Best Bets: Monster Jam in Rosemont, Long Grove Apple Fest, free Jeff Tweedy concert

Monster trucks roll into Allstate

Grave Digger, El Toro Loco, ThunderROARus and Monster Mutt Dalmatian are among the 12,000-pound monster trucks that will face off during Monster Jam, when drivers will show off their skills during stunt and racing competitions, at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont. Tickets start at $17. rosemont.com. 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20; 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22

Suburban fests

• How d’ya like them apples, Long Grove? The Lake County suburb hosts its annual Apple Fest, which includes restaurants and vendors selling locally made apple-inspired food and drinks. The family-friendly fest, held downtown at 145 Old McHenry Road, also includes live music, apple bobbing and apple pie-eating contests, arts and crafts and a carnival. Headliners include LynSkynyrd Tribute at 9 p.m. Friday, 7th heaven at 9 p.m. Saturday and American English at 4 p.m. Sunday. $5 per day or $10 for a three-day pass; free for kids 12 and younger. longgrove.org/festivals/apple-fest. Noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22

• Sew Hop’d Brewery, 1 Union Special Plaza, Huntley, hosts an Oktoberfest celebration featuring craft beers, food trucks, music and stein-hoisting contests. sewhopd.com/events. Noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22

Contemporary dance

The contemporary dance ensemble PARA. MAR Dance Theatre makes its Studebaker Theatre debut with “/ v. anthology /” a program made up of a world premiere and older works, which include 2024’s “Trace of Grace” by Xavier Nuñez, Jennifer Archibald’s 2021 work “Walk” and founder Stephanie Martinez’s 2020 work “kiss.” among others. Performances take place at 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Pay-what-you-can, suggested $30-$100. paramardance.com. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21

Fall music fests

• Riot Fest returns this weekend with Public Enemy, Fall Out Boy, Beck, Pavement, GWAR and Slayer among the performers scheduled to perform in Douglass Park, West Ogden Avenue and Sacramento Drive, Chicago. $109.98 (one-day pass) to $1,599.98 (three-day, deluxe pass). riotfest.org. 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Sept. 20-22

• More than 31 artists from 16 countries will perform throughout the city as part of Chicago’s World Music Festival. Free performances take place indoors and outdoors at 11 locations, including the Chicago Cultural Center, 79 E. Washington St., and Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St. Highlights include the overnight event “Ragmala: A Celebration of South Asian Classical Music,” the Old Town School of Folk Music’s “Global Carnival” and Navy Pier’s “Global Peace Party.” choosechicago.com. Friday, Sept. 20, through Sunday, Sept. 29

Getting a head start on Halloween

Halloween festivities — trolley tours, tales about the museum’s haunted history, enormous inflatables and immersive decorations — come early to Volo Museum, 27582 Volo Village Road, Volo. $16.95 for the 60-minute tour; $7.95 for the 30-minute express tour. volocars.com/train-tours-haunted-tour. 7-9:30 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 through Nov. 3; express tours: 7-9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Oct. 8-31

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations

• In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, The Venue, 21 S. Broadway, Aurora, and Chicago Rock Ensemble Tributos host a Latin rock night featuring tribute bands Lo Essencial Caifanes, Cultura Pop and special guest Sueños Líquidos. They will perform music by Mexican alt rock band Caifanes, Argentine band Soda Stereo, and Latin American pop band Mana. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. themusicvenue.org. 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21

• Socially conscious singer/songwriter and protest artist Isabel Ramírez and her group La Muchacha headline the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake. They’re joined by the Colombian septet La Sonora Mazuren for CLC’s free Latinx Heritage Month celebration. Reservations requested. jlcenter.clcillinois.edu. 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22

Boogie-woogie in Woodstock

YouTuber Matthew Ball, known on social media as the Boogie Woogie Kid, headlines the Woodstock Opera House, 121 W. Van Buren St., Woodstock. Ball will perform such American songbook favorites as “In the Mood,” “Moonglow,” “Georgia” and “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In.” $10-$15. woodstockoperahouse.com. 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21

Live from Navy Pier

Singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer Jeff Tweedy, of the Grammy Award-winning band Wilco, headlines Chicago Live!, Navy Pier’s free performing arts festival. The Belleville, Illinois, native performs an acoustic set the first night of the two-day fest. Performers include house vocalists Dajae, Suzanne Palmer, Andrea Love, Shawn Christopher and disco star Linda Clifford along with pioneering DJs Ralphi Rosario, Derrick Carter, Lady D, Ron Carroll, Michael Serafini and Ca$h Era. The fourth annual fest features more than 100 Chicago-grown ensembles, including The Joffrey Ballet, The Second City, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Blue Man Group, Black Ensemble Theatre and Broadway veteran Felicia Fields. navypier.org. Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22

Celebrating the romantics

To open its 32nd season, The Orion Ensemble showcases Romantic-era composers in a program titled “To Melody!,” which includes pieces from Max Bruch (“Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, Op. 83”), Franz Schubert (“Trio in B-flat Major for Violin, Viola and Cello”) and Antonin Dvorák (“Quintet in A Major for Piano, Violins, Viola and Cello”). $30, $25 for seniors, $15 for students. orionensemble.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, at the New England Congregational Church, 406 W. Galena Blvd., Aurora; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, at PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago; and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston

Lyric stages ‘Fidelio’

After her freedom-fighter husband Florestan is unjustly imprisoned, his devoted wife Leonore disguises herself as a prison guard in order to rescue him in Ludwig van Beethoven’s opera “Fidelio.” The Lyric Opera of Chicago production marks the first time music director Enrique Mazzola has conducted the opera. Performances take place at 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Tickets start at $42. lyricopera.org. Thursday, Sept. 26, through Oct. 10

Book signing

Jim Slusher, Daily Herald Managing Editor for Opinion, will sign copies of his new book, "To Nudge The World: Conversation, Community and the Role of Local News," at Mrs. P & Me, 100 E. Prospect Ave., Mount Prospect. The book is a compilation from 25 years of his weekly "Letter to Readers" essays on numerous issues involving newspapers, journalism, people and community affairs. Books will be on hand for sale and can be purchased at eckhartzpress.com. 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26

Exhibition examines effects of war

An exhibition devoted to the life and work of the late expressionist painter and decorated Vietnam War veteran Ron Mann opened recently at the National Veterans Art Museum, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. An examination of the long-term effects of war, “Ron Mann: Life & Work” also reflects the artist’s “communication with the current events of the world, addressing issues like reproductive rights, global warming and the everyday experiences of love, loss and family life.” Free, but donations accepted. nvam.org/. Through May 9, 2025

MAC offers discount tix

To commemorate Arts DuPage Month, the McAninch Arts Center offers a $5 discount on select shows on select October dates. Eligible performances include Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s “The Outsider,” New Philharmonic’s “Ravel & Mahler” concerts and Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl. Use the discount code ARTSDP when ordering tickets at (630) 942-4000, atthemac.org or at the box office at 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn.