Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer in Chicago and for many that means it’s time to visit the city’s lakefront beaches. But fun in the water can also lead to tragedy.

Music journalist Sandra Treviño shares five new songs perfect for a road trip or beach day to get your summer playlist started.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra walked onstage to perform their first concert before a live audience in more than 14 months, Thursday evening.

The Chicago nightclub helped launch the early careers of music and comedy acts like Barbra Streisand and Richard Pryor, while achieving status from established jazz artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn, who both recorded live albums at the Rush Street venue.

Kevin Clark, who played drummer Freddy “Spazzy McGee” Jones in the 2003 movie “School of Rock” with Jack Black, was killed when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle along a Chicago street early Wednesday.

Meet the Surabhi Ensemble. Composed of musicians of many races and ethnicities, this global music group that’s based in Chicago has a mission to make cross-cultural connections. 

The creator of an Englewood community garden talks about the healing power of growing food as part of our ongoing series.

Brooks College Prep senior Rafael Noriega, 17, shows off the singular sound of the bass trombone in a performance of Concerto in One Movement by composer Alexander Lebedev.

The lesbian singer and feminist activist who appeared in an iconic and recently resurgent 1975 photo wearing a t-shirt that read “The Future is Female,” has died. Alix Dobkin of Woodstock, New York, was 80.

Journalist and activist Ida B. Wells took great risks to expose the horrors of racism and fight injustice through her investigative writings. Wells’ life and groundbreaking work are the subject of a new WTTW Chicago Stories documentary airing Friday.

One of the city’s most public art experiences is back with a trip through the universe. Art on the Mart is working with local cultural institutions to bring their work to Wacker Drive.

Full-capacity block parties will return to the city’s streets starting July 5 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wane — but bounce houses will not be allowed, officials announced Thursday. Applications for the street gatherings will be accepted starting June 6.

After 15 months of dark theaters and livestreamed performances, two of Chicago’s most famous performing arts companies announce they are returning to the stage for live performances — this time under one roof.

When a member of Chicago’s theater community was racially profiled, he turned the experience into a short film with the help of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Here’s a look at a one-man, one-puppet show about the consequences of “walking while Black.”

Summer is just around the corner and with it comes the return of neighborhood street festivals, art shows and outdoor concerts, including Lollapalooza. We asked some local organizers for their take on the 2021 summer festival season.

The celebration was in full force May 13 at 2300 Jackson Street in Gary, Indiana, as the city marked the home of the Jackson 5 with official highway signage. We visit the historic site and speak to Marlon and Tito Jackson about their childhood home.