Must-See Live Performances in Lake County

By: Jonathan Jones 08/20/2015

Live entertainment always gets your juices flowing when you’re looking for a new tune to hum.

Lake County has an abundance of musical talent. We found that out when we hosted our I Love Lake County Song Search. As many of you know, Visit Lake County’s music video has gone viral with the, ‘Lake County, the Bounty of Illinois,’ written and performed by Dylan Kroll.

There are plenty of venues that feature from local to well-known artists that tour through Lake County. Venues like Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Ravinia Festival during the summer, Mickey Finn’s and Austin’s Saloon and Eatery in Libertyville and Blarney’s Island are a few of venues are just a couple to scratch the surface.

Here are some of the must-see live performances in Lake County.

Ravinia Festival in Highland Park

Ravinia garners some of the biggest names in music to play at the oldest outdoor stage in the country over the summer. From Chicago Symphony Orchestra to Lenny Kravitz, the Highland Park venue has so much to offer. Here are some of their upcoming shows.

August 18: Under the Sun Tour featuring Uncle Kracker, Sugar Ray, Eve 6 and Better than Ezra

August 19: Needtobreathe presents Tour De Compadres/ Pianist David Kaplan

August 20: Peter Jablonski

August 21: Spider Saloff/ Seth MacFarlane

August 22: Violinist Augustin Hadelich

August 27: ZZ Top

August 29 Jelly Rags and Monk

August 29-30: Santana

August 31: Alan Jackson

September 3: Lenny Kravitz

September 4: Sinatra Centennial

September 5: Jackson Browne

September 11: Gladys Knight and the Pips

Austin’s Fuel Room in Libertyville

Like Mickey Finn’s, Austin’s Fuel Room has the food, the booze and the tunes. Check out to see what acts they’re bringing out next weekend.

September 11: Stache!

Hawthorn Woods

Concert series in the summer time in the midst of nature? Sign me up. Not to mention the food vendors onsite for every show. What’s Hawthorn Wood’s got planned for the rest of the summer?

August 21: John Lambert

September 4: K Michaels Band

Mickey Finn’s in Libertyville

They’ve got the suds and they’ve got the songs. This Libertyville is not just your run of the mill concert venue. Besides the tunes, they’ve got delicious eats and in-house brewed micro brews. Here’s Mickey Finn’s schedule.

August 20: Two Easy Band

August 21: Samadhi Vibe

August 22: Rocky City Seven

August 28: Pale Green Stars

September 4: Dick Diamond and the Dusters

September 12: Lava Rock

Great Lakes Naval Museum Summer Concert Series: Navy Band Great Lakes

Talk about a band with a sound. The brass ambassadors will be playing a variety of summer time favorites at the museums front porch.

Blarney Island

Best Party out on the Chain O’ Lakes. For 36 years they’ve been on the seen giving you all types of genres. What’s next for the boating fantasy land? Here’s what they got