All posts by : JamFest

CHICAGO — The summer concert season is ramping up, with a wide array of concerts and live performances aim at music lovers of all stripes in the Chicago area.

Chicagoland residents have a wealth of choices for cuing up their own live music soundtrack for the summer of 2023, ranging from emerging artists at free neighborhood festivals international stars entertaining massive crowds at great expense — and everything in between.

One of the first major free music festivals of Chicago kicked off Thursday. The Chicago Blues Festival runs through Sunday, with Los Lobos closing out the festival at Millennium Park, which will also play home to a summer concert series from June 22 to Aug. 21

Lineups are out and tickets are still available for three of Chicago’s largest music events — Pitchfork (July 21-23), Lollapalooza (Aug. 3-6) and Riot Fest (Sept. 15-17).

Last week, official Lollapalooza aftershows were announced at 17 local venues. And this week, the Ravinia Festival’s season got under way this week, with the first pavilion shows set for June 16 with Jacob Collier and Lawrence and June 17 with Ms. Lauryn Hill.

Find a selection of other concerts scheduled ahead of Labor Day around the Chicago area:

June

• June 14-Aug. 19: Grant Park Music Festival, 331 E. Randolph St., Chicago
• June 15: G-Eazy, The Vic, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago
• June 16-17: Blues on the Fox, RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, Aurora
• June 16-17: Winnetka Music Festival, 610 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka
• June 17-18: Hyde Park Summer Fest, 1130 Midway Plaisance, Chicago
• June 17: Billy Strings, Northerly Island, 1300 S. Linn White Drive, Chicago
• June 21: Fall Out Boy, Wrigley Field, 1060 W. Addison St., Chicago
• June 22-23: Morgan Wallen, Wrigley Field
• June 23: Elvis Costello, Horseshoe Casino, 777 Casino Center Drive, Hammond, Indiana
• June 23: Stevie Nicks, United Center, 1901 W. Madison St., Chicago
• June 23-25: Re:SET Chicago, Riis Park, 6100 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago
• June 24: Yo La Tango, Metro, 4740 N. Clark St., Chicago
• June 30-July 1: Santana, Ravinia Festival, 201 Ravinia Park Road, Highland Park

July

• July 1: Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey, United Center
• July 1: Shania Twain, Tinley Park Amphitheater, 19100 Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park
• July 2: The Hold Steady, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., Chicago
• July 5-6: Drake, 21 Savage, United Center
• July 7: Jenny Lewis, The Salt Shed, 1357 Elston Ave., Chicago
• July 7-9: Grapetooth, Nitzer Ebb, Nick Hakim, West Fest, 1800-2000 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago
• July 7-8: Dave Mathews Band, Northerly Island
• July 9: Souls of Mischief, Metro
• July 9: Weezer, Hard Rock Casino, 5400 W. 29th Ave., Gary, Indiana
• July 11: Styx, RiverEdge Park
• July 13: Big Freedia, Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph St., Chicago
• July 13-16: Windy City Smokeout, United Center parking lot
• July 15: Le Tigre, The Salt Shed
• July 18: Alicia Keys, United Center
• July 21: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Ziggy Marley, The Salt Shed
• July 21: Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Too Short, Tinley Park Amphitheater
• July 22-23: Beyoncé, Soldier Field
• July 24: Kurt Vile and the Violators, Pritzker Pavilion
• July 24-25: Jill Scott, The Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago
• July 28-30: Built To Spill, The Regrettes, Lido Pimienta, Wicker Park Fest, 1200-1600 Milwaukee Ave.
• July 29: Ed Sheeran, Soldier Field, 1410 Special Olympics Drive, Chicago
• July 29: Regina Spektor, Canal Shores Golf Course, 1030 Central St., Evanston

---

August

• Aug. 3: Peach Pit, The Vic
• Aug. 4: Gov’t Mule, Tinley Park Amphitheater
• Aug. 5: Lionel Richie, Earth, Wind & Fire, United Center
• Aug. 6: Matchbox Twenty, Tinley Park Amphitheater
• Aug. 9-10: Madonna, United Center
• Aug. 9-11: Metallica, Soldier Field
• Aug. 9-10: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, The Salt Shed
• Aug. 10: Vieux Farka Touré & Cedric Burnside, Millennium Park
• Aug. 13-14: John Legend, Ravinia Festival
• Aug. 15: Sam Smith, United Center
• Aug. 18: Jethro Tull, Ravinia Festival
• Aug. 19: Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Tinley Park Amphitheater
• Aug. 19: Sister Hazel, The Forge: Lemont Quarries, 227 Heritage Quarries Drive, Lemont
• Aug. 24: Guns N’ Roses, Wrigley Field
• Aug. 27: Arctic Monkeys, United Center
• Aug. 30-31: Pixies, Modest Mouse, Cat Power, Salt Shed
• Aug. 31-Sept. 3: Chicago Jazz Festival, Millennium Park
• Sept. 1: Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Tinley Park Amphitheater
• Sept. 1-3: Arc Festival, Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St., Chicago
• Sept. 1-3: North Coast Music Festival, SeatGeek Stadium, 7000 S. Harlem Ave., Bridgeview

---

Looking forward to another concert or music festival this summer? Add it in the replies below or send it in an email.

