No Jazz, Gospel or Blues fests as ‘Open Chicago’ reopening plans expand

The Chicago Blues Festival, Gospel Music Festival and Jazz Festival all are taking another summer off, according to an announcement Monday from Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).

The House Music Festival will become “House City,” a nine-part series of free events in Chicago’s neighborhoods. Taste of Chicago remains the previously announced Taste of Chicago To-Go (July 7-11). And four evening events at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion will take the place of the largest city music fests of the summer, with nights of gospel music, jazz, house music and blues. Not yet mentioned: the fate of the Chicago Air & Water Show later this summer.

It’s an unexpected curtailing of some of the headliner events of Chicago’s outdoor season, especially given the recent speed of Chicago’s reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

Both the city and the music festival presenters attributed the summer’s schedule to planning time. Although the city and state both have fully reopened, you can’t turn something as big as Chicago’s Jazz Festival on a dime.

“Yes, there is grief” about not having the usual Jazz Fest, said Heather Ireland Robinson, executive director of the nonprofit Jazz Institute of Chicago, which programs the week-long, multistage Jazz Fest put on by DCASE. But in a typical year, “we start planning this thing in January and February. We gather in the snow. At that point, we weren’t even at the vaccine point.”

Decisions had to be made then as to how to plan the summer.

DCASE commissioner Mark Kelly said the focus should be on all that is happening, instead of all that is not.

The city’s announcement Monday included a calendar of events as part of the previously announced “Open Chicago” initiative. The lineup, some of it already reported in the Tribune, is headlined by “Chicago in Tune” (Aug. 19-Sept. 19), commemorating the 2021 Year of Chicago Music. Organizers plan to make it an annual event. Most of the concerts and events are pushed into the neighborhoods, rather than collected on the lakefront — and that’s a plus, Kelly said.

“We’re really proud of what we’ve put forward,” he said. “The challenge was how to animate both Millennium Park and the entire city.”

Scenario planning began months ago, with DCASE’s reduced budget also part of the mix. At some point, one plan had to move forward; Kelly said he couldn’t put a date on when that was. “It’s all been a bit of a blur, to tell the truth.”

“Chicago Presents” (an initiative of the Arts77 recovery plan) is an umbrella of neighborhood arts programming that includes House City and the weeklong Taste of Chicago To-Go, as well as new events including:

• ¡Súbelo! (Sept. 9) in the Pilsen neighborhood, a celebration of Latinx music and culture.

• Global Peace Picnic (Sept. 25) at the Humboldt Park Boathouse, an afternoon of world music and family activities commemorating the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.

Chicago blues musician Billy Branch, who played the first Chicago Blues Fest and will be part of the Pritzker Pavilion event, said no Blues Fest this year feels like a loss.

“It’s a disappointment. It’s wonderful being able to showcase in beautiful Millennium Park for so many people” in a typical summer, he said. “The fans love it. This year? It’s an adjustment.”

Worth noting is how much the city’s revised calendar makes September a jam-packed month.

The big-ticket music festivals all have previously announced their 2021 returns: Windy City Smokeout is slated for July 8-11 outside the United Center. Pitchfork Music Festival announced in May it would play in Union Park Sept. 10-12, and Lollapalooza in Grant Park July 29-Aug. 1. Riot Fest has been selling tickets for months for Sept. 17-19 in Douglass Park.

Also part of DCASE’s Monday lineup:

Bronzeville Art District Tour, presented by Bronzeville Art District (July and August, BronzevilleArtDistrict.com).

Jolgorio de Salsa y Más in Humboldt Park, presented by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (July and August, PRCC-Chgo.org).

Bronzeville Sounds & Color, presented by Urban Juncture (July 7 to Aug. 30, UrbanJuncture.org).

Barrio Arts Fest in Humboldt Park, presented by National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture (July 10-11, NMPRAC.org).

Lot Jams, presented by North River Commission in Albany Park and Irving Park (July 15, August 5 & 27, NorthRiverCommission.org).

What Symbol Represents a Spirit, presented in Humboldt Park by Sky People Entertainment (July 17, OPLIAMmusic.com).

Bands on Broadway and Beyond, presented by Edgewater chamber of commerce (July 23–25, Edgewater.org).

Bronzeville Jazz/Music Experience — Falling in Love with Bronzeville, presented by 51st Street Business Association (July 24 and Aug. 21, 51stStreetChicago.com).

The Power of the Word, presented by Elastic Arts Foundation (August through Oct. 2, ElasticArts.org).

Back Alley Jazz Festival, presented by South Shore Works in partnership with Hyde Park Jazz Festival (Aug. 2, SouthShoreWorks.org).

Firefest 2021, presented by Firehouse Community Arts Center in North Lawndale (Aug. 14, TheFCAC.org).

Pilsen Fest, presented by Pilsen Community Market (Aug. 14-15, PilsenFestChicago.com)

House City events are July 8 in Austin, July 16 in North Lawndale, July 23 in South Shore, July 31 in Englewood, Aug. 14 in Humboldt Park, Aug. 28 on the Southeast Side, Aug. 29 in Lakeview, Sept. 12 in South Shore and Sept. 19 in Bronzeville (ChicagoHouseMusicFestival.us).

Taste of Chicago To-Go (July 7–11, TasteofChicago.us) highlights include Pullman City Market (July 7), Austin Town Hall City Market (July 8), The Hatchery (July 10), Goose Island Brewery’s Tap Room (July 9), ¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo (July 9), West Englewood (July 10), Eli’s Cheesecake (July 10), and the Picnic in White at Millennium Park (July 11).

Chicago SummerDance in the Parks (ChicagoSummerDance.org) includes events Aug. 18 at Willye B. White Park (Reggae), Aug. 25 at Ogden Park (Steppin’), Sept. 1 at Palmer Park (Line Dancing), Sept. 8 at Davis Square Park (Cumbia), Sept. 12 at Rainbow Beach Park (House), and Sept. 15 at Portage Park (Salsa)

Chicago in Tune (Aug. 19 to Sept. 19) highlights include The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash in Douglass Park (Aug. 20–22), Ruido Fest in Union Park (Aug. 20–22), ARC Music Festival in Union Park (Sept. 4-5), and “Music Lives Here,” a new public art initiative.

At Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, the Sept. 3 gospel music event features LaShon Brown; a music tribute to Rev. Dr. Clay Evans, Pastor Maceo Woods, and ArchBishop Lucius Hall, featuring The Carson Sisters, Nicole Harris, and Illiana Torres; and The Tommies Reunion Choir. The jazz event Sept. 4 is Ari Brown, Marquis Hill, and Lizz Wright. The Sept. 11 house music celebration will feature Sanitize Your Soul, a debut collaboration with Mark Hubbard and DJ Terry Hunter. The blues event Sept. 18 celebrates of the 50th anniversary of Alligator Records with Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling, Cash Box Kings with special guests, Shemekia Copeland, Billy Branch and Wayne Baker Brooks.

Kelly said to expect some of the headliner events back downtown in 2022. “We will never give up on the great Chicago Jazz Festival.”

dgeorge@chicagotribune.com