The Chicago Country Music Festival doesn’t start until Saturday (read more on the festival inside). So, until then, get a fix with Alan Jackson and Trace Adkins. Jackson has sold more than 49 million records, so don’t get your two-step on too early in the show or you won’t have enough party left for the encore. The guitar-pickin’ storyteller can paint a pretty picture of life as a country boy. Adkins wears a pretty big hat too, as a superstar of the country scene, mixing rockin’ country with down home goodness, whether sharing his personal story, talking about heroism, or giving the ladies a shout (“honky tonk badonkadonk” is just fun to say). 7:30 p.m. Friday; $38.50-$140. Sears Centre, 5333 Prairie Stone Pkwy., Hoffman Estates; 888-732-7784, www.searscentre.com
