The live music picture has more or less taken shape for summer 2025. What’s coming?
This summer may not have the biggest of the big blockbuster concerts compared to last summer — farewell, Eras Tour — but that still leaves Beyoncé, AC/DC, The Weeknd, the recently announced Lady Gaga and lots more. It begins with the most concert-packed May in memory: Along with the first three of the aforementioned, Paul Simon is playing what’s likely his farewell Chicago show at Symphony Center, Post Malone is at Wrigley and Sueños returns to Grant Park.
Later in August, Oasis, My Chemical Romance, The Lumineers and System of A Down play back-to-back-to-back nights at Soldier Field — me, I’m gonna try not to even leave my parking space. Look for Riot Fest announcing its bands soon. We’re all still feeling the loss of Pitchfork.
The following also covers much of spring; it begins with concerts as soon as Sunday. Many tickets are already on sale.
100 concerts for Chicago summer 2025
Blind Boys of Alabama at Garcia’s Chicago on March 30; garciaschicago.live
Deftones at the United Center on March 31; unitedcenter.com
Snow Patrol at Salt Shed on April 1; saltshedchicago.com
Kylie Minogue Tension Tour at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on April 2; rosemont.com/allstate
Rufus Wainwright in Maurer Hall at Old Town School of Folk Music April 3-5; oldtownschool.org
Bright Eyes at Salt Shed on April 5; saltshedchicago.com
Franz Ferdinand at the Vic on April 5; jamusa.com
Brooks & Dunn and the Neon Moon Tour at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on April 5; rosemont.com/allstate
Jack White at Salt Shed April 10-11; saltshedchicago.com
Ani DiFranco at Thalia Hall April 10-11; thaliahallchicago.com
J Balvin at the United Center on April 13; unitedcenter.com
The Linda Lindas at Metro on April 13; metrochicago.com
Peter Frampton at Chicago Theatre on April 17; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
The Yardbirds at the Des Plaines Theater in Des Plaines on April 18; oshows.com
Jeff Tweedy at the Vic April 18-19; jamusa.com
OK Go and the Adjacent Possible Tour at Riviera Theatre on April 25; jamusa.com
Bob Mould Band’s Here We Go Crazy tour at Metro April 25-26; metrochicago.com
Ivan Cornejo at the United Center April 26-27; unitedcenter.com
Charli XCX at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on April 28; rosemont.com/allstate
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at Salt Shed April 28-29; saltshedchicago.com
Japanese Breakfast at Salt Shed April 30-May 2; saltshedchicago.com
Lucy Dacus on Forever Is A Feeling Tour at Chicago Theatre May 1-2; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
Bonnie Koloc in Maurer Hall at Old Town School of Folk Music on May 2; oldtownschool.org
Marilyn Manson at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana on May 3; casino.hardrock.com
Ministry at Riviera Theatre on May 9; jamusa.com
Rauw Alejandro at United Center May 9-10; unitedcenter.com
Katy Perry at the United Center on May 12; unitedcenter.com
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour at Soldier Field on May 15, 17 and 18; soldierfield.com
Paul Simon at Symphony Center May 21-24; cso.org
Post Malone at Wrigley Field on May 22; mlb.com
AC/DC in Power Up Tour 2025 at Soldier Field on May 24; soldierfield.com
Sueños Music Festival in Grant Park May 24-25; suenosmusicfestival.com
Peach Pit and Briston Maroney at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on May 29; livenation.com
The Weeknd with Playboi Carti in After Hours Til Dawn 2025 Tour at Soldier Field May 30-31; soldierfield.com
Widespread Panic at the Chicago Theatre June 4-6; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
Chicago Blues Festival at the Ramova Theatre and Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park June 5-8; ChicagoBluesFestival.us
Kendrick Lamar and SZA in the Grand National Tour at Soldier Field on June 6; soldierfield.com
Alejandro Fernández at the United Center on June 6; unitedcenter.com
Billy Strings at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont June 6-7; rosemont.com/allstate
Alison Krauss and Union Station at the Chicago Theatre on June 7; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals at the Auditorium Theatre on June 7; auditoriumtheatre.org
Beyond Wonderland at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island June 7-8; livenation.com
Barenaked Ladies at the Chicago Theatre on June 11; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
A-Town House Music Fest at Wilder Park in Aurora on June 14; paramountaurora.com
Dierks Bentley 2025 Broken Branches Tour at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park on June 14; livenation.com
Ben Folds and the CSO at Symphony Center on June 16; cso.org
