Jazz, Peach Pie & Paddles Beat the Storm

Your Chicago Tuesday: a Miles Davis centennial in Ravenswood, a Marquette Park jam, a piano bar in Lakeview, and a baking class in Edgewater — plus tomorrow's river paddle and farmers market.

By Raj Singh · Published June 30, 2026.

The last day of June lands at 96°F with thunderstorms threatening by evening, which means today's Chicago calculus is real. The good news: the Chicago Park District is running free outdoor shows at both Welles Park in Ravenswood and Marquette Park on the Southwest Side, Edgewater has a professional pie-baking class with your name on it, and a piano bar in Lakeview is ready at 4:30. Tomorrow brings a farmers market in Uptown and a free river paddle in Albany Park — plan ahead for both.

TUESDAY, JUNE 30

Tuesdays in the Gazebo: Miles Davis Centennial @ Welles Park

Miles Davis would turn 100 this year, and the Chicago Park District is marking it with a free Night Out in the Parks tribute at Welles Park's gazebo tonight at 6:30 PM. Davis's connection to the Chicago music world runs deep — he played the city's clubs early in his career before heading east — and a centennial show in a Ravenswood park has the right scale: no tickets, no upsell, just music on a summer evening.

Welles Park's gazebo concerts draw a genuine neighborhood crowd — bring a blanket and get there before 6:30. Today's forecast is 96°F with a thunderstorm condition, so watch the sky and check the Park District's channels for any weather cancellation closer to showtime. Dress light, bring water, plan for heat.

Free. 6:30 PM. Welles (Gideon) Park, Chicago.

Piano Bar Tuesdays with Katy on Keys @ Nola Bar & Kitchen

Every Tuesday at 4:30 PM, Nola Bar & Kitchen at 3481 N Clark hosts Katy on Keys for live piano where you call what you want to hear. They describe it as TouchTunes in real life, which is accurate and also undersells what a real player does with the room. This is a neighborhood recurring night that locals treat as infrastructure — the kind of Tuesday anchor that makes the week feel deliberate.

Free entry, no reservation, starts at 4:30 PM and runs until late. Good for the heat: air-conditioned bar with a piano in it. 3481 N Clark, Lakeview.

The Pie Sessions: Peach Blackberry

A professional pie-baking class in Edgewater: you'll build a peach blackberry pie from scratch tonight, instructed by a working baker, and choose your own top crust — streusel or butter dough. This is not a demonstration you watch. You make the pie and take it home.

Good Tuesday logic for a hot day: air conditioning, a skill, and a result. Ticket price and venue address at the Edgewater Chamber registration link — confirm before you go. Starts 6 PM.

Gustavo Cortiñas Jam in the Parks @ Marquette Park

Marquette (Jacques) Park is a 323-acre Southwest Side park with deep history — Dr. King marched through here in 1966 during the open housing movement, and the neighborhood has maintained a tradition of showing up for its public spaces ever since. Tonight at 5 PM the Chicago Park District brings a free jam session with Gustavo Cortiñas as part of Night Out in the Parks.

This is a neighborhood event in the fullest sense — the crowd will be people who actually live in the Marquette Park area. The Southwest Side runs at a different frequency than the concert-app algorithm, and these park shows reflect that. Free. 5 PM. Outdoor at 96°F — bring water and a hat, and check the Park District page for storm-related cancellations.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1

Uptown Farmers Market 2026

The Uptown Farmers Market runs Wednesday afternoons, and tomorrow's session starts at 2:30 PM. Uptown is one of the more genuinely diverse shopping and eating neighborhoods in the city, and the market reflects that — this is not a suburban-replica farmers market. Wednesday timing means full vendor stock and real breathing room before the weekend crowd arrives.

Pick something you've never cooked before. July 1, Wednesday, 2:30 PM. Confirm the exact market location via the Explore Uptown event page.

RiverLab: River Exploration Paddle @ River Park

The Chicago Park District's RiverLab program puts you in a kayak or canoe on the North Branch of the Chicago River for free. Tomorrow's session launches from River Park in Albany Park at 5 PM. The North Branch is a quieter, narrower stretch than the downtown channel — slower, greener, running through neighborhoods that don't show up on the tourist map.

Free. July 1, 5 PM at River Park, Chicago. Tomorrow's forecast is 98°F with possible thunderstorms — the Park District cancels paddle sessions in unsafe conditions, so check the event page or contact River Park before heading out.