Chicago’s free summer concert series is back, and highlights include Chicago DJ Ca$h Era, Atlanta hip hop ensemble Arrested Development and Prince collaborator Sheila E., often dubbed the “Queen of Percussion.”
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events announced Wednesday that this year’s summer music series will take place on Monday and Thursday nights from June 15 to Aug. 6. Local and international musicians and DJs will take the stage at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion over five weeks at Millennium Park.
The musical lineups for each night include strong local ties, including Stanford-educated Puerto Rican rapper Linda Sol opening for Arrested Development on June 15 and Chicago-made alternative band La Rosa Noir, opening for the legendary and eccentric Colombian psychedelic rock duo Aterciopelados on July 27. DJs from Ed Marszewski’s Bridgeport-based Lumpen Radio will kick off the night.
On the eve of citywide Juneteenth celebrations (which include the official opening of the Obama Presidential Center), renowned percussionist Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble stops at Millennium Park as part of the “Let the Spirit Out” tour.
Chicago-based Black chamber music collective D-Composed joins in on the night of celebration, and the iconic, 81-year-old funk vocalist Nona Hendryx (one third of the iconic girl group of the 60s and 70s, Labelle) and master saxophonist David Murray also are slated to appear.
Chicago’s own Melody Angel and DJ Larz Natural open for Sheila E on June 22. The Oakland-native musician has collaborated with and performed alongside iconic musicians such as Prince, Gloria Estefan and Whitney Houston.
Indie-alternative sounds take over the Pavilion on June 29 with performances by Sir Chloe and Venus & the Flytraps. Chicago musician, pop culture critic and DJ Jill Hopkins will set the mood with an opening set.
After about two weeks off, the summer concerts pick up again on July 16 with an enchanting night of samba, jazz, funk and bossa nova from Brazil’s Marcos Valle — the man often credited for popularizing the latter genre throughout the 1960s.
Drummer Daniel Villarreal and Chicago-based multimedia artist and vinyl dealer Clark Nelson, aka DJ Clark Quente, will also perform that night. The Budos Band, a funky Staten Island group specializing in “doom rock,” and Zeshan B, a Chicago native who sings in English, Urdu, and Punjabi, perform on Aug. 3. A five-person a cappella group from Chicago known as Radius opens.
The festival culminates on Aug. 6 with a night featuring South Side-born and bred rapper Matt B, who won a Grammy for his studio album “Alkebulan II,” featuring London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. That night also features forward-looking performances from rising stars Lila Iké, a Jamaican singer-songwriter whose debut album “Treasure Self Love” was nominated for a Grammy in 2025, and Blair Elise, an up-and-coming multi-hyphenate artist from New Orleans.
The Grant Park Music Festival previously announced its return this season on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights in Millennium Park starting June 10. The second season under Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero will feature a heavy dose of music from American composers, as the country marks its 250th birthday. Highlights also include a performance by singer-songwriter Ben Folds, the one-time frontman of the rock trio Ben Folds Five, who makes his festival debut on July 29.
Here’s the full 2026 Millennium Park summer music lineup:
- June 15: Arrested Development, Linda Sol, DJ Ca$h Era
- June 18: Let the Spirit Out! A Jubilant Celebration of Juneteenth with D-Composed and Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, with special guests Nona Hendryx and David Murray
- June 22: Sheila E., Melody Angel, DJ Larz Natural
- June 25: Patrice Rushen, Sparklmami, DJ Shon Dervis
- June 29: Sir Chloe, Venus & the Flytraps, DJ Jill Hopkins
- July 16: Marcos Valle, Daniel Villarreal, DJ Clark Quente
- July 27: Aterciopelados, La Rosa Noir, Lumpen Radio DJs
- Aug. 3: The Budos Band, Zeshan B, Radius
- Aug. 6: GRAMMY Legacies and Looking Ahead feat. Lila Ike, Matt B, DJ Blair Elise