The Five

Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, June 25 through Tuesday, July 1

1 Grant Park Music Festival

Classical: The park’s orchestra and chorus team up for one of the summer’s highlights: Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass. Christine Goerke will perform its considerable soprano solos, and Jill Grove, a Lyric standby, sings the mezzo-soprano parts.
6/26–6/28. Free. Grant Park Music Festival, 337 E Randolph. grantparkmusicfestival.com

2 Chicago SummerDance

Dance: Learn and execute new dance steps to a live band or people watch like crazy at this popular city-sponsored dance party. Salsa band Rica Obsesion and Latin Rhythms kick off the event on the 27th.
6/27 at 7:30. Free. Grant Park, 601 S Michigan. chicagosummerdance.org

3 Gillian Welch

Country: One of the most harrowingly beautiful songwriters to emerge from the alt-country scene of the late ’90s, Gillian Welch never ceases to impress in a live setting. Historic Thalia Hall should be the perfect backdrop for her hauntingly sparse, timeless tunes.
7/2 at 8. $35–$300. Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport. thaliahallchicago.com

4 Cool and Dark

Art: Greta Waller and Eleanor Ray, from Los Angeles and New York respectively, join Chicago painter Gwendolyn Zabicki in this exhibit by three artists who share an affinity for painting shadowed interiors and other quiet scenes.
7/1–27. Free. Comfort Station, 2579 N. Milwaukee. comfortstationlogansquare.org

5 Chicago Pride Parade

Festivals and Parades: Two full weekends of Pride festivities culminate in this annual parade in Boystown. For a quieter, more progressive Pride alternative, hit up the Dyke March which takes place in Humboldt Park this year.
6/29. Free. Starts at Montrose and Broadway. chicagopride.gopride.com

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Kristin Reeves, artist. Her show, [What is This Feeling] runs from Friday, June 27 through Saturday, July 19.

“My show opens on Friday at Antena in Pilsen. It’s a solo show; the title is [What is This Feeling]. It’s inspired by some of my personal history; I was part of a group of graduate students at the University of Florida who were able to draw medical cadavers. I have lightboxes once used for x-rays that are going to display imagery of the cadavers.

“Saturday, I’m hoping to recover from the show by going to brunch at Flo Restaurant with my husband. I love their huevos rancheros.

“Saturday night, I’m planning going to the Nightingale; it’s an alternative cinema space. There’s a lecture by a Brooklyn-based writer, Colin Beck. He’s giving a lecture on the avant-garde as kitsch. He’ll be looking at the vernacular of online videos and the mixture of low brow and high brow. I might go to The Violet Hour afterwards. I like having these closed-off spaces to have conversations.

“Sunday, I’m hoping that I can make it to the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It’s her first solo museum show in the US and I’m interested to see how it’s going to be tied into contemporary artists. Then later, I’m going to meet up with Tony Fitzpatrick, Ann Filmer, and Stan Klein. We’re working on a collaboration with the Steppenwolf Theater in September. It’s a multimedia play where I make short, experimental films incorporating Tony’s art and poems. We’ll probably meet at Tony’s former studio-turned-gallery Firecat Projects or out in Berwyn at 16th Street Theater, which Ann Filmer runs. The collaboration is called Midnight Cities.” —As told to Tomi Obaro

Freebie of the Week

Chicago Gospel Festival

Gospel: One of the smarter decisions the City of Chicago made was to move this sprawling, family-friendly event back to the neighborhood that birthed the genre: Bronzeville. Headliners this year include the energetic, but sometimes controversial Tye Tribbett, in addition to Kurt Carr and Vashawn Mitchell.
6/27–29. Free. Ellis Park, 535 E. 35th. cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_gospel_musicfestival.html