Gather with your friends and family as the 2016 Millennium Park Summer Music Series will once again offer an exciting line-up of 18 FREE outdoor concerts every Monday and Thursday, from June 6 until August 25, 2016 (except where noted) at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Show starts at 6:30pm.
The Millennium Park Music Series (formerly known as Downtown Sound and Made in Chicago) has been changed to feature a wider variety of genre-defying music from top local to national and international artists.
Below is the list of the performers (schedule of performers is subject to change):
Thursday, June 16
PHOX is from Baraboo, Wisconsin. The seven best friends who make up the ensemble happen to be blessed with madness, illusions of grandeur and the inability to do the same thing twice. They also play music.
Gina Chavez is a bilingual Latin-folk singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas who expertly blends the sounds of the Americas with tension and grace. Her most recent album Up.Rooted has won critical acclaim from NPR, USA Today and more.
Monday, June 20
DJ Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation + Kelan Phil Cohran’s Summer Solstice Ensemble
Washington, D.C.-born Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky is a composer, multimedia artist and writer whose work immerses audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. Rebirth of a Nation was his first large-scale multimedia performance piece, which has been performed more than 50 times in venues around the world, from the Sydney Festival to the Herod Atticus Amphitheater in Athens, Greece. Kelan Phil Cohran is a Chicago improvised jazz legend known for his contributions in the Sun Ra Arkestra in Chicago and for his involvement in the foundation of the AACM.
Thursday, June 23
Born in North Carolina, saxophonist Maceo Parker embodies the legacy of soul and funk music and is best known for his collaborations alongside seminal icons like James Brown, George Clinton, and Prince, all the while honing his own signature brand of showmanship. Marrow is an American indie rock band from Chicago consisting of three former members of Kids These Days, plus one additional member.
Monday, June 27
Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra + Ecos del Pacifico
Eddie Palmieri is one of the foremost Latin jazz pianists in the world and has had a musical career that spans over 50 years. Born in the Spanish Harlem of New York City, Palmieiri has won nine Grammy awards throughout his career as a bandleader of several critically acclaimed Salsa and Latin jazz orchestras. Ecos del Pacifico is a Chicago-based group formed in 2006 by Julio Cesar Montaño Montenegro and is steeped in the Afro-Colombian music and dance traditions of the pacific coast of Colombia.
Thursday, June 30
Givers are an indie pop group from Lafayette, Louisiana whose diverse sound stems from the improvisational and dance-fueled atmosphere of their hometown’s zydeco, cajun and jazz cultures mixed with an affection for new wave, funk and world music. Baltimore, Maryland-based Lower Dens are an American indie pop band. Pitchfork says the group “siphons its aesthetic from the storied pop of the ‘80s, but it’s not content to stop at homage. Lower Dens use the past—its clichés and its innocence—as a lens through which to imagine a queer and open future.”
Monday, July 4 and Thursday, July 7
No Shows – Week of Taste of Chicago
Monday, July 11
Femi Kuti + The Positive Force + ProbCause
Femi Kuti is a Grammy-nominated, high energy Afrobeat artist born in London and raised in Nigeria. Kuti is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and grandchild of Nigerian aristocrat, political and women’s rights activist Funmilayo Ransome Kuti. Working out of Chicago with the likes of Chance the Rapper, Action Bronson, Twista, Vic Mensa and others, ProbCause seamlessly jumps from electronic to funk to R&B, then back to classic boom-bap gritty rap.
Thursday, July 14
Brazilian electrified trio Azymuth combines a high-voltage blend of Brazilian rhythms, jazz, and funk with occasional acoustic episodes. Sidewalk Chalk is an eight-member Chicago-based band that is leading the contemporary evolution of hip-hop, soul, and jazz. The group’s unique arrangement allows them to incorporate numerous styles seamlessly: an MC and female vocalist; a trio of keys, bass, and drums; a horn section with trombone and trumpet; and a tap-dancer.
Monday, July 18
King Sunny Ade + Ugochi & A.S.E.
King Sunny Ade is the undisputed king of juju music, the dance-inspiring hybrid of western pop and traditional African music with roots in the guitar tradition of Nigeria. Ade launched his own record label in 1974 and has released more than 100 of his own recordings in Nigeria. Born in Chicago to Nigerian parents, Ugochi is an Afro-soul singer, songwriter, and poet who is known for her extremely versatile and creative music and performances. She will appear with The Afro Soul Ensemble (A.S.E.).
Thursday, July 21
Heritage Blues Orchestra + Toshi Reagon
Known for their traditional blues material with a good dose of both jazz and gospel sensibilities, New York City-based Heritage Blues Orchestra has found a way to make traditional material sound fresh and new. Toshi Reagon is a versatile singer-songwriter-guitarist from Atlanta with a unique hold-nothing-back approach to rock, blues, R&B, country, folk, spirituals and funk.
Monday, July 25
The Jones Family Singers + Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir
The Jones Family Singers are a Texas-based gospel powerhouse consisting of five sisters, two brothers and their father who infuse joyful and reverent songs with vintage soul, funk and R&B. Under the direction of Brother Ray Nuckolls and Dr. Willetta Greene-Johnson, Chicago’s Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir includes more than 300 voices.
Thursday, July 28
No Show – Lollapalooza Weekend
Monday, August 1
Jose Gonzalez is Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter renowned for his mix of autumnal indie pop and intimate acoustics. Formed in Boston in 2010, Tall Heights are known for their captivating vocal harmonies driven by a folk-inspired accompaniment of cello and acoustic guitar.
Thursday, August 4
Sinkane + Mark de Clive-Lowe
Sinkane is solo recording artist who sings and plays numerous instruments blending krautrock, free jazz and funk rock with Sudanense pop. Although born in London, Sinkane spent his early childhood in Sudan followed by Ohio after his family fled to the United States. Mark de Clive-Lowe is a musician, composer and producer originally from New Zealand, and now based in Los Angeles, after living for ten years in London. He is a veteran of the UK’s broken beat movement, blending jazz, electronic dance music, funk and percussion heavy world music into a unique sound.
Thursday, August 11
Mbongwana Star + Dos Santos Antibeat Orchestra
Mbongwana Star is a psychedelic African dance band from Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Chicago-based Dos Santos: Anti-Beat Orchestra rocks the sounds of popular pan-Latin American dance genres—from cumbia to salsa.
Thursday, August 18
Elephant Revival + Mandolin Orange
Elephant Revival are a quintet from Colorado whose sound encompasses elements of gypsy, rock, Celtic, alt-country and folk. Mandolin Orange is an Americana folk duo from Chapel Hill, North Carolina whose music has received critical acclaim from NPR, American Songwriter others.
Thursday, August 25
Tortoise + Homme
Throughout its 25-year history, Chicago-based post-rock instrumental quintet Tortoise has nodded to dub, rock, jazz, electronica and minimalism throughout its revered and influential, six-album discography, but the group’s resulting sound continues to defy easy categorization. HOMME is an experiment in voice and sound by Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart who joined forces in 2014, inspired by the free improvisational music scene in Chicago, and influenced by folk and avant-garde rock.
