December was one of the most mild winter months in recent memory for most Chicagoans, but as the weather begins to cool down, the season's events are just heating up. While we ease into the new year, January will allow us to gain a deeper appreciation of all the hot cocktails and bars with fireplaces. If you're on the hunt for Chicago events in January, look no further than this list of the month's most anticipated openings.
THINGS TO DO
Jan 1: Are you one of the few, the proud and the not-hungover on New Year's Day? The New Year's Day 5K Run/Walk is perfect for you.
Jan 1–17: After a run of over 2,500 shows, the Million Dollar Quartet calls it quits this month. If you've ever wondered what it'd be like to see Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis play together, you have until January 17.
Jan 15-17: After winning the 2015 National League Championship Series, the 2016 Cubs Convention kicks off the teams most exciting season.
Jan 16: Windy City Soul Club returns to the Empty Bottle for a night of soul music and dancing.
Jan 19: Discover the history of graffiti through a new documentary, Wall Writers, which explores the art form's rise to pop culture prominence.
Jan 21: Adler After Dark this month is all about the first contact humans may have with aliens and the efforts to find them... with drinks!
FESTIVALS
Jan 7-17: The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, the largest gathering of sketch comedy troupes in the US, returns to Stage 773 for another week of laughs and gags.
Jan 7: Expect a motherlode of Elvis impersonators and peanut butter and banana sandwiches at this year's Elvis Fest, where wannabe Kings of Rock n Roll compete to win a trip to Las Vegas.
Jan 13-17: Annual winter music festival Tomorrow Never Knows brings a crop of rising acts (including Bully, Tobacco, Sam Fermin, the Go! Team and more) to Schubas, Lincoln Hall, Hideout and Metro for five nights of concerts.
Jan 31: Taste a variety of circular treats at the delicious festival in January, Donut Fest.
Jan 31: Do a little window shopping as hundreds of dogs prance and skip before your eyes at the International Kennel Club Dog Shows.
RESTAURANTS & BARS
Jan: Elizabeth's Iliana Regan will open Bunny the Microbakery, serving up small batches of handmade baked goods.
Jan: Cafe Marie-Jeanne (originally known as Calaugusta Cafe) will open in Humboldt Park.
Jan: Aviva, a Mediterranean restaurant, will open in the Parthenon banquet space.
MUSIC
Jan 4, 5, 25, 26: Rough-and-tumble troubadour Steve Earle returns to City Winery for four nights of songs and storytelling.
Jan 13: Armed with a 360-degree stage and quasi-political songs, British rockers Muse take over the United Center on the band's Drones world tour.
Jan 14: Silicon Valley opening theme composer and Black Moth Super Rainbow frontman Tobacco debuts his latest glitchy soundscapes at Smart Bar during Tomorrow Never Knows.
Jan 15: Those in search haunting melodies and gut-wrenching lyrics should look no further than Torres' headlining performance during Tomorrow Never Knows.
Jan 16: Noisy, grunge-influenced rockers Metz and Bully join forces on a co-headlining bill during Tomorrow Never Knows.
Jan 19: Welcome the Boss back to town as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform selections from the band's seminal 1980 album The River.
Jan 23: Chicago-based experimental rock outfit Tortoise celebrate the release of its new album, The Catastrophist, with two "in-the-round" performances at Thalia Hall.
Jan 26, 27: Legendary stoner metal act Sleep (the namesake of the Thanksgiving burger at Kuma's Corner) bring its sludgy melodies to Thalia Hall.
Jan 30: End your month on a slow note, as Minnesota trio Low plays melancholy tunes from its recent release, Ones and Sixes, in Evanston.
THEATER
Jan 7: Court Theatre's Charles Newell stages the Chicago debut of Terry Teachout's solo piece, Satchmo at the Waldorf, about jazz musician Louis Armstrong.
Jan 8: Joanie Schultz directs Bruise Easy, a new play by Dan LeFranc (The Big Meal) about estranged siblings.
Jan 9: Winner of no less than three Jeff Awards in 2014, director Robin Witt debuts his staging of London Wall, John Van Druten's rarely produced 1931 comedy about the women in an office typists' pool.
Jan 9: Mutt delves into a story that seeks to find out what would happen if the Republican Party addressed its race problem by seeking out a mixed-race candidate for president.
Jan 14: See Tennessee Williams's 1966 work The Mutilated, about a pair of female frenemies facing off in New Orleans.
Jan 14: Catch a very limited run of Spring Awakening, the Steven Sater–Duncan Sheik rock musical based on Frank Wedekind's 1906 play about 19th-century teenagers experiencing their sexual awakenings on low information.
Jan 15: Le Switch centers around a commitment-shy gay man is unsure how to respond to full marriage equality in the US.
Jan 21: Find a quirky retelling of the Ancient Greek Persephone myth in Estrella Cruz [the junkyard queen].
Jan 21: The Last Defender is an immersive piece set in 1960s Chicago "played" by 16 audience members at a time.
COMEDY
Jan 3: Life goes on after the Rapture in iO musical Tribulation, and those left behind still have to pay the bills.
Jan 17: While Bob Saget might be best known for his wholesome runs on Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, he's even better known among comedians for his incredibly raunchy stand-up comedy.
DANCE
Jan 9: Sono's Journey is a new piece by Melissa Thodos inspired by the life of Japanese-American ballet and Broadway dancer Sono Osato.
LGBT
Jan 20: The 2016 Creating Change Conference is the 28th annual conference of the National LGBTQ Task Force, a leading organization for advancing social justice and forward movement for the community.