48 MORE THINGS WE WANT TO DO THIS MONTH
JAN. 31–FEB. 1 | NEW MUSIC
George Crumb Music Festival
■ Crumb, a nonagenarian, has written some avant-garde classics, emphasizing theatricality and timbral experimentation without ever losing sight of melody. Two concerts package several of Crumb’s cookies, including all four volumes of his piano work Makrokosmos and the chamber trio Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale), where a flutist, a pianist, and a cellist sample ample advanced techniques to create marine evocations such as the cello-harmonics “seagull” sound.
Details Nichols Concert Hall, Music Institute of Chicago. Evanston. $25–$50 per concert; $40 festival pass. musicinst.org
FEB. 1–APR. 26 | ART
Vaginal Davis: The White to Be Angry
■ Naming herself after the activist Angela Davis, this artist left an indelible mark on L.A.’s underground punk and queer scenes with her provocative drag performances and videos. Her 1999 short film satirizing white supremacist culture, showcased here, makes for an alarming and unexpectedly timely viewing experience.
Details Art Institute of Chicago. Loop. $25. artic.edu
FEB. 2 | PARADE
Lunar New Year Parade
■ Chinatown hums with activity year-round, but that is amplified when crowds descend on the neighborhood for this Asian holiday. A week after the holiday proper, a dazzling procession of lion-dance troupes, extravagant floats, and red paper lanterns flows up Wentworth Avenue with hope for a prosperous year.
Details Wentworth from 24th to Cermak. Chinatown. 1 p.m. Free. ccc-foundation.org
FEB. 5 | POP
King Princess
■ Twenty-one-year-old Mikaela Straus (whose stage name is King Princess) is the latest in a wave of young female singer-songwriters blowing up on their own terms. Straus’s nostalgic pop jams are straightforward at first—check out her breakthrough hit “1950” — but then the proudly queer performer will throw you a curveball like “Pussy Is God,” a doo-wop ditty about … well. Catch her before she hits Europe, opening for Harry Styles on his tour.
Details Riviera Theatre. Uptown. 7:30 p.m. $32. eventbrite.com
FEB. 6–8 | CLASSICAL
Cavalleria Rusticana
■ The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Riccardo
