First Wednesday Blues & Beyond Jam with Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.
First Wednesday Blues & Beyond Jam with Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.
Experimental Blues: Diunna Greenleaf & Marvin Tate
This season’s three Experimental Blues concerts conclude with Diunna Greenleaf & Marvin Tate. The leader of Blue Mercy, Greenleaf combines intricate patches of jazz, gospel, and heartfelt soul to create a kind of blues that takes one on an emotional roller coaster ride. Hailing from the West Side of Chicago, Tate is a multidisciplinary artist and award-winning educator whose works explore spirituality, culture, race, and class politics through personal narratives and history by weaving storytelling with song, poetry, improvisation, and theater.
First Wednesday Blues & Beyond Jam with Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.
Contemporary Voices in the Blues: Amythyst Kiah & Carolyn Wonderland
Our two Mainstage Blues concerts—curated by renowned Chicago Blues harmonicist, vocalist, and bandleader Matthew Skoller—seek to capture the intergenerationality of the Blues, celebrating the luminaries of yesterday while casting a spotlight on the rising leaders of tomorrow.
Circus Arts Workshop with Kaitlyn Andrews & Lucy Carapetyan
Join us for a fun evening of circus arts at the Logan Center for an one-of-kind introductory workshop with instructors Kaitlyn Andrews and Lucy Carapetyan from the Actors Gymnasium Circus School & Theatre Company. Learn more>>
First Wednesday Blues & Beyond Jam with Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.
Experimental Blues: Nat Myers & Buffalo Nichols
The 2023-24 Logan Center Blues Series includes three exciting themes: Experimental Blues, Second Wednesday Pro/Am Blues Jam, and Mainstage Blues. The Experimental Blues Series pairs artists of juxtaposing styles in intimate concerts to create, highlight, and explore the intersection of Blues with other Black American music and musical genres—such as Negro spirituals, gospel, jazz, R&B, soul, hip hop, and more.
First Wednesday Blues & Beyond Jam with Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.
Harmonicas, Guitars, & Time: Three Generations of Blues
An evening of harmonicas, guitars, and time featuring Billy Branch & Sons of Blues with Carlos Johnson, the Stephen Hull Experience with Andrew Alli, and Harrell ‘Young Rell’ Davenport.
First Wednesday Blues & Beyond Jam with Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.
Experimental Blues: Vienna Carroll + Melody Angel
This season’s three Experimental Blues concerts begin with the pairing of two blues powerhouses: Vienna Caroll and Melody Angel. Together, these celebrated women of the blues will escort audiences through a musical journey of catharsis and revitalization that is sure to soothe your soul and energize your body.
Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project at Ravinia
The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project is excited to present Metamorphosis at the world-famous Ravinia Festival. Read more →
Artists Live: “Makes Me Wanna Holla”
Growing out of the "Makes Me Wanna Holla" exhibition, the artists take you further into the world of art, death, and imprisonment with conversations and workshops. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “Drylongso”
Drylongso follows a woman in a photography class who begins taking pictures of Black men out of fear they will soon be extinct. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “The African Desperate”
This hallucinatory day-in-the-life of a Black artist is a rollicking satire of art-world pretensions and a rowdy portrayal of sex and drugs in the Internet age. Read more →
Black August: Solidarity Quilting Workshop
Growing out of the "Makes Me Wanna Holla" exhibition, the artists take you further into the world of art, death, and imprisonment with conversations and workshops. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “Compensation”
This film explores aspects of Black culture in both turn of the century and present-day Chicago in two parallel love stories, both about the relationship between a deaf woman and a hearing man. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “Cane River”
A forbidden romance lays bare the tensions between two Black communities: the wealthy Creoles and the working-class descendants of enslaved people. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “As Above, So Below”
A rediscovered masterpiece, director Larry Clark’s As Above, So Below comprises a powerful political and social critique in its portrayal of Black insurgency. Read more →
Global Girls: Youth Performance Camp Showcase
Global Girls presents the culminating performance of their 2023 Summer Youth Performance Camp, which provides arts education and presentation opportunities for youth ages 4 to 14.
Mural Making with Dorian Sylvain
Thursdays in July
Help create a unique, large-scale work of art. Read more →
Makin’ Moves with Double Dutch
Tuesdays in July
Join us for an energetic session of jump rope, movement, and music. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “The Watermelon Woman”
The wry, incisive debut feature by Cheryl Dunye is a vibrant representation of Black lesbian identity by a Black lesbian filmmaker. Read more →
Art & Medicine: Improv Workshop with Susan Messing
Ever thought about taking an improv class to see what the fuss is all about, or does it terrify you? I’m talking to you awesome doctors out there that want to connect with your community and laugh while you do it! Improv supplies myriad, easily applicable tools that make your world simpler to navigate. Learn more >>
Mural Making with Dorian Sylvain
Thursdays in July
Help create a unique, large-scale work of art. Read more →
Community Book Club - “Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto” by Tricia Hersey
Join us for a collective discussion reflecting on the themes of rest, resistance, justice, and radical care highlighted by author Tricia Hersey. Read more →
Makin’ Moves with Double Dutch
Tuesdays in July
Help create a unique, large-scale work of art. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “Remembrance: A Portrait Study”
The film is a poetic examination of the meaning of jazz, Black American music, and the function of Black people in America. Read more →
Screening Freedom Series: “The Cry of Jazz”
The film is a poetic examination of the meaning of jazz, Black American music, and the function of Black people in America. Read more →
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater: 2023 Summer Dance Intensive Concert
Every summer Deeply Rooted presents the future of dance with the Summer Dance Intensive final performances. These remarkable students perform classic works from Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s repertory. Read more →