Music & Nightlife
Your guide to the best nightclubs, live music, comedy and concerts in Chicago
Get in the holiday spirit at Chicago’s top Christmas concerts
If you're looking for a cozy place to spend a cold winter evening, there's a long list of concerts in December that provide a great excuse to get out of the house. And while the month culminates with a lineup of New Year's Eve concerts, before you toast the arrival of 2020 you can celebrate the holidays with a sing-along to Handel’s Messiah or with orchestral renditions carols performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. If you prefer an over-the-top arena show, catch pop stars like Katy Perry, the Jonas Brothers and Camilla Cabello headlining local radio station balls, or catch the Trans-Siberian Orchestra a few days after Santa visits. Hear old-fashioned yuletide melodies and Top 40 hits at some of Chicago's best Christmas concerts. RECOMMENDED: Our guide to Christmas events in Chicago
Wilco
The Chicago-based rockers make a triumphant return with a four-night stand in the Loop
The best New Year’s Eve concerts in Chicago
It's almost a wrap on 2019, but some of the best concerts in Chicago take place on the final evening of the year. If don't feel like spending the night at New Year's Eve parties but can't imagine staying in, you can always head to Chicago's best music venues to ring in 2020 at a New Year's Eve concert. This year, stoner-metal act Sleep brings sludgy riffs to Thalia Hall, party animal Andrew W.K. headlines the Concord Music Hall and a stacked lineup of DJs gets behind the decks at Smart Bar. Find the best year-end rock, hip-hop and electronic shows with our guide to the Chicago New Year's Eve concert lineup. RECOMMENDED: Our guide to New Year's Eve in Chicago
Andrew Bird
Settle in for an evening of violin melodies and whistling during Bird's holiday residency
Just announced shows
American Football
Downstate Illinois band American Football released a single self-titled album 1999, creating a cult-classic that combined emo songcraft and post-rock...
Windy City Soul Club
Groove to the rhythms of the past as you move toward the future at this annual New Year's Eve dance party, featuring Northern Soul, Motown hits and regional...
Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Merry, Merry Chicago!
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra decks the halls of Symphony Center, teaming up with the Chicago Symphony Chorus for an evening of holiday standards and...
Whitney
The soulful, horn-embellished folk-rock of Whitney's sophomore album, Forever Turned Around, wears its heart on its tattered plaid sleeve, channeling the...
Twenty One Pilots + iDKHOW
Mashing up elements of alternative rock, hip-hop and EDM (with some twee ukulele balladry thrown in for good measure), Columbus, Ohio duo Twenty One Pilots...
