Music lives large in Chicago, from our neighborhood streets and historic venues to downtown parks and our iconic lakefront. And Chicago’s iconic festival season brings locals and visitors alike to celebrate Chicago’s musical legacy each summer with a diverse array of music festivals.
While Lollapalooza and the Chicago Blues Festival are some of the city’s largest and most well-known summer music festivals, dozens of other music fests pop up throughout the city all summer long. In particular, don’t miss celebrations of locally born genres like house, gospel, and Chicago-style jazz.
Chicago music festivals
Here’s your guide to Chicago’s summer music festival scene, including major events, free fests, and under-the-radar neighborhood happenings.
Free summer music festivals in Chicago
Chicago Blues Festival
The Chicago Blues Festival is the largest free blues festival in the world and remains the largest of Chicago’s music festivals. Throughout three days each June, more than 500,000 blues fans flock to Millennium Park to prove that Chicago is the “blues capital of the world.” Past performers include Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the late Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor.
Chicago Gospel Music Festival
Celebrating the genre’s deep Chicago roots with traditional choirs and contemporary urban gospel music, the Chicago Gospel Music Festival has been a staple on the Chicago festival circuit for more than 30 years. This summertime fest features free performances by local and national artists, spanning traditional and contemporary genres, at the Chicago Cultural Center and Millennium Park.
Chicago House Music Festival & Conference
Experience the energy of house music in the city where it was born. The house music genre revolutionized electronic dance music across the world, and this free outdoor festival at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park showcases DJs spinning various forms of house music. The Chicago House Music Festival has featured performances by Mr. A.L.I., Reel People, Tony Humphries, Gene Hunt, Mark Grusane, and First Lady.
Grant Park Music Festival
The nation’s oldest free outdoor classical music series, Grant Park Music Festival has been a Chicago staple for more than 90 years. The summer-long festival features the Grammy-nominated Grant Park Orchestra and the award-winning Grant Park Chorus. Each year, the festival hosts dozens of spectacular alfresco concerts showcasing classic masterpieces and popular music, like the annual Independence Day Salute and Broadway favorites. Grab a seat near the Jay Pritzker Pavilion or spread out on the Great Lawn for an alfresco picnic under the stars.
Chicago Jazz Festival
The longest-running of the city’s lakefront music festivals, the Chicago Jazz Festival is known for its artistic creativity. The Labor Day weekend festival features free, live musical performances at two stunning downtown venues, the Chicago Cultural Center and Millennium Park. Since 1979, the festival’s mission has been to showcase Chicago’s vast jazz talent alongside national and international artists to encourage an appreciation for all types of jazz.
World Music Festival
This citywide, multi-venue, multi-day festival attracts musicians and concertgoers from across the globe to Chicago each Setptember. World Music Festival has presented hundreds of artists and ensembles from more than 80 countries since it began in 1999. Performances take place all around Chicago, including Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and the Chicago Cultural Center.
Millennium Park Summer Music Series
The Millennium Park Summer Music Series is a schedule of free weekly concerts featuring a wide variety of music from local, national, and international artists at the iconic Jay Pritzker Pavilion. This beloved series showcases artists from across genres, including R&B, house, disco, jazz, pop, country, alternative, and world music. Pack a picnic, grab a spot on the lawn, and enjoy free music under the stars.
Chicago SummerDance
Every summer, the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park transforms into an urban dance floor during Chicago SummerDance. Learn new moves during free lessons led by professionals, then dance to the beat of different live bands and DJs. Glide across the open-air dance floor while learning swing, waltz, cha-cha…or simply kick back and enjoy the music.
Ticketed music festivals
Lollapalooza
One of the world’s premier music festivals takes over Chicago’s lakefront Grant Park for four days each summer. Lollapalooza rocks out with the biggest names in music across all genres: hip-hop, electronica, reggae, indie, modern roots, and more, attracting over 100,000 attendees each year. Headliners have included Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Twenty One Pilots, Metallica, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Tame Impala, Paul McCartney, The Weeknd, the Chainsmokers, and more. Between sets, fuel up at Chow Town, the “food fest within a music fest” that serves up gourmet festival grub, and enjoy views of scenic Buckingham Fountain and the surrounding skyline.
Sueños Music Festival
Sueños Music Festival, Chicago’s first-ever reggaeton fest, brings an impressive lineup of Latin hitmakers to the city’s Grant Park. The fest includes live performances by more than 20 reggaeton and Latin artists on the main stage, along with art installations, local food, brand activations, and more.
Riot Fest
Bridging generations of punk rock fans for two decades, Riot Fest has become one of the most unique and popular music fests in Chicagoland. A mash up of big-name artists, like Fall Out Boy, Nine Inch Nails, New Order, and Queens of the Stone Age, and a rock ‘n roll carnival (yes, there are rides) takes over Douglass Park with three days of loud music, local food, and colorful festivities.
Windy City Smokeout
Bands, barbecue, and beer! The country music lineup at this summer fest features top acts across three days. Past performers have included Old Dominion, Chris Young, Miranda Lamber, and Cole Swindell. But that’s not all! Windy City Smokeout is a triple threat: fuel up with barbecue from the nation’s premier pitmasters, plus craft beer from breweries around the country. This all takes place in the United Center parking lot, adding to the laidback tailgate vibes.
Chosen Few Picnic & Festival
What started as a small gathering has grown into a massive celebration of tens of thousands of fans — making Chosen Few Music Festival one of the oldest and largest house music festivals in the world. Don’t miss this jam-packed day of music and dancing in Jackson Park.
North Coast Music Festival
This electronic-focused fest comes to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview for an end-of-summer celebration. The biggest names in electronic music have played at North Coast’s stages, including Bassnectar, Major Lazer, and Flux Pavilion. The fest also includes large-scale art pieces and interactive installations.
Chicago neighborhood music festivals
Do Division Street Fest
Do Division‘s impressive musical lineup sets the bar high when it sets up shop in Wicker Park each summer. Original bands and up-and-coming DJs make up the carefully curated stages, booked by two of the top local music clubs: Empty Bottle and Subterranean.
Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest
Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest kicks Chicago’s outdoor street fest season when it takes over the streets of Lakeview. Start the summer off right with fun tunes, good food, and a chance to check out local arts and crafts vendors. A fun lineup of bands, from national acts to local tribute bands, is ready to pump up the crowd all day long.
Andersonville Midsommarfest
For more than 50 years, this summer festival has celebrated Andersonville’s Swedish heritage, LGBTQ+ pride, and vibrant local business community. Andersonville Midsommarfest pays homage to the quirky, independent neighborhood it calls home with a robust schedule of local music across multiple stages.
Northalsted Market Days
An iconic Pride event, Northalsted Market Days boasts an all-day lineup of live music and drag performances on multiple stages, with acts like Betty Who, Billy Porter, Pussy Riot, Trixie Mattel, and more. The celebration is held each August in the historic Northalsted neighborhood. Fest-goers will also find food and drink, unique artisan vendors, DJs, dancing, and more.
Wicker Park Fest
Wicker Park Fest is a music-first festival that regularly boasts local and national acts that are praised by critics as a reflection of the neighborhood: hip, diverse, and eclectic. Festival-goers can expect three stages of live music, 30+ artist performances, live fashion shows, a kid’s fest, and beverages from local breweries.
Square Roots Festival
With more than 50 acts on the lineup, Square Roots Festival is a global music gathering that draws artists from Africa, New Zealand, Haiti, Brazil, and beyond. Combine these beats and rhythms with local beer, family fun, a craft market, and plenty of food vendors for a full weekend of activity that shows off the eclectic tastes of its Lincoln Square neighborhood.
