Plantasia/Photo: Joel Meinholz

1
Hyde Park Jazz Festival
(Venues across Hyde Park)
The jazz festival marks its twentieth anniversary with the new Willie Pickens stage, plus a special anniversary band of global jazz stars—including Marquis Hill, Makaya McCraven, Junius Paul and Joel Ross—assembled to celebrate the occasion.
September 26-27

2
Plantasia
(Garfield Park Conservatory)
Flora meets flux at this electronic and ambient music festival, which fills Garfield Park Conservatory’s greenhouses and grounds with humming beats and ethereal sounds.
September 10-11

3
The Chicago Water Music
(Riverwalk)
Music of the Baroque’s new tradition, now in its third year, where the ensemble performs Handel’s “Water Music” on top of a boat as it sails down the river, from the Riverwalk’s East End to Merchandise Mart.
September 9

4
Sound & Gravity
(Venues across Bricktown)
Mike Reed, once a driving force behind Pitchfork Music Festival, produces his independent festival of experimental music for a second time, with acts like Grouper and Tyondai Braxton playing this year.
September 3-6

5
Liz Phair & Sleater-Kinney
(The Salt Shed)
The legendary singer-songwriter who helped define the nineties in Chicago returns home for “The Flannel and The Fury 2026” with Olympia indie rock legends Sleater-Kinney.
September 17