Riot Grrrl, Radishes, and a Rainy Week Ahead

Your daily guide to what's popping in Chicago

By Raj Singh · Published September 14, 2026.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

Bikini Kill with Ganser @ The Salt Shed

Bikini Kill formed in Olympia, Washington in 1990, started touring in 1991, and are credited with instigating the Riot Grrrl movement through political lyrics, zines, and a confrontational live show before breaking up in 1997. Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren are the reason a whole lineage of punk exists — and Chicago's own Ganser opens.

The show's at 7:00 PM at the Salt Shed on Elston in West Town, with tickets running $64 to $103. That's the whole picture the listing gives — no age policy is posted, so check before you go if that matters to your group.

Edgewater Monday Market @ Broadway Armory

Chicago's only Monday farmers market sets up in the Broadway Armory parking lot at 5917 N. Broadway with more than 40 vendors — produce, food, and entertainment. It accepts EBT/Link, Link Match vouchers, WIC, and Senior Farmers Market Coupons, and select markets add live music, cooking demos from local chefs, and kids' activities.

It runs 3 to 7 PM, outdoors, and Monday's cooperating — 72 and overcast with almost no rain in the forecast, a better window than the showers arriving midweek. Wander the stalls after work while the season's produce is still going.

Tangible Sound: Arrival to a Higher Ground @ Chicago Cultural Center

This free installation at the Chicago Cultural Center asks what it would feel like to stand inside the sound of a taiko drum, or to have your body become part of a landscape of color and texture that vibrates with a saxophone, cello, or bass. It's built as a sensory take on jazz art forms — a Loop stop that costs nothing and rewards a slow walk-through.

Open from 10 AM to 5 PM. The Cultural Center sits at 78 E. Washington in the Loop, and admission is free.

Best of The Second City @ The Second City

The Second City has been turning out comedy for over sixty years — the stages that launched Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell. This revue pulls sketches and songs from the vaults, updated for now, plus the trademark improvisation, performed by the Second City Touring Company.

7:00 PM in Old Town, tickets $39. A dependable Monday-night laugh when you want a night out without much planning.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

Nahui Ollin Aztec Dance @ Berger Park

Nahui Ollin is a Chicago-based ensemble presenting Indigenous Aztec and Conchero dance — live percussion, ceremonial songs, and storytelling in both English and Spanish, with dancers in traditional regalia honoring nature and ancestral knowledge. It's a short, vivid hour of living tradition at Berger Park on North Sheridan.

Tuesday, September 15, from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. Free and all ages — about an hour of dance and percussion to break up the week.

Dirty Dancing: The Musical @ James M. Nederlander Theatre

Broadway In Chicago's staging of Dirty Dancing brings Baby and Johnny to the Nederlander stage, set to live music from the 1987 film — which the Guardian called 'a pop-culture landmark that continues to define the nostalgia of an era.' It's playing nightly through Sunday, September 20.

The Nederlander is at 24 W. Randolph in the Loop. With showers forecast Tuesday and Wednesday, an indoor theater night is the easy call — the listing doesn't post prices, so check the box office for the night you want.

ON THE HORIZON

Chicago Live! @ Navy Pier

Navy Pier's annual performing arts festival brings more than 100 local artists to five stages for a weekend of music and performance — the range runs from Chicago's established names to up-and-comers worth discovering. Admission is free.

It's this weekend — Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20 — at Navy Pier in Streeterville. Free tickets to a full weekend of Chicago artists is a rare deal for mid-September, so put it on the calendar now.