Summer music festivals are like a box of chocolates: too many to choose from. This weekend is especially crowded, and not just because Taste of Chicago has everyone taking up a little more space than usual. But Soundboard is here to help (with your live-music schedule for the next few days, that is—you’ll have to look elsewhere to figure out how to return to your normal waist size).
Of course, Taste of Chicago continues. Robin Thicke and Estelle play tonight, Robert Plant tomorrow, Jill Scott and Maxi Priest on Saturday, and Neon Trees on Sunday. This weekend also brings (among others) multivenue garage-rock party They Liver, all the barbecue and country music you could want at the Windy City Smokeout, Jerry’s Sixth Anniversary, the Irish American Heritage Festival, Square Roots in Lincoln Square, and West Fest in West Town (headlined by reunited Memphis garage-trash legends the Oblivians and Chicago postrock godfathers Tortoise).
But wait, there’s more. Relentlessly curious composer Chris Brown plays at Elastic tonight, while Pritzker Pavilion offers its massive soundspace to someone who can maximize its capabilities, avant-garde electronic producer Dan Deacon. On Friday Bob Dylan, Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and Richard Thompson fill a bill to the brim at Toyota Park.
Sunday at Square Roots is especially notable, with performances by Scottish songwriter Alasdair Roberts and, before his show later that night at Constellation, New Jersey native Glenn Jones. Naam headlines at Reggie’s, and Willie Nelson comes to Ravinia.
More Soundboard picks below: