Overview The Millennium Park Summer Music Series is a run of free evening concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion on select Monday and Thursday nights from mid-June into August. DCASE books internationally known artists next to Chicago acts, and a local DJ spins each night before the music starts. The partnership covers the full series. Admission is free. On site Gates open at 5 p.m. and concerts run from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Fans take seats in the pavilion bowl or spread picnics across the Great Lawn under Frank Gehry's steel trellis, with the Loop skyline behind the stage. Entry is through the Randolph and Monroe gates, which puts every guest past the same entry points. Audience The crowd is local and diverse. About 26 percent of attendees are African American, the highest share of any Millennium Park event except the Gospel Music Festival. Most are Chicagoans, a large share have household incomes over $100,000, and the audience is close to evenly split between women and men. Talent and Influencers Recent nights featured Sheila E., Arrested Development, Aterciopelados, Patrice Rushen, Marcos Valle and The Budos Band, plus a Juneteenth celebration with Nona Hendryx and David Murray. Earlier seasons brought Steel Pulse, Digable Planets, Thee Sacred Souls, Corinne Bailey Rae, GZA and Béla Fleck with Zakir Hussain. Track record The series has a reputation for introducing audiences to music outside the mainstream, and attendance grew again last season. Crowds build from the 5 p.m. gate opening as office workers and neighbors arrive with dinner. Thousands fill the lawn each concert night. Brand presence Chicago Public Media, the Chicago Transit Authority and Millennium Garages sponsor the series, with support from the Millennium Park Foundation and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. DCASE sells a presenting sponsorship for the whole series and nightly space-only activations on the lawn and promenades.