1. Hear a favorite frontman go solo
The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn takes the stage at the Old Town School of Folk Music tonight. On his last album, Faith in the Future, the verbose rock troubadour crafted personal songs meditating on his experience living in New York City before and after 9/11. Don’t miss folk songwriter Esme Patterson opening the event. (Old Town School of Folk Music, Maurer Hall, 4544 N Lincoln Ave, 8pm. $20)
Save room for the excellent, funny and touching My Mañana Comes. Elizabeth Irwin’s work, made up of a series of vignettes centered on four busboys in a prep kitchen in New York, touches on the American dream as the characters perform their duties, crack wise and share their dreams and disappointments. The show builds in energy and pace and rest assured, you will not leave hungry. (Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N Lincoln Ave, 7:30pm. $25–$30)
See an incredible dance performance you won’t see anywhere else. Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance screens extraordinary performances across the country, and tonight, two Chicago movie theaters present Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's signature work, Revelations. Revelations uses African-American spirituals, sermons, gospel songs and the blues to explore the depths of grief and heights of joy. (Screenings at Regal Webster Place 11, 1471 W Webster Ave & Regal City North 14, 2600 N Western Ave, 7pm. $16.80–$20.16)