May 19, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
FOMO is a curse set upon us by 21st century tech. The worst sets in when Instagram serves you a video of an enthused crowd embracing a familiar song. “Crap, I missed it,” you may think!
Miss out, no more. WBEZ has the solution for getting ahead of the beleaguered misfortune of musically missing out.
For our 100 Days of Concerts guide for 2026, we asked WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times/Vocalo reporters and critics to tell us the concerts you shouldn’t miss this summer in the Chicago area. Our resulting list ranges from familiar names in pop, hip-hop and alternative music to under-the-radar surprises, from jazz legends and classical concerts to free events perfect for picnicking.
Our guide has filters for you to organize by genre, what’s FREE, local Chicago musicians and even picks from our sister music station, . And new this year: You can “favorite” your personal preferences and create your own agenda for the most musical summer possible. To find your faves, scroll back to the top and see the “My picks” tab in filters.
If you really want to stay in the loop on summer music happenings, sign up for weekly concert updates and other things to do around the city from yours truly by texting WBEZ to 872‑210‑5562.
Let your Chicago summer be totally FOMO-free!
—Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.wbez.org ’
