Best Bets: Indigo Girls, Dr. Jane Goodall, Wilco, New Edition
Indigo Girls at Genesee
Indigo Girls, the Grammy-winning duo inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame last year, heads to the suburbs next week for a night of rock-influenced modern folk, old favorites ("Closer to Fine," "Galileo," "Hammer and Nail," among many others) and some new tunes (from last year's "Look Long" album) at the Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan. Tickets are $29-$89 at geneseetheatre.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23
'Carmina burana'
Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus in performances of Carl Orff's rousing "Carmina burana," a cantata inspired by 24 medieval poems. The program at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, also includes Rautavaara's "Cantus Arcticus" and composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery's "Banner," a rhapsody on "The Star-Spangled Banner." $75-$375. cso.org. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16; 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 17; and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 18
Chicago Sinfonietta salutes women
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine joins the Chicago Sinfonietta at North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville, for a program titled "Unapologetic," a celebration of the power of women. It includes Tania Leon's "Stride" commissioned as part of a project to commemorate the 19th Amendment giving American women the right to vote and inspired by the pioneering feminist Susan B. Anthony; and Florence Price's rarely performed "Violin Concerto No. 2," which was discovered in an abandoned Illinois home. The second half of the concert features Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's masterwork "Scheherazade." Tickets are $54-$67, $17 for students. (630) 637-7469 or northcentralcollege.edu/show. 8 p.m. Saturday, March 18
An afternoon of inspiration
Spend an afternoon with Dr. Jane Goodall as the world-renowned ethologist and animal welfare activist presents her lecture "Inspiring Hope Through Action" at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago. Goodall will also participate in a moderated Q&A session. Tickets start at $65 at jamusa.com. 2 p.m. Sunday, March 19
Outdoor sculpture exhibition
Ten Chicago artists contributed to a new, outdoor sculpture exhibition showcasing tuk tuks, three-wheel, electric vehicles that originated in Thailand and have become a popular mode of short-distance transportation worldwide. Featuring such motifs as rainbows, outer space and ancient scenes, the kaleidoscopic sculptures line Chicago's Devon Avenue from Bell to Sacramento avenues. Free. The ribbon-cutting ceremony takes place at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 19, at Sukhadia Corner, 2559 W. Devon Ave., Chicago. ondevon.org. Runs through fall 2023
Three nights with Wilco
Wilco, a Chicago-area favorite alt-country band, kicks off a three-night residency at Chicago's Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine Ave., next Thursday, promising three nights with no repeat sets. Rock band Horsegirl joins them. Tickets are $65 for main floor general admission, $65-$80 for balcony seats at jamusa.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, and Saturday and Sunday, March 25-26
COT premiere
Chicago Opera Theater premieres the semi-biographical opera "The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing," by composer Justine F. Chen and librettist David Simpatico, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago. The opera tells the story of the life and death of British computer scientist Alan Turing, who, after helping crack enemy codes during World War II, was persecuted for being a homosexual. Tickets start at $50. chicagooperatheater.org. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 25
New Edition returns
With bopping rhythms and lush harmonies, all six members of '80s-'90s R&B boy-band precursor New Edition ("If It Isn't Love," "Can You Stand the Rain") are back together for the "Legacy Tour," joined by Keith Sweat, the original members of GUY and special guest Tank at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison St., Chicago. Tickets start at $98 at unitedcenter.com. 8 p.m. Thursday, March 23