All in Things to Do in Chicago
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival continued its four-day run on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The fourth day’s highlight was Isaiah Collier playing Coltrane. Collier paid tribute to one of his musical idols. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 4 of the festival.
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival continued its four day run on Saturday, September 5, 2026. The third day’s highlight was the Miles Electric Band, an assemblage featuring some of Chicago’s top jazz musicians. Its purpose: To pay tribute to trumpet master Miles Davis and the music he produced during his electric period. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 3 of the festival.
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival continued its four day run on Friday, September 4, 2026. The second day’s highlight was Dr. Emma Dayhuff’s Innovations & Lineage, a program that featured some of Chicago’s top jazz musicians. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 2 of the festival.
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival kicked off its annual run on Thursday, September 3, 2026. The day’s highlight was the closing performance, a duet between vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 1 of the festival.
Glenview held its. annual Fourth of July Parade, with bands, brigages, and floats rolling down Harlem Avenue. Here are my thoughts about and images from the festivities.
On Sunday, May 28, 2026, Chicago’s LGQBT community held its annual Gay Pride Parade in Lakeview. Here are my thoughts about and images from the parada.
Today, June 7, 2026, saw the Chicago Blues Festival charge into Day 3 of its annual run. The day included performances by Melody Angel, Chris Cain, Katherine Davis, Deitra Farr, Sue Foley, Lee Kanehira, Lynne Jordan, Mary Lane, Taj Mahal, and Nora Jean Wallace. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
Today, June 6, 2026, saw the Chicago Blues Festival charge into Day 2 of its annual run. The day included performances by Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Nick Moss, Ruthie Foster, Shakura S’Aida, Dylan Triplett, and Dexter Allen. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
Today, June 5, 2026, saw the annual Chicago Blues Festival kickoff. The day included Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop performing as a duo, as well as guitar slingers Ronnie Baker Brooks, Torozon Cannon, Tinsley Ellis, Lil’ Ed and Nick Moss challenging each other in the battle of the axes. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
Chicago’s Palestinian Community gathered in Daley Plaza today for the community’s annual flag raising ceremony. Here are my thoughts about and images from the joyous event.
Third Coast Percussion and pianist Tigran Hamasyan performed at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on Friday, March 13, 2026. Here are my thoughts about and images from the concert.
Julia Keefe brought her Indigenous Jazz Ensemble to the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on Friday, January 30, 2026. Keefe and Company focused on the works of Jim Pepper and Mildred Bailey, with several self-penned compositions tossed in for good measure. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening.
Billy Branch brought his Sons of the Blues to the Logan Center Friday night. The SOBs were larger than normal, with a horn section and three backup singers. Branch was launching his new album, The Blues is My Biography. The band the music was terrific. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening.
On Sunday, September 14, 2025, Chicago’s Mexican Community celebrated Mexican Independence Day with a parade in Little Village. Here are my thoughts about and images from the afternoon celebration.
The third day of the 2025 Chicago Jazz Festival brought a variety of jazz styles to Chicago’s Millennium Park. Alto saxophonist Gary Bartz played some funk, as well as the airy sounds of early Seventies electrified jazz. Closing out the day, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers played many familiar songs rooted in the New Orleans jazz tradition. Here are my thoughts and images from the day’s performances.
The second day of the 2025 Chicago Jazz Festival brought a variety of jazz styles to Chicago’s Millennium Park. Hands down, pianist Patricia Barber outdid everyone with her lyrical wordplay rooted in the Beat poets and her piano work, but her band was also outstanding because it maintained a consistency musical line throughout Barber’s performance. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
The 2025 Chicago Jazz Festival opened its four-day run with a superb lineup. Here are my thoughts about and images from the the first day of the festival.
On July 1, 2025, Chicago’s Ukrainian Community celebrated Ukrainian Village’s recent designation as an Illinois State-Designated Cultural District. Here are my thoughts about and images from the celebration at the Ukrainian Cultural Center
The 2025 Chicago Blues Festival went out with a bang tonight at the Pritzker Pavilion. Unfortunately, C.J. Chenier was scratched from the lineup due to an hour-long rain delay, but Lurrie Bell, Avery R. Young, and Mavis Staples did take the stage. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day’s performances.
