Music
Show: Nicole Mitchell The excellent Chicago composer and flutist Nicole Mitchell will premiere her latest suite, Mother Earth, in a free concert with her long-running Black Earth Ensemble. The group will be joined by Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda. He plays a customized arpa llanero—an instrument traditionally used for Colombian joropo music, indigenous to the plains of Colombia and Venezuela—that’s fitted with two pickups, one for the upper register and one for the lower, to help him articulate distinct simultaneous melody and bass lines.
6:30pm, Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 312-744-6630, free
Dinner: Crofton on Wells Chef-proprietor Suzy Crofton presents a well-balanced and innovative menu in a small, urbane setting. Subdued music playing in the background of the minimally decorated room keeps the conversation level down and the focus on the food.
535 N. Wells, 312-755-1790