Skip to content

Close this dialog window

Explore EW.com

this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.

If you missed Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday concerts on April 29-30 at the Hollywood Bowl, don’t fret…the documentary of the entire concert is opening nationwide this weekend.  

“Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90″ hits movie theaters on Sunday, June 11, with encores on June 13-14. The film recap features Willie’s performances with an array of outstanding guests including the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, Snoop Dogg, Neil Young, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, Dave Matthews, the Lumineers, George Strait, Billy Strings, and so many more, as well as Willie’s sons Lukas and Micah.  

With a career spanning seven decades, Willie Nelson is widely recognized as one of the greatest and most influential artists in the history of popular music.

“Nelson is everyone’s favorite musical uncle. With his two long braids and penchant for the pot smoke, he’s put a smile on likely everyone’s face on earth at least once,” says American Songwriter. 

Willie Says Cannabis Saved His Life

“Well, it not only saved my life, it probably saved some other people’s lives too because before I smoked marijuana, I was drinking a lot,” Nelson shared with several media outlets.

Still Working Hard

This year alone Willie won two Grammy Awards, published “My Life: It’s a Long Story,” and released a new album “I Don’t Know A Thing About Love,” which pays tribute to friend and songwriter Harlan Howard, who died in 2002. Willie is also among this year’s nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

And Still Moving Around The Country

Willie is still headlining iconic festivals, including Farm Aid, July 4th Picnic, and his Outlaw Music Festival Tour that runs throughout the summer. Naturally, all stops on the 2023 tours will celebrate Nelson’s life and legacy in his milestone 90th birthday year.

“I can’t wait to be on the road with the amazing group of artists joining us on this year’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour,” Willie said. “It is always a great day of music and fun with family, friends and the incredible fans, and even more special this year in celebration of my 90th birthday.”

Photo: Twitter

TAMPA — Melanie Martinez is currently on tour in support of her latest album, “Portals.” The singer-songwriter will perform Tuesday, June 20, 7:30 p.m., at the Yuengling Center, 12499 USF Bull Run Drive, Tampa. 

Tickets start at $35.75. Visit www.ticketmaster.com.

The 13-track new album has already spawned two singles, including “Death” and “Void.”  

Martinez first unveiled “Portals” with an instantly viral TikTok video, with teasers surpassing 115 million views across socials. Hugely anticipated festival appearances at Lollapalooza Argentina; Lollapalooza Chile; Bogota, Columbia’s Estreo Picnic; and Lollapalooza Brazil saw Martinez debuting new songs for the very first time, performing as an otherworldly new creature which is a rebirth of her alter ego “Cry Baby.” The “Portals Tour” will find Martinez exclusively performing as Cry Baby at every show, where fans can enjoy hearing songs from her latest album.

Martinez is a multi-platinum, 12 billion-streaming alt-pop phenomenon. 

“Portals” marks the 27-year-old NYC-born singer-songwriter-filmmaker’s first full-length release in nearly four years following her 2 billion-streaming RIAA gold-certified second album “K-12.” “K-12” proved a sensation upon its release, entering the Billboard 200 at No. 3 with further debuts at No. 1 on the Alternative Album chart, and No. 1 on the Soundtrack Album chart.

Hailed by Forbes as “a perfect conceptual album in the streaming age,” “K-12” also serves as a soundtrack companion to a musical film written, directed and starring Martinez. “K-12” the film debuted in September 2019, with one-night-only screenings in over 425 cinemas in 32 countries. 

Martinez set forth on what has proven a remarkable creative journey with her 2015 debut album, “Cry Baby.” The album took on a second life in 2020 when the longtime fan-favorite “Play Date” exploded into a true alt-pop sensation with millions of user-generated videos across TikTok. Now boasting over 1 billion worldwide streams along with two-time RIAA platinum certification, “Play Date” propelled “Cry Baby” back onto the upper half of the Billboard 200 more than five years after its initial release. 

