Summer music highlights of 2026

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Summer is the clip to bask unrecorded music, indoors and out. Scroll done our assemblage of immoderate of 2026's starring philharmonic acts, featuring images by CBS News photojournalist Jake Barlow and photographers Ed Spinelli and Kirstine Walton.

Pictured: Bruce Springsteen performed astatine the United Center successful Chicago for his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour, April 29, 2026.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran brought his Loop Tour to Chicago's Soldier Field connected Sat., June 27, 2026.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran's setlist astatine Soldier Field featured 26 songs (including "Castle connected the Hill," "Don't," "Thinking Out Loud" and "Afterglow"), positive 3 encores (including "Shape of You").

Godsmack

Godsmack, hailing from Massachusetts, with pb vocalist/guitarist Sully Erna, came to the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre successful Tinley Park, Ill., connected Sat., June 20, 2026, arsenic portion of their North American "Rise of Rock" tour.

Godsmack

Sam Kolton of Godsmack, astatine the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre successful Tinley Park, Ill., June 20, 2026.

Stone Temple Pilots

Opening for Godsmack successful Tinley Park were the Stone Temple Pilots, featuring bassist Robert DeLeo and vocalist pb vocalist Scott Weiland.

The Strokes

The stone set The Strokes performed astatine the United Center successful Chicago connected Wed., June 17, 2026. Their "Reality Awaits" circuit featured songs from their seventh workplace album, to beryllium released successful July (including "Falling Out of Love" and "Going Shopping"), arsenic good arsenic past U.S. Alternate illustration hits "Last Nite," "Reptilia" and Juicebox."

Pictured clockwise from apical left: Lead vocalist Julian Casablancas; drummer Fabrizio Moretti; bassist Nikolai Fraiture; guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.; and guitarist Nick Valensi.

The Dead Daisies

Legendary vocalist and bassist Glenn Hughes, formerly of Trapeze, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, brought his supergroup The Dead Daisies to the Arcada Theatre successful St. Charles, Ill., May 30, 2026, for a one-night-only engagement.

In summation to Dead Daisies songs, they performed Deep Purple classics specified arsenic "Smoke On the Water," "Might Just Take Your Life," and "Stormbringer," and a screen of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son."

The Dead Daisies

Doug Aldrich of The Dead Daisies, astatine the Arcada Theatre successful St. Charles, Ill., May 30, 2026.

Zakk Sabbath

The Black Sabbath tribute set Zakk Sabbath (fronted by longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, with bassist Jim DeServio and drummer Jeff Fabb) opened for Wylde's ain set Black Label Society, astatine the Hollywood Casino successful Joliet, Ill., May 16, 2026. Their Black Sabbath covers included "Children of the Grave," "War Pigs," and "Snowblind."

Corrosion of Conformity

Guitarist and vocalist Pepper Kennan, of Corrosion of Conformity, performed astatine Outset successful Chicago, May 14, 2026.

The band's pb guitarist Woody Weatherman told CBS News' Jake Barlow that their caller album, "Good Man/Bad Man," was the merchandise of 2 antithetic designs: "We bask playing guitar and penning songs and we [had] specified a bully clip going successful tons of antithetic directions, [but] we recovered ourselves successful the aforesaid predicament," helium said. "So we had wizard thought to effort and divided it into 2 records, and past it gave america a small spot much state to support doing the directions that we wanted to. So, yeah, 'Good Man/Bad Man,' 2 abstracted worlds, we could driblet these songs successful this tiny beingness oregon driblet these into that different tiny universe, truthful that's benignant of what we did. It feels similar a throwback to the aged days. I would bash it the aforesaid mode again."

Crobot

Crobot performed connected circuit with Corrosion of Conformity, astatine the Outset successful Chicago, May 14, 2026. (Pictured: Brandon Yeagley.)

Triumph

The Canadian stone set Triumph performed astatine the Allstate Arena successful Rosemont, Ill., May 13, 2026. (Pictured: guitarist Rick Emmett.)

Triumph

Triumph's Chicago circuit halt was primitively going to beryllium successful a smaller theatre successful Rosemont, Ill.; it had to beryllium moved to the Allstate Arena due to the fact that of increasing involvement and summons sales.

Drummer Gil Moore (pictured with Rick Emmett) told CBS News' Jake Barlow that the group's archetypal circuit successful 30 years came astir acknowledgment to the Edmonton Oilers, who played Triumph's euphony during the team's 2025 Stanley Cup run. "The fans pushed and pushed," driving them to bash the tour, Moore said. "There wouldn't beryllium a 50th day if it were not for their loyalty."

Alter Bridge

The stone set Alter Bridge (pictured: Brian Marshall, Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti) played the Salt Shed successful Chicago, May 6, 2026. Currently connected their What Lies Within Tour, the set played specified hits arsenic "Isolation," "Ghosts of Days Gone By," and "Addicted to Pain," arsenic good arsenic songs from their caller eponymous album, including "Silent Divide," "What Lies Within," and "Tested and Able."

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen brought his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour to Chicago's United Center connected April 29, 2026. In summation to Springsteen classics similar "Born to Run," "Born successful the U.S.A.," "Hungry Heart," and "Long Walk Home," helium besides performed "Streets of Minneapolis," "Because the Night" (a opus helium co-wrote with Patti Smith), and a screen of Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom."

Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen and the E Street Band were joined connected the circuit by Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine).

Cactus

Drummer Carmine Appice (pictured, center) was 1 of the founding members of the '70s stone set Cactus, which backmost successful the time was called "the American Led Zeppelin." He brought the band's latest lineup to the Arcada Theater successful St. Charles, Ill., April 3, 2026, to beforehand their album, "Temple of the Blues II." They were accompanied by the "Cactus All-Stars."

Joining Appice were (clockwise from precocious left): Cactus regulars Artie Dillon and Ed Terry; Rob Caudill; Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal; Pat Travers; Dug Pinnick; Eric Gales; and Billy Sheehan.

Lamb of God

The dense metallic set Lamb of God performed astatine the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom successful Chicago, March 25, 2026. The performance was portion of their North American Heaviest Tour of the Year. (Pictured: Lead vocalist Randy Blythe.)