Town School of Folk curates this series of free shows at The Park at Wrigley on select summer Tuesdays.
Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience
Expect some serious air-guitar action at this one.
Billy Joel
The piano man doesn’t know the word quit.
Carlos Santana
Keeping it smooth.
Florida Georgia Line, Backstreet Boys, Nelly
And the Grammy for weirdest billing of the year goes to…
Nickelback, Daughtry
Go to this show. We dare you.
Kings of Leon
If your sex is on fire, go see a doctor.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: A Tribute to Ira Gershwin
Hear the iconic “Rhapsody in Blue” as well as favorites from Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly films.
Punch Brothers
Some of the best bluegrass and Americana you’ll ever see.
Dashboard Confessional, All-American Rejects
Bring plenty of tissues to this emo extravaganza.
Coldplay
Bring your mom and best Gwyneth insults.
Pretty Lights
It’s a two-night stand for Pretty Lights’ touring festival, featuring sets from EDM and rap heavyweights.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: <em>Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring</em>
The live performance of the film score might even be better than the book. Continue to nerd out the following two evenings when the the CSO gives the rest of the trilogy the same treatment.
Lady Antebellum, Kelsea Ballerini, Brett Young
Seven Grammys, 52 awards and counting.
Old Town School of Folk Music
Old Town School of Folk curates this series of free shows at The Park at Wrigley on select summer Tuesdays.
Green Day
The Revolution Radio Tour brings the Bay Area trio to the home of the Cubbies.
Lady Gaga
Hopefully the Green Day fans didn’t trash the place the night before...
Alanis Morissette
If you’re going, hopefully there’s no rain and it’s not your wedding day
Zac Brown Band
Zac and the Band’s third time at Wrigley. He must like the place.
John Mellencamp
What happened to the Cougar?
Pentatonix
Memorize your Pitch Perfect jokes before seeing the a cappella group.
Lifehouse, Switchfoot
If you’re stilling hanging by the moment or hanging 10.
Depeche Mode
Cake on the black eyeliner to catch Dave Gahan and the boys.
North Coast Music Festival
Deadmau5 and Eric Prydz, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, and Ween headline the always eclectic end-of-summer bash.
Michael Bolton, Gladys Knight
No, not the guy from Office Space.
John Mayer
Yeah, he’s cheesy, but the dude can wail.
UB40
With plenty of red red wine.
Deep Purple, Alice Cooper
From the band that brought you “Smoke on the Water,” the first riff everyone learns on guitar, and the shock rocker who taught you about Milwaukee.
Sublime With Rome, The Offspring
We want to hate this show. But we want to see The Offspring more.
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
Do something nice for once in your life. Take grandma to a show.
Young the Giant, Cold War Kids, Joywave
Two SoCal indie rock outfits and an opener that might just be the most interesting act on the bill.
Stevie Nicks
Stop dragging her heart around. The Fleetwood Mac frontwoman packs a lot of power into a 5’1” frame.
Riot Fest
Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, and Jawbreaker headline the annual punk carnival
Smokey Robinson
Bring tissues to wipe up the tracks of your tears.
Luke Bryan, Brett Eldredge
Bryant named this the “Huntin', Fishin' and Lovin' Every Day Tour” in case you were curious what he’ll be singing about.
TLC, Biz Markie, Mark McGrath
Nostalgia knows no bounds
Counting Crows, Matchbox Twenty
See above.
Sturgill Simpson
Two words to describe this country star: Bad. Ass.
AAHH! Fest
Common’s yearly hip-hop fest hasn’t announced its lineup, but you can bet it’ll be great.
Brad Paisley, Dustin Lynch
Let Brad sing you a “Whiskey Lullaby” while you sip or slam your drink of choice.
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Jay Gentile is a Thrillist contributor and the publisher of local music magazine Chicago INNERVIEW. Follow @innerviewmag