I have been jonesing for some live music, but I haven't wanted to shell out a lot of money to see a show. So when my friend invited me to see the Chicago Civic Orchestra play Dvorak for free in the Symphony Center this past Saturday, I jumped (yup, I am a classical music geek). The concert was part of Macy's free day of music, apparently an annual event. I got to see original hipster band The Sea and Cake perform for free, an oddly hip performance for the formal venue (it was very funny to watch hipsters try to dance in the narrow aisles of the hall).

But with a little planning ahead, you can find an abundance of free or budget music in Chicago every weekend. Just one example: the Chicago Civic Orchestra, amazingly, is a professional orchestra that plays all their concerts for free (okay, you pay a $1 processing fee). And they don't suck like many community orchestras--their performance of Dvorak's New World Symphony was very professional. Here is a link to their performance schedule. I'd love to hear from readers: where do you go for great music at a great price?

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