Artist News
Every season we are proud to bring you the best artists from all over the world. It's amazing to see our artists honored year after year for their hard work and this year is no different. Here is just a sample of the recent Ravinia artists receiving top honors for their work in the past year. Congratulations on the Grammy nominations and good luck!
"During his inaugural performance at a sold-out Ravinia, old school R&B may have been the main focus, but the singer also mixed crests from every era of his celebrated career. The results found the packed pavilion and picnicking lawn switching vibes between
Ravinia 2013 artist Cheap Trick has had one heck of a wild career. They had a rocky start breaking into the top 100 in the U.S., but little did they know they were quickly approaching legendary status in Japan. Sound Opinions hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis sit down with Cheap Trick in the studio to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their landmark live album, At Budokan. Listen below for a unique look at the rise of one of rock’s most iconic bands.
“The band members talk about the Beatlemania they experienced in Japan and why they'll steal your guitar, but never your girlfriend.”
Alabama native Aaron Parker, the hit-maker behind “Anything Alabama,” appropriately enough has signed on to open for the legendary rock bandAlabama in its Ravinia debut on Friday, Aug. 30.
The CD Alabama and Friends was released this week and features performances by Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Trisha Yearwood and more.
When George “Buddy” Guy was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana he probably had no idea that someday he’d make it into Rolling Stone’s list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. Then again maybe he did. After all, Buddy got his start learning guitar on a two string diddley bow that he made himself. His Chicago affiliation began when he moved here in the late 1950’s and met Muddy Waters—the ‘father of Chicago Blues’— and started recording for Cobra Records.
His style is unparalleled; in one concert you will hear blues, rock, soul, jazz, and all the sub-genres in between. That’s why they named him the bridge from blues to rock and roll, from the historic Chicago sounds of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf to the ever changing sound of modern blues rock (think Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan and of course Jimi Hendrix).
Combined with his legendary voice and iconic showmanship, seeing Buddy Guy perform live is one of the most important things you can do. Lucky for you tickets are still available for his August 17 concert with George Thorogood & The Destroyers. Come hear why he was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2012 and why he continues to remind people everywhere that there is nothing like “Sweet Home Chicago”.
Famed R&B singer Natalie Cole doesn’t just turn songs into hits; she also turns them into movie stars. Her vocals are featured in nearly 20 movies from Pretty Woman to While You Were Sleeping to Bride Wars. Of course the star is no stranger to the screen herself appearing in such TV programs and films from Grey’s Anatomy and Touched by an Angel to De-Lovely. Cole returns to Ravinia on a bill with the great Ramsey Lewis on Aug. 28. Her set will include songs in Spanish.
The Hollywood trade paper Variety has reported that the biopic Love & Mercy: The Lives, Times and Music of Brian Wilson has begun filming in Los Angeles. The Beach Boys co-founder, whose bottomless list of hits defined an era, makes his Ravinia debut with Al Jardine and David Markson July 26. Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) will star as young Brian Wilson, with Chicago favorite-son John Cusack playing the older version. Graham Rogers (Revolution) appears as Jardine.
Perhaps the most star-studded evening in the history of television singing competitions, the hugely popular band OneRepublic performed its latest hit “Counting Stars” with competition finalist Michelle Chamuel on the season four finale of the hit NBC series The Voice. The episode also featured performances by Cher, Christina Aguilera and Pitbull, Florida Georgia Line and Nelly, Bob Seger, Hunter Hayes, and Bruno Mars. OneRepublic makes its Ravinia debut with Churchill and Mayer Hawthorne on July 23.
Multiple Grammy Award-winner Natalie Cole’s first Spanish-language album,Natalie Cole en Español, will be released June 25 on Verve/Universal. The album finds Natalie personally inspired by both the bilingual recording legacy of her father Nat King Cole, and a growing passion for the timeless romanticism of the great Latin music composers. Cole will perform songs from the new album in Spanish at her Ravinia concert with Ramsey Lewis on Aug. 28. The album balances old and new songs, including duets with Juan Luis Guerra on the Dominican maestro’s own Bachata Rosa and with Andrea Bocelli on the eternal Bésame Mucho.
Alaskan-born singer-songwriter Kate Earl will join the concert tour of co-headliners Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls, who have just added a third date to Ravinia on July 4 due to popular demand. The July 2 and 3 tickets sold out in minutes. Earl emerged with a flourish late last year onStronger, her debut for Downtown Records written and recorded with an expansive team including Brett Dennen and Blake Mills. The album’s sound—a “rootsy” brand of all-American pop-rock led by the emerging single “One Woman Army”—recalls classic works by legendary artists like Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell.