Named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30 2021,” thanks in part to the renewed success of “Play Date,” Martinez has brought her idiosyncratic vision to an array of diverse enterprises, including last year’s instantly sold-out collaboration with footwear brand Koi. In addition to her myriad musical and visual efforts, Martinez has also shown herself to be an 

unforgettable live performer via sold-out headline shows and festival performances around the planet.

 

 

 

New Delhi:

Diljit Dosanjh, in a now-deleted tweet, slammed a report claiming that he was pictured with Taylor Swift at a restaurant in Vancouver, where the singers were laughing and being touchy. An excerpt from the report read, “Vancouver Patrons were in for a surprise when they saw two of their favorite stars dining together at Cactus Club Cafe Coal Harbor on Monday night. Multiple sources confirmed that Taylor Swift and Diljit Dosanjh were laughing and being “touch touch” (sic).” The signer, slamming the reports, schooled them about privacy and tweeted, “Yaar privacy naam di v koi cheez hundi aa ( Guys, there is a thing called privacy).” A few hours later, the singer deleted the tweet.

Here’s a screenshot of Diljit Dosanjh’s now-deleted tweet:

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift and Matty Healy, who began dating in May this year, have reportedly broken up.

On the work front, Diljit Dosanjh  will next be seen in Rhea Kapoor’s The Crew, co-starring Kareena Kapoor, Tabu and Kriti Sanon. He will also star in Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila, co-starring Parineeti Chopra. The singer-actor performed twice at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2023 in California this year.

Diljit Dosanjh became a household name after he sang songs like Proper Patola, Do You Know and Patiala Peg among others. He has also featured in several Punjabi films. His other big hits include Lover and Vibe. Diljit has also starred in Bollywood films like Phillauri, Soorma, Welcome To New YorkArjun Patiala,Sooraj Pe Mangal Bhaari, Good Newwz among others.

Neil Young has announced a tour of the West Coast of the US, his first tour in four years, at which he will play songs rarely or never aired live before.

The solo acoustic tour will begin next month with 13 gigs currently announced, and as Rolling Stone reports, Young shared the news with paid subscribers of his Neil Young Archives website on a Zoom call this week (June 7).

On the call, he revealed that he will be playing around 15 songs that he has rarely or never played live before.

“I don’t want to come back and do the same songs again,” he said. “I’ll feel like I was on some sort of carnival ride. I’d rather be doing these others songs I haven’t done… I won’t have to compare how I’m doing ‘Heart of Gold’ to [how I played it in] 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020…”

He added: “They’re not new songs. They’re old songs. But I wake up with them in my head every morning.

“They are songs that apply to my life right now, and apply to everyone’s lives in this era that we’re in. Some of them were written 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago, but never really played live.”

See the dates below.

JULY 2023
1 – Los Angeles, CA – John Anson Ford
2 – Los Angeles, CA – John Anson Ford
4 – Los Angeles, CA – John Anson Ford
5 – Los Angeles, CA – John Anson Ford
7 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
8 – Paso Robles, CA – Vina Robles Amphitheatre
11 – San Diego, CA – The Shell
13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
15 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek
17 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
18 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
20 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
23 – Napa, CA – Oxbow RiverStage

Earlier this year, Young made his live comeback at a march and rally in support of the United For Old Growth campaign, which is looking to stop the Canadian government from allowing logging companies from destroying old-growth forests.

Since then, he has reunited with Stephen Stills at a show in Los Angeles in April and performed at Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday party alongside Snoop Dogg, Beck and more.

Neil Young’s last public performance these was in September 2019, when the veteran artist headlined a benefit concert in Lake Hughes, California alongside Norah Jones and Father John Misty.

Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in early 2020, Young said he wouldn’t tour until the virus was “beat” and called on promoters to cancel “super-spreader” gigs.

Last year, Young confirmed he would not be performing at Farm Aid 2022 because “I don’t think it is safe in the pandemic.”

Late rapper Tupac Shakur was finally honoured with his Hollywood Walk of Fame star during a ceremony that saw his sister Sekyiwa ‘Set’ Shakur accept the award on his behalf. The honour comes almost 30 years after the hip-hop icon’s death. Also an actor, a poet and an activist, Shakur was killed in September 1996 in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas when he was only 25.

The event was hosted by radio personality Big Boy on Wednesday, reported website Entertainment Weekly.

In her address, Sekyiwa said the ceremony recognised her brother’s dream of having a star on the historic landmark. Shakur received the 2,758th star, located at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard.

“From the first time he stepped foot on the stage of the Apollo Theater at 13, before anyone recognised his name, he knew he had the dream to have a star here on the Walk of Fame.

“Today, we’re not just honouring a star in the ground, but we’re honouring the work and the passion that he’s put into making his dreams come true. His heavenly star will shine a little brighter today. And once again, he has made us all extremely proud,” Sekyiwa said.