Halsey at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on June 17; livenation.com
James Taylor and His All-Star Band with Tiny Habits at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on June 19; ravinia.org
Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Garcia’s Chicago June 19-21; garciaschicago.live
Simple Minds Alive & Kicking Tour at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on June 20; livenation.com
Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview June 20-22; thesummersmash.com
Queens of the Stone Age on The End is Nero tour at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on June 21; livenation.com
Ryan Adams at the Chicago Theatre on June 21; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
Lil Baby on his WHAM World Tour at the United Center on June 25; unitedcenter.com
Stray Kids at Wrigley Field on June 26; mlb.com
Chris Stapleton at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park June 27-28; livenation.com
Dave Matthews Band at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island June 27-28; livenation.com
Tyler, The Creator with Lil Yachty and Paris Texas at the United Center June 30-July 1; unitedcenter.com
Nas with the Chicago Philharmonic at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on July 2; ravinia.org
Jeff Goldblum & the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra at the Chicago Theatre on July 2; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
American Music Festival at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn July 3-6; fitzgeraldsnightclub.com
Zac Brown Band at the NASCAR Chicago Street Race in Grant Park on July 5; nascarchicago.com
Wu-Tang Clan at the United Center on July 7; unitedcenter.com
Windy City Smokeout outside the United Center July 10-13; windycitysmokeout.com
Keshi at Salt Shed on July 18; saltshedchicago.com
Blackpink at Soldier Field on July 18; soldierfield.com
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band at the Auditorium Theatre on July 19; auditoriumtheatre.org
Phish at the United Center July 18-20; unitedcenter.com
Beck with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on July 23; ravinia.org
Out of Space 2025 at Illinois Science & Technology Park in Skokie July 24-27; outofspaceconcerts.com
Wynonna Judd at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana on July 26; casino.hardrock.com
Lollapalooza in Grant Park July 31-Aug. 3; lollapalooza.com
Cyndi Lauper on her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park on Aug. 5; livenation.com
Death Cab for Cutie at the Chicago Theatre Aug. 5-6; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
Men I Trust at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on Aug. 6; livenation.com
Rod Stewart: One Last Time Tour at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park on Aug. 8; livenation.com
Northalsted Market Days street festival Aug. 9-10; northalsted.com
Linkin Park at the United Center on Aug. 11; unitedcenter.com
Goo Goo Dolls With Dashboard Confessional at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island Aug. 13; livenation.com
Tate McRae with Zara Larsson at the United Center on Aug. 15; unitedcenter.com
Blue Öyster Cult at Riviera Theatre on Aug. 15; jamusa.com
Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge in 2025 Yes We Are tour at Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park on Aug. 17; jaypritzkerpavilion.com
Nine Inch Nails at the United Center Aug. 19-20; unitedcenter.com
Lenny Kravitz at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on Aug. 21; ravinia.org
Neil Young at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on Aug. 27; livenation.com
Oasis at Soldier Field on Aug. 28; soldierfield.com
Chris Brown Breezy Bowl XX Stadium World Tour at Wrigley Field Aug. 28; www.chrisbrownworld.com
Chicago Jazz Festival at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park Aug. 28-31; ChicagoJazzFestival.us
My Chemical Romance at Soldier Field on Aug. 29; soldierfield.com
North Coast Music Festival at SeatGeek Stadium Aug. 29-31; northcoastfestival.com
ARC in Union Park Aug. 29-31; arcmusicfestival.com
The Lumineers: The Automatic World Tour at Soldier Field on Aug. 30; soldierfield.com
System of A Down at Soldier Field Aug. 31 to Sept. 1; soldierfield.com
Dua Lipa at the United Center Sept. 5-6; unitedcenter.com
Taste of Chicago in Grant Park Sept. 5-7; TasteofChicago.us
Bonnie Raitt with Jimmie Vaughan at the Chicago Theatre on Sept. 9; msg.com/the-chicago-theatre
Mt. Joy at United Center on Sept. 13; unitedcenter.com
Pixies at Salt Shed on Sept. 15; saltshedchicago.com
Lady Gaga at United Center; www.ladygaga.com
Riot Fest in Douglass Park Sept. 19-21; riotfest.org
dgeorge@chicagotribune.com
