Kinky
When: 8:15 p.m. July 13
Where: Chicago Folk & Roots Festival, Welles Park, Lincoln and Montrose Avenues
Price: $7 suggested donation; www.oldtownschool.org/festival
More Top Picks Keylitos Sous Vide Cooker
Why: This alternative electronica band from Monterrey, Mexico, should have even the folkie crowd jumping with its infectious Latin funk that is full of move-ya dance beats. No Espanol required.
Punch Brothers
When: 8 p.m. July 21
Where: Ravinia Festival, Highland Park
Price: $15-$40; www.ravinia.org
Why: Chris Thile, formerly of Nickel Creek, has put together a deeply satisfying newgrass group. Chirping crickets and a velvety soft night should be the perfect backdrop for this talented band of bluegrass brothers. You won’t want to chit-chat when they are onstage. Please, don’t.
Ornette Coleman
When: Aug. 31
Where: Chicago Jazz Festival, Petrillo Music Shell at Grant Park
Price: Free; www.chicagojazzfestival.us
Why: The free jazz visionary, who will close out the jazz fest, has been on the scene for about a half-century and last year won a Pulitzer and a Grammy. Coleman received his first saxophone when he was 14 and eventually developed his own formulas of composition, breaking down traditional definitions of harmony and melody.
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See also “2 familiar voices sing old songs a new way / Alison Krauss teams up with Robert Plant to spin the past in new directions,” On the Town section, Page 5