The horns hit before anything else does — that bright, brass-forward wall of sound that has been Chicago’s signature since 1967. The band brings that catalog to CMAC in Canandaigua on Friday, June 26, 2026, billed as “An Evening With Chicago.” Measure their staying power however you like — decades, albums, sold-out amphitheater nights — the case for seeing them live keeps coming back to the same place: that horn section alone justifies the ticket.
About Chicago
Formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1967 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, the band settled into the American rock canon a long time ago. The numbers back it up — five consecutive number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and 20 top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In April 1971 they became the first rock act to sell out Carnegie Hall for a full week, a run of shows that produced the live album Chicago at Carnegie Hall, still worth digging up. The Recording Academy handed them a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 — a formal nod to what anyone who grew up with a radio already knew.
The current touring band still carries founding members trumpeter Lee Loughnane, keyboardist and vocalist Robert Lamm, and trombonist James Pankow, the core that gave the group its identity. Their most recent studio record, Born for This Moment (2022), was their 38th album and their first set of original material in years — proof of a band still interested in adding to the catalog rather than only replaying it.
About CMAC
The Constellation Brands–Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center has anchored summers in the Rochester / Finger Lakes region for years. Set in Canandaigua’s wine country on the Finger Lakes Community College campus, the 15,000-capacity outdoor amphitheater pairs 10,000 lawn spots with 5,000 covered seats under the roof — the kind of room a band built on horns and harmony was made to fill. Get there early enough to settle in before the brass kicks off.
Tickets & Details
Doors open at 6:30 PM, with showtime at 8:00 PM. Tickets start at $61. Get tickets here.
Disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate links. Upstate Concerts may earn a commission on ticket purchases at no additional cost to you.