Best outdoor amphitheater that isn’t the Pritzker Pavilion

Huntington Bank Pavilion

After working at this Live Nation-owned venue for three years, I felt Twilight Zoned every time I’d tell someone where I spent my summer evenings and get blank stares in return. It’s as if when the city bulldozed Meigs Field, they also summoned some kind of incantation that affected the perceptions of locals and weekenders alike, shielding from their eyes the significant peninsula known as Northerly Island. Granted, the programing at the venue doesn’t help much. The dwindling yet resilient fandoms one-to-three-hit-wonder bands from the nineties compete with limited calendar real estate with the occasional hippie mega-act (the venue hosted three nights of Phish in 2017), ascendant hip-hop and pop crossovers passed over by Lolla and “I can’t believe these guys are even still alive” boomer throwback tours. The venue occasionally strikes gold as when they secured a spot on Vampire Weekend’s most recent tour. In any case, the bands are prelude to the awesome view of the sun setting behind the downtown skyline while crickets and cicadas play choir to the booms and ah’s of fireworks off Navy Pier. (Kevin Greene)
1300 S. Linn White, 708.614.0283

Best of Chicago 2019