July ushers in most of the summer’s major music festivals in Chicago. When you’re not at Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park or Windy City Smokeout outside the United Center, there’s West Fest Chicago in West Town, Fiesta del Sol in Pilsen, Wicker Park Fest and Square Roots in Lincoln Square.
But want to avoid the chatty crowds and really focus on the music? Here are 10 alternatives to hot, noisy festivals that promise memorable summer nights.
Davis Rogan and the Haymarket Rioters
7:30 p.m. July 10 at SPACE
New Orleans pianist Davis Rogan is many things: A living encyclopedia of the classic New Orleans songbook, a singer-songwriter who humorously documents life in his hometown, a hip-hop innovator whose band All That combined brass band funk with old school rap, and an HBO touchstone — writer-producer David Simon based DJ Davis, the lead character of the hit series Treme on him, making him known as “the Real Davis” around town. Here’s a rare opportunity to see him here with a Chicago band of all-star musicians performing songs from his catalog, including All That’s 1999 debut, newly on vinyl. 1245 N. Chicago Ave., Evanston, tickets from $15.
SamaSama Project
1 p.m. July 13 at Eugene Field
Chicago “folk fusion” band SamaSama Project headlines this afternoon festival of Filipino music, food, and crafts in Albany Park’s Eugene Field. Their set covers well-loved Filipino songs crossed with folk, rock, ska, and Latin music, as well as tributes to Filipino composers Nicanor Abelardo, Francisco Santiago, Domingo Lopez, Juan Silos Jr. and Mike Velarde. 5100 N. Ridgeway Ave., free.
Jimmy Burns
2 p.m. July 13 at the Muddy Waters MOJO Museum
Only recently could blues music fans visit the home of Muddy Waters in Bronzeville — the first building he owned and one where he held jams in the basement — and hear the music he helped shape for the world. Restoration work is underway on the brick two-flat, future home of the Muddy Waters MOJO Museum. In the meantime, organizers are hosting free outdoor performances all summer on the front porch to raise awareness and funds. This month features guitarist Jimmy Burns, a Delmark Records artist who continues to hold down the blues tradition in clubs throughout Chicago. 4339 S. Lake Park Ave., free.
The Big Star Quintet
7 p.m. July 13 at FitzGerald’s
Is there a more beloved cult band than Big Star? Despite the deaths of lead auteurs Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, Big Star’s influence lives on via the active musical life of drummer Jody Stephens. He continues to celebrate the Memphis band’s early influence on power pop through tours featuring a rotating cast of true believers. This special outdoor show features Stephens, Wilco’s John Stirratt and Pat Sansone, Chris Stamey of the dB’s and Jon Auer of the Posies. Together they will play songs from the band’s brief but majestic catalog with a particular emphasis on Radio City, the second Big Star album that celebrates its 50th birthday this year. 6615 W. Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn, tickets from $39.
Pascuala Ilabaca y Fauna
7 p.m. July 16 at Reggies
Chilean singer-songwriter and accordionist Pascuala Ilabaca is already a prominent voice on the Latin American music scene, having multiple awards and recognition for her music over the last decade. Her latest album, Porteña, pays tribute to her hometown, Chile’s historic port city of Valparaiso (sorry, Indiana). Her music spans rock, pop, and jazz. This performance is co-sponsored by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago and marks her third trip to Chicago as part of her ongoing world tour. 2105 S. State St., tickets from $25.
Joanna Sternberg
10:30 p.m. July 20 at the Hideout
Childlike, charming, haunting, homespun — they all describe the music of neo-folk singer-songwriter Joanna Sternberg, whose music harkens back to New York’s anti-folk scene of the 1990s (Regina Spektor, Moldy Peaches, Jeffrey Lewis) as well as the fragile sincerity of Elliott Smith. I’ve Got Me, her second album released this year by Fat Possum Records, was produced by frequent Bonnie “Prince” Billy collaborator, Matt Sweeney. 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., tickets from $20.
Hailu Mergia
8:30 p.m. July 20 at Constellation
Ethiopian-born keyboardist, accordionist, and composer Hailu Mergia is a beloved Afro-jazz pioneer who made his name in the 1970s with the Walias Band, the prominent Ethiopian jazz and funk band he co-founded and played in for several decades. Now based in Washington, D.C., Mergia has restarted his musical life amid a reinterest in Afro-funk with reissues of his hallmark recordings. His trio will revisit compositions from throughout his career and pepper them with instrumental interplay which will certainly make a hot July night much hotter. 3111 N. Western Ave., tickets from $30.
Kara Jackson
10 p.m. July 20 at Schubas
This is a Pitchfork aftershow for Kara Jackson, an Oak Park native who transitioned from spoken word poetry (she is a former U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate) to music with Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?, her debut album released last year to great acclaim. The multi-instrumentalist combines folk, blues, and psychedelic country with, not unlike what you’d hear at a poetry slam at the Green Mill, powerful storytelling and commanding vocals. 3159 N. Southport Ave., tickets from $30.
Nala Sinephro
8:30 p.m. July 21 at Constellation
Harpist and keyboardist Nala Sinephro is a London-based jazz composer who creates ambient jazz soundscapes in the tradition of free jazz spiritualists Pharoah Sanders and John and Alice Coltrane. Using live instruments, synthesizers, and field recordings, Sinephro created a stir in 2021 for her debut album Space 1.8. 3111 N. Western Ave., tickets from $25.
The Felice Brothers
9 p.m. July 27 at Beat Kitchen
Fans of Bob Dylan’s tenure with The Band are well served by the Felice Brothers, an upstate New York band that plays a blend of psychedelic folk, rock, and country laced with stream-of-conscious lyrics and powered by bright pop melodies. One of the best American bands that remains below the radar, they recently released a new album, Valley of Abandoned Songs, on Million Stars, a new label operated by Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. This is a club show following the band’s appearance at Wicker Park Festival that same weekend. 2100 W. Belmont Ave., tickets from $30.
Mark Guarino is a journalist based in Chicago and the author ofCountry & Midwestern: Chicago in the History of Country Music and the Folk Revival.
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