Best Bets: Luke Combs, 'Immersive Van Gogh' meets 'Mozart Immersive,' Mexico Fest & more
Immersive double bill
“Immersive Van Gogh,” the blockbuster digital exhibition consisting of Vincent Van Gogh's masterworks returns to the Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, 108 W. Germania Place, Chicago, where it will run in repertory with “Mozart Immersive: The Soul of a Genius” in May. The Mozart exhibition chronicles the composer's life using some of his most famous compositions accompanied by recorded video that includes dancer/actor Mikhail Gorbachev and his father, Leopold. Two-for-one timed, dated tickets start at $27. mozartimmersive.com. 4-7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 5-8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through May 29
Mexico Fest
Navy Pier, in cooperation with the General Consulate of Mexico in Chicago and the Government of Jalisco, hosts Mexico Fest, featuring performances by Mexican musicians and dancers, a marketplace of Mexican artisans and workshops for kids at 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Performers include Ballet Folklorico Sones Mexicanos and Mariachi Estrellas de Chicago among others. Free. navypier.org. 4-6 p.m. Friday, May 5, and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7
Cinco de Mayo pub crawl
Adobe Gila's, Bub City Rosemont, Kings Dining & Entertainment, Park Tavern, Pete's Tiki Tiki and Sugar Factory at Parkway Bank Park, 5501 Park Place, Rosemont, have teamed up to host a Cinco de Mayo pub crawl. Tickets are $10 online at parkwaybankpark.com or $15 at the door. They include bar crawl access, food and drink specials at each location and two tickets to Zanies Comedy Club. rosemont.com/thepark. 6-10 p.m. Friday, May 5
Luke Combs
CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs (“Beautiful Crazy,” “When It Rains It Pours”) marks the release of his latest album, “Gettin' Old,” with a world tour making a stop at Soldier Field, 1410 Special Olympics Drive, Chicago, with special guests Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry and Brent Cobb. Tickets start at $50 at soldierfield.com. 5:45 p.m. Saturday, May 6
Don't blink
The pop-punk-flavored rock band blink-182 (“What's My Age Again,” “All the Small Things”) stops at Chicago's United Center, 1901 W. Madison St., for two nights as part of its “North American Tour 2023.” Special guests Turnstile and Beauty School Dropouts round out the lineup. Tickets start at $120 at unitedcenter.com. 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7
Circle of friends
Music of the Baroque principal players Gina DiBello (violin), Elizabeth Hagen (viola), Paul Dwyer (cello), Collins Trier (double bass), Anne Bach (oboe) and William Buchman (bassoon) join the Music of the Baroque Orchestra for a program showcasing music by 18th-century composers who were all friends. Featured composers include Jan Krtitel Vanhal (Symphony in D Minor), Joseph Haydn (Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Oboe, Cello, & Bassoon), Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (Sinfonia Concertante for Viola & Double Bass) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Symphony No. 34 in C Major). Dame Jane Glover conducts. Tickets are $25-$100. (312) 551-1414 or baroque.org. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, and 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 8, at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
Federal Reserve tour
Learn about inflation and federal monetary policy at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Money Museum, 230 S. LaSalle St., Chicago. The museum reopened this week following a three-year, pandemic-related closure. Free. chicagofed.org. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Together again
Maestro Riccardo Muti, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, returns to 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, for a three-week residency, which will include the premiere of the CSO-commissioned work “Transfigure to Grace” by composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery along with Sergei Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2 (May 11-16). Muti conducts concertmaster Robert Chen in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 and “Gran Partita” (May 18-23) and principal timpani David Herbert in his CSO solo debut in William Kraft's Timpani Concerto No. 1 in a program that also features Ottorino Respighi's “Ancient Airs and Dances” and “Pines of Rome” (May 25-27). Tickets start at $35. cso.org. May 11-27