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Feature photo: Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta by Jennifer Kotting

This summer in Chicago is sizzzzzzling hot, musically speaking! And a good thing, since our winter was quite awful. Well, no worries, we are making up for it with some amazing music from all over coming our way – so here’s the low down…

At Pitchfork, artists like Lorely Rodriguez aka Empress of will trance the dancers. Lolla brings us from Chile, Francisca Valenzuela and Colombia’s Bomba Estéreo. Chicago Summer Dance has an amazing lineup at the most aptly named Spirit of Music Garden, including New York’s Chicha Libre with their psychedelic, Amazonic Peruvian chicha, the one and only Ricardo Lemvo, and Chicago’s own nuevo-cumbieros, Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta. Sound Culture Chicago offers us Grammy winning Angelinos La Santa Cecilia, and Old Town School of Folk Music will present Puerto Rico’s Cultura Profética as well as legendary Colombian traditional family ensemble Las Alegres Ambulancias. How about some rumba flamenca? The maestros of the genre, Gypsy Kings, are coming our way too! Wait, there’s more! Superb Afro Cuban percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martinez will grace the stage at the City Winery. Guitar whiz kids from Mexico, Rodrigo and Gabriela will wow us once again for sure. And Argentina’s Babasonicos rock-en-español will rock Chicago too!

How’s that for a summer full of music? World-class music for our world-class city. And, just a heads up–La Yegros from Argentina is rumored to be landing here for the first time as Fall begins!

Mark your calendars, and enjoy. In Joy!