David Byrne & St. Vincent have released a new EP, Brass Tactics. They even made it FREE, so you really have no excuse not to check it out. You can find it on their website at lovethisgiant.com/brasstactics. David Byrne & St. Vincent's tour rolls through Ravinia on Jul 6, 2013, tickets available at ravinia.org.
Just shortly after the airing of the third season finale in the United States, news is coming from the set that handful of new faces will be seen next season including frequent Ravinia performer, and Ravinia Steans Institute Faculty member, Kiri Te Kanawa. She is slated to play a house guest, and will sing during her visit. Season three has just ended giving plenty of time to catch up on the happenings in the abbey.
Called "marvelous" by the New Yorker and "magical" by NPR, David Byrne and St. Vincent will make a stop at Ravinia Festival on July 6, 2013. The duo's collaborative album, Love This Giant, and tour last year earned rave reviews from TIME, New York Magazine, the NY Times, SPIN, and more, along with performances on Letterman, Fallon, and Colbert. The LA Times called their performance "jubilant," The Washington Post described it as "a kind of show you’d never seen or heard before," and the Hollywood Reporter praised their "amazing charisma."
Tickets go on sale on April 26.
The Grammys is the biggest night in music, turning the Nate Ruess' (Fun.) of today into the Stings of tomorrow! This year was a spectacle to behold at the Grammys with artist after artist rocking the house, particularly Bruno Mars, Rhianna, and 2013 Ravinia artist Sting (featured below)!
The Grammys are a great way to start the year. Here at Ravinia, we enjoy the award ceremony aftermath where an artist like Miguel, who opened for Jennifer Hudson in 2011 at the festival, can now be referred to "Grammy award winner Miguel." It's an honor to recognize Ravinia artists new and old in their recent Grammy wins:
Perhaps no singer is more associated with Ravinia Festival than the seminal favorite Tony Bennett. The new documentary The Zen of Bennett, shot on the eve of his 85th birthday, became a Tribeca Film Festival sensation last spring and will be given a limited theatrical release this week, followed by exclusive streaming on Netflix beginning Nov. 12. Check out the trailer. A companion autobiography Life is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett also will be available in November.
No matter how big a music superstar gets, even they won't turn down a collaboration with the characters of Sesame Street! The Count and Elmo were joined by Pat Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, and Scott Underwood of Train for a stroll down Sesame Street. The group stopped by Hoopers Store for some peaches, but are not sure how many...
Daryl Hall, who returns to Ravinia in concert with longtime partner John Oates on Sept. 1, has created one of the most acclaimed webcasts by opening his doors to some of the biggest names in music—some with legendary pedigrees, others new to the biz. Hall was a pioneer in the webcast game, creating his free monthly show, Live From Daryl’s House, in 2007. Episodes available online include Hall performing with Smokey Robinson, Nick Lowe, K.T. Tunstall, Todd Rundgren, Matt Nathanson and Chicago's own Plain White T's. Pavilion tickets to the Ravinia concert are in very limited quantity, and lawn is recently SOLD OUT.
Comedy and music aren’t separate worlds for actor, writer and musician Steve Martin. At fifteen years old Martin was first introduced to bluegrass music before falling in love with the instrument he calls, “truly American,” –the banjo. Dropping out of UCLA to pursue a career in comedy, Martin used the banjo along with jokes, juggling and magic as a primary means to fill his early act. While using banjo for the routine, Martin began studying the instrument more seriously, writing satirical pieces for the act such as “Ramblin’ Guy” and “Grandmother’s Song.” Yet, as Martin’s acting career exploded, his musical roots became largely overlooked.
For all of you Mad Men fans out there, Sunday was a pretty momentous occasion. After about 17 months off the air, and a worrisome gut feeling that it may never return to the air, Mad Men season 5 premiered on AMC. That's exciting and all, but how does that relate to Ravinia Festival?
The 54th annual Grammy nominations were announced this morning, and Ravinia Festival artists are distributed throughout. We are extraordinarily excited to have our beloved performers receiving the recognition they so aptly deserve.
We have a Ravinia showdown on our hands for the “Best Pop Duo of the Year” award with Tony Bennett and the late Amy Winehouse for “Body and Soul” off Tony Bennett’s album Duets II in contention against Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera’s “Moves like Jagger”. Tony Bennett appears on the nomination list in two more categories, “Best Pop Vocal Album of the Year” for Duets II and “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)” for his duet with Queen Latifah “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)” on Duets II. What a year for Tony Bennett! Tony’s nomination for “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)” will be challenged by The Tierney Sutton Band and Sting with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. It’s going to be a nail biter.