Please be aware that the content on this webpage was authored more than 6 months ago, so some information may be outdated or no longer accurate. Please visit our event calendar for information on current events.
CHICAGO—Navy Pier today released the full schedule for its free performing arts festival, “Chicago Live!,” taking place Saturday, Sept. 23, and Sunday, Sept. 24. More than 600 artists, representing 80 Chicago-based performing groups, will perform back-to-back on three stages and other sites throughout the Pier. Chicago Live! 2023 is presented by The Pritzker Foundation, with generous support from Fifth Third Bank and Peoples Gas.
This year marks the third year for the festival, which was launched in 2021 to reconnect audiences with Chicago’s vibrant performing arts community following 18 months of devastating pandemic-related closures. Performances span every artistic genre from music, dance, and theatre, to spoken word, improv, vocal performance and more. Chicago native and Grammy® Award-winning soul, gospel, and R&B pioneer Mavis Staples, hailed by NPR as “one of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace,” will headline this year’s festival. The lineup includes:
CHICAGO LIVE! 2023 PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Note: All activities, times, and dates are subject to change.
Click here for Chicago Live! photos from 2022 performances.
ABOUT NAVY PIER
Located on Lake Michigan, Navy Pier is the top nonprofit tourism destination in the Midwest, stretching more than six city blocks and typically welcoming nearly 9 million annual guests. Originally opened in 1916 as a shipping and recreation facility, this Chicago landmark showcases more than 50 acres of parks, restaurants, attractions, retail shops, sightseeing and dining cruise boats, exposition facilities and more. The Pier celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016 with the unveiling of the iconic Centennial Wheel, Polk Bros Park, Fifth Third Bank Family Pavilion and Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion. In 2021, Navy Pier continued to usher in its second century with ongoing Pier-wide redevelopment efforts—including Sable, a 223-room Hilton hotel, new restaurants and partnerships, and thrilling additions to Pier Park. The Pier is proud to provide free, year-round arts and cultural programming designed to inspire, educate and connect communities across the city and globe. Click here to donate to Navy Pier, a mission-driven 501(c)(3) organization, in support of the organization’s post-pandemic revival and free public programming. For more information, visit www.navypier.org.
###