pop Grimes
After winning us over at Pitchfork, the Canadian, electro-pop/internet princess Grimes (Claire Boucher) returns to Chicago as the headliner for the Lollapalooza after party. Big Pink and thenewno2 also perform.
GO: 8/2 at 9. Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N Kedzie. rsvp: soterik.com/events

literature Verse, Stripped: Talk by Matt Madden
Poetry and comics are unlikely bedfellows, but the comic artist and illustrator Matt Madden thinks otherwise and with Verse, Stripped he explains the intersection of the two genres over the past 50 years.
GO: 8/1 at 7. Poetry Foundation, 61 W Superior. poetryfoundation.org

jazz Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz
The Thursday night jazz series presents a great program Roots of Routes: Makaya McCraven’s Global Unit. The drummer leads an all-star collective including the trumpeter Corey Wilkes, the saxophonist Marcus Strickland and the guitarist Nathaniel Braddock.
GO: 8/2 at 6:30. Free. Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Washington. millenniumpark.org

theatre Totally Recalled
Colin Farrell may be starring in this month’s Hollywood remake of the 1990 film Total Recall, but the wacky team behind Everything is Terrible, a found-footage website, is staging its own vaudeville retelling of the sci-fi thriller with live music, experimental video, and an enormous Arnold Schwarzenegger puppet.
GO: 8/6 at 9. Hungry Brain, 2319 W Belmont. everythingisterrible.com

folk Merle Haggard
His iconic, laconic drawl is the definition of classic country music and his poetic songs have become the standard to which many aspire. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a phenomenal guitarist and fiddler too.
GO: 8/1 at 7:45; $30–50. Congress Theater, 2135 N Milwaukee. venue.congresschicago.com