7 outdoor Chicago, suburban music venues to rock your summer
Bright summer days and smooth balmy breezes are around the corner. Outdoor music venues throughout Chicago and the suburbs are poised to take advantage of our cabin fever with a full season of acts - both big and small.
Here are a few top spots and their highlights for the summer ahead:
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
19100 Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park, tinleyparkamphitheatre.com
Capacity: Seats 28,000, reserved and lawn
Season highlights:
101WKQK PIQNIQ with The Lumineers, Young the Giant, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Tom Morello, AJR, Blue October, The Strumbellas, The Glorious Sons, Shaed, Friday Pilots Club - June 15
Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson, The Avett Brothers, Alison Krauss, Dawes, Old Crow Medicine Show - June 28
Alice Cooper, Halestorm - July 21
Santana, The Doobie Brothers - Aug. 4
Smashing Pumpkins, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Aug. 15
Iron Maiden - Aug. 22
ZZ Top - Sept. 7
Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
1300 S. Linn White Drive, Chicago, pavilionnortherlyisland.com
Capacity: Seats up to 30,000, reserved and lawn seating
Season highlights:
Florence and the Machine - May 23
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Father John Misty - June 15
2019 Country LakeShake featuring Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Brett Young, Cassadee Pope and more - June 21-23
Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World - June 27
Peter Frampton - July 28
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Trombone Shorty, Orleans Avenue - Aug. 17
Wrigley Field
1060 W. Addison St., Chicago, mlb.com/cubs/tickets/concerts
Capacity: Roughly 84,000 for concert configurations
Season highlights:
Limited concert lineup this year, offering only Dead & Company (Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti) June 14-5 as of press time
Ravinia Festival
418 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, (847) 266-5100 or ravinia.org
Capacity: 36-acre park with up to 3,350 seats in the main covered pavilion (lawn seating varies); audiences can bring in their own food and drink or purchase on site.
Season highlights:
Josh Groban - June 7
Lionel Richie - June 11-12
T.I. - July 2
Lady Antebellum - July 10
Chicago Symphony Orchestra - 13 concerts from July 12 to Aug. 18
Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band and The Beach Boys - Aug. 3-4
Pentatonix - Aug. 15
Sting - Aug. 23-24
Queen Latifa and Common - Aug. 31
Kesha - Sept. 8
Morrissey - Sept. 14
RiverEdge Park
360 N. Broadway, Aurora, (630) 896-6666 or riveredgeaurora.org
Capacity: 10 acres that can accommodate up to 8,500 people; must purchase food and beverages on site
Season highlights:
Blues on the Fox with Taj Mahal, Coco Montoya, Ronnie Baker Brooks and more - June 14-15
Kings of Chaos with Sebastian Bach, Dee Snider, Lou Gramm and more - June 22
Brian Wilson - June 23
The Mavericks & Los Lobos - July 26
Dionne Warwick - Aug. 16
Brandy, En Vogue and Arrested Development - Aug. 17
Poi Dog Pondering - Aug. 24
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
201 E. Randolph St., Chicago, (312) 742-1168 or grantparkmusicfestival.com or chicago.gov
Capacity: 4,000 seated and up to 7,000 on the lawn
Season highlights:
Grant Park Music Festival - 30 classical concerts from June 12 to Aug. 17
Chicago Gospel Music Festival - May 31-June 1
Chicago Blues Festival - June 7-9
Yo-Yo Ma performs the complete Bach cello suites - June 20
Chicago Jazz Festival - Aug. 29-Sept. 1
Petrillo Music Shell
235 S. Columbus Drive, Chicago, (312) 747-2001 or chicagoparkdistrict.com or chicago.gov or lollapalooza.com
Capacity: Up to 35,000 (5,000 reserved)
Season highlights:
Taste of Chicago - July 10-14
Lollapalooza - Aug. 1-4