Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan To Headline At Taste Of Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A couple of Chicago's home girls will headline this year's truncated music lineup for the Taste of Chicago.
Jennifer Hudson and Chaka Khan will be among the four headliners for the five-day food and music festival. The length of the festival was cut in half this year and moved to mid-July, after losing millions of dollars on the Taste in recent years.
"We open the Taste of Chicago with one of our home girls, Jennifer Hudson. Really excited about that," said Michelle Boone, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. "And then later during the festival, we will have Chaka Khan. So we'll have a little bit of old school and new school of some Chicagoans on the stage."
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Hudson will perform on the first day of the Taste, on July 11. Chaka Khan will perform on July 14.
The other headliners this year include Death Cab For Cute, playing on July 12, and Dierks Bentley, playing on July 15. A fifth headliner, who will play on July 13, has not yet been announced.
Lawn seating for about 30,000 people will be free, but for the first time, the city is charging $25 per person for seats at the 3,000-seat Petrillo Music Shell.
Boone said the sight lines are good from the lawn. So why would anyone want to pay $25 to sit at the Petrillo Music Shell?
"Well, I guess for the same reason that people pay for a ticket (to sit in the pavilion) at Ravinia," Boone said. "They want the convenience of knowing that they have this additional amenity."
