1 STEVIE NICKS (United Center) Her voice is a shell of what it once was, but at this point it’s almost irrelevant; Nicks is less a rock ’n’ roll “survivor” than a preternatural mystic whose concerts have evolved into something like ecstatic benedictions. June 23
2 JIMMY WEBB (City Winery) Few songwriters of the previous century could match Webb as a source of top-ten singles for such a range of artists. Now he steps into the spotlight to showcase his legendary body of work, with an emphasis on his enduring hits for Glen Campbell. June 1
3 MSHELL NDEGEOCELLO (Thalia Hall) The mesmerizing singer-rapper-bassist-activist hits town on the exact drop date of “The Omnichord Real Book,” her first album in five years—as well as the launch of what’s being labeled “a new chapter” in her career. June 16
4 JACOB COLLIER (Ravinia Park) The audacious and (still) astonishingly young singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist comes to Ravinia to tour “Djesse Vol. 3,” the latest installment of a planned four-part, fifty-song project that ranges from soul and R&B to electronica and dubstep. June 16
5 JANE MONHEIT (Evanston SPACE) It’s been a minute since the iconic jazz diva swung into town, and her reappearance promises to be an appealingly low-key set: with no new album to promote, count on an evening of straight-ahead, premium-grade, virtuosic music-making. June 21
Robert Rodi is an author, spoken-word performer and musician who has served as Newcity’s Music Editor since 2014. He’s written more than a dozen books, including the travel memoir “Seven Seasons In Siena,” and his literary and music criticism has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Salon, The Huffington Post and many other national and regional publications. Contact: robert@newcity.com