The ceremony also witnessed speeches by Jamal Joseph and Allen Hughes, producer and director of Hulu’s docuseries “Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur”, rapper YG and members of Shakur’s Outlawz group. Shakur, known for hits such as ‘California Love’, ‘All Eyez On Me’, and ‘Dear Mama’, was inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 by Snoop Dogg.

After his death in 1996, the rapper “performed” posthumously onstage via hologram with Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg at 2012’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

KUCHING (ANN/THE STAR) – The most awaited music event in Malaysia and Sarawak’s iconic musical “ambassador” – the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) – is back.

Musicians from all over the globe are gearing up to deliver non-stop rhythmic sounds for the ears and hearts of music lovers at the festival.

RWMF 2023 is themed “Reflections” and will take place from June 23 to 25 at the Sarawak Cultural Village – marking the festival’s return to its fully physical format since 2019.

There will be more than 20 musical acts from 12 countries across four continents lined up.

Festival-goers can look forward to:

From France, Grammy winner Gipsy Kings featuring Tonino Baliardo with their traditional flamenco and rumba sounds whose hits include Djobi Djoba and Bamboleo.

American reggae band Big Mountain whose remake of Baby I Love Your Way became a top hit single in the US and UK.

Other notable international acts include:

Safi Theatre: A nine-member group from Tanzania that combines traditional ngoma music (drumming and dance) with acrobatics.

Rastak from Iran showcasing Iranian folk music with contemporary rhythms.

Fasylive from the Maldives whose music is inspired by the waves of the Maldivian seas.

Afriquoi from the United Kingdom that fuses African rhythms with live electronic beats, creating an incomparable sound that is energetic and mesmerising.

The list of international acts continues with Chatusram (from India), Rizal Hadi and Folk (Indonesia), Ethno Thai Fusion Sound Band (Thailand), Kumi Masunaga (Japan) and Syed Ibrahim (Singapore).

While the international performers are undoubtedly the highlight of the event, exceptional local acts and bands have performed at RWMF over the years, and are a testament to the transformative power of music and culture in creating positive impacts on local communities.

Festival-goers will get to savour the artistry of Sarawak musical talents, among them:

Zee Avi: Homecoming performance by Miri-born and one of Malaysia’s best known singer-songwriters.

At Adau: Award-winning band whose forte is fusing traditional music with modern and contemporary elements.

Sada Borneo: This traditional instrumental music band reached the semi-final stage of AXN’s Asia’s Got Talent in 2015.

Tuku’ Kame’: Made up musicians from the Sarawak Cultural Village, the band has championed traditional and contemporary music for more than 25 years.

Other Sarawakian acts include:

Meruked: This band focuses on traditional sounds but with a modern twist that saturates a more euphoric sound with big choruses along with catchy hooks.

Nading Rhapsody: Renowned for their distinctive adaptations of ritual chanting, old lullabies, folk songs, myths, and stories of various ethnic communities in Sarawak.

Suk Binie: Their music emphasises on revitalising the Bidayuh cultural heritage.

Buluh Bekocak: This band was formed with the purpose of promoting bamboo-based music, incorporating both traditional and popular songs that are enhanced with the use of bamboo instruments.

Acts from Peninsular Malaysia include:

Steve Thornton and Afroasia: A renowned percussionist and composer who has been creating ground-breaking combination of African rhythms, jazz, funk and Latin music for over three decades.

Orang Orang Drum Theatre: This troupe of drummers explores the intersection of music, dance, and theatre as means to express their drum theatre performances.

Nadir: Ethno-fusion band with a fluid line-up of musicians playing a wide variety of instruments such as the sitar, violin, gambus, bagpipes, erhu, yangqin and many more.

Edwin Nathaniel and the Aseana Percussion Unit: A percussion ensemble that uses prominent local Chinese, Indian and Malay instruments creating a distinctive Malaysian sound.

Geng Wak Long: Plays Kelantanese traditional orchestra music that also features elements of Wayang Kulit, Dikir Barat, Kelantanese silat, Mak Yong, Tari Inai, Asyik, Rebana Ubi, Kertuk, Tarik Selampik and Main Peteri.

Shameer: Leader of four-member 1Dream drum circle that enthralls audiences with their drum percussion.

From its humble beginnings of only 300 spectators in its first ever concert in 1998 to becoming Sarawak’s “star festival” as well as being recognised as one of the 25 best international festivals by Songlines, RWMF has grown over the years and has now also become a strong advocate of responsible tourism – in its quest to become one of the world’s most sustainable, eco-friendly festivals.