See Joan Jett at Market Days

Ranked from highest profile to biggest surprise

LOLLAPALOOZAS Plural, as in our beloved music fest in Grant Park (8/6-8) and John Adams’s 1995 orchestral composition, part of the Grant Park Music Festival (8/4).

DUSK VARIATIONS 8/2–23 Or blend the chamber and the pop, then shake it like a Polaroid picture when this series launches with Portland Cello Project covering Outkast in Millennium Park.

CHICAGO DANCING FESTIVAL 8/26–28 Dancing: reps from top troupes, including Alvin Ailey and the Royal Ballet. Not dancing: anyone who didn’t snag a free ticket back in July.

TALL SHIPS CHICAGO 8/24–29 A fleet of 25 masted vessels docks at Navy Pier. Finally, a mode of transportation befitting Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

JOAN JETT 8/8 With inflation, it’s about the same as putting another dime in the jukebox: When Jett headlines Market Days, admission is a scant $7. Also: Iggy Pop at the Aragon (8/29).

ART ON TRACK 8/7 Ten bucks for an el ride? Yes, when it’s a one-night-only gallery on rails. (Hey, the way CTA fares are going, get used to it.)

ONE-MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL 8/13 Here’s hoping 60 seconds is also the maximum wait time at the cash bar when shorts and booze take over the Art Institute’s Pritzker Garden.

DENTAL SOCIETY MIDWINTER MEETING Through 8/7 Dentistry’s best shot at a Tony since Little Shop of Horrors? This premiere from Chicago’s own Wasserstein Prize–winning playwright, Laura Jacqmin.

DREK FEST 8/2–16 The spiritual antithesis of our Best of Chicago roundup, Stage Left’s hunt for the worst 10-minute play is so bad it’s good. For just plain good, see ”Dental Society,” right.

PUTTING YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS: A LOVE STORY Through 8/7 The surgery-inducing, teeth-removing, gender-swapping love story of Genesis P-Orridge and Lady Jaye Breyer brought new meaning to “body of work.” Relive the performance artists’ oeuvre at Western Exhibitions.

Photograph: Courtesy of Special Events Management