Evanston residents can catch free live music outdoors nearly every week through early September, with two concert series returning to Fountain Square and a city-sponsored lineup spread across neighborhood parks.

Downtown Summer Sounds, now in its third year, kicks off Thursday, July 9 with the Trabuco Salsa Band and free salsa dance lessons starting at 5:30 p.m. The series runs nine consecutive Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. through September 3, featuring acts spanning salsa, swing, funk, and Americana. Food trucks including Soul & Smoke, 5411 Empanadas, and La Cocinita will line Fountain Square each evening, with beer from Sketchbook Brewing Co. and kids' art activities from the Ridgeville Park District.

"It's really a very casual thing, and intended to be that you can just walk by and listen for five minutes, or you can pull up a chair and stay for the whole two hours," Andy Vick, executive director of Downtown Evanston, told the Pioneer Press.

Vick's nonprofit is also running Sunday Jazz at the Square, which wraps up its third season on Sunday, July 26. Led by drummer Zach Sorkin, a Niles North alum who studies at Berklee College of Music, the series features a rotating cast of young musicians performing noon to 2 p.m. each Sunday. Vick said crowds have grown noticeably since last year.

Meanwhile, the City of Evanston's Starlight Concert & Movie Series offers free outdoor concerts and film screenings in parks across town from June through August, with bands including Butter Chicken Brass Band and Soft Opening.

What to know:

  • Downtown Summer Sounds: Thursdays, July 9 through September 3, 6–8 p.m., Fountain Square (Davis Street and Orrington Avenue). Free salsa lessons July 9; free swing dance lessons July 23 and August 27. A Thursday Night Market runs alongside concerts on July 9, August 6, and September 3.
  • Sunday Jazz at the Square: Sundays through July 26, noon–2 p.m., Fountain Square. Free; tips encouraged.
  • Starlight Concert & Movie Series: Free events in Evanston parks, June through August. Full schedule at cityofevanston.org/starlight.

Bring your own chair. In case of rain, Downtown Evanston posts cancellations on social media by noon the day of the concert.