CHICAGO BLUES FESTIVAL
Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9  -  11:00am – 9:30pm
Sunday, June 10  -  11:00am –  9:00pm
Grant Park / Admission is free

The Chicago Blues Festival is the largest free blues festival in the world and remains the largest of Chicago’s Music Festivals. During three days on five stages, more than half a million blues fans prove that Chicago is the “Blues Capital of the World.”
Chicago Blues Festival Website

 

CHICAGO GOSPEL MUSIC FESTIVAL
June 21-24, 2012
Millennium Park / Admission is free

The Chicago Gospel Music Festival has welcomed such performers as Grammy Award Winners – Queen of Gospel Music – Albertina Walker and Shirley Caesar, Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Byron Cage, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, The Rance Allen Group, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, The Clark Sisters, Donald Lawrence and Company, Tye Tribbett & G.A., Marvin Sapp, CeCe Winans, The Williams Brothers, Mary Mary, dozens of Chicagoland artists and so many more.
Chicago Gospel Music Festival Website

 

TASTE OF CHICAGO
July 11 – 15, 2012
Grant Park / Admission is free but
Food tickets are required if you plan on actually tasting anything

Taste of Chicago is the nation’s premier outdoor food festival showcasing the diversity of Chicago’s dining community. The delicious array of food served at Taste of Chicago is complemented by music and exciting activities for the entire family. Every summer since 1980, Chicago’s beautiful Grant Park on the city’s magnificent lakefront has been home to the world’s largest food festival.
Taste of Chicago Website

 

CHICAGO JAZZ FESTIVAL
August 30 -  September 2, 2012
The Cultural Center (across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park)
Millennium and Grant Parks / Admission is free

For more than 30 years, the Chicago Jazz Festival has been a Labor Day weekend tradition. Known for its artistic creativity, the Chicago Jazz Festival showcases Chicago’s vast jazz talent alongside national and international jazz artists.
Chicago Jazz Festival Website

 

CHICAGO AIR AND WATER SHOW
August 18 and 19, 2012
North Avenue Beach / Admission is free

The Chicago Air and Water Show is the largest free show of its kind in the United States. The show can be viewed along the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point. Many buildings along Lake Shore Drive have excellent vantage points for the air show. The practice sessions, which run a few days prior, are also great and exciting and visible all along the lake shore.
Air and Water Show Website

 

CHICAGO SUMMERDANCE
Jul 7, 2011 – Sep 18, 2011
Grant Park / Admission is free

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture present the Chicago SummerDance festival. For eleven weeks each summer, the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park blossoms into an urban dance space. The series offers an introductory one-hour dance lesson by professional instructors followed by two hours of live music and dancing on a  4,900 square-foot, open-air dance floor.  Chicago SummerDance is located in the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park, at 601 S. Michigan Avenue. Events occur every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening, from 6:00pm to 9:30pm and on each Sunday afternoon from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, weather permitting.
Chicago Summer Dance Website

 

GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL
Begins June 13, 2012
Schedules will be posted here once released / Admission is free

The Grant Park Music Festival is the nation’s only free, outdoor classical music series. Presented each summer through a unique collaboration of the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Grant Park Orchestral Association, the Festival is committed to providing free classical music to all of Chicago in its new venue.
Grant Park Music Festival Website

 

WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL CHICAGO
Mid September – Schedules will be posted here once released / Admission is free

The annual World Music Festival: Chicago features dozens of free and ticketed concerts with international and local artists performing music from all over the globe at venues throughout the city, including the Chicago Cultural Center and Millennium Park.
Chicago’s World Music Festival Website