On September 23, Ravinia hosts its first-ever event focused solely on the art of the DJ. For one of the final performances of the season, relax on the Lawn and enjoy some chill end-of-summer vibes. Get to know the three DJs lighting up the Carousel stage:
DJ Madrid
If music is a universal language, then Madrid Perry is its global linguist.
For six years, Madrid held the coveted position of Resident DJ for Virgin Megastore Chicago, where he endlessly explored the vast and eclectic Virgin Music library, pulling in music from around the world. His wide-ranging tastes flourished and matured exponentially as he crisscrossed spectrums of decades, genres, and rhythms.
Other brands approached him and engaged his help in expanding, enhancing, and diversifying the marketability of their own brand identities. Madrid’s own trademark is his talent. He plays music that makes people feel cool; it embraces, excites, and unites people of every age, interest, and background all around the world. Whether he is playing at a private palace in Istanbul, an exclusive event in Buenos Aires, The World DJ Conference in Korea, or an intimate lounge in Paris, Madrid’s exceptional talents, sophisticated style, and contagious excitement are what attracted the likes of Louis Vuitton, Ferrari, Bentley, Vogue and GQ Magazines, YSL, DVF, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Menil Collection Houston, Michelle Obama, and Oprah Winfrey.
Madrid welcomes the worldwide travels he has shared with his clients as opportunities to discover and study the music and history of the places he visits. What he finds on these important journeys are fascinating and unforgettable sounds, and the rich mixes he creates as a result are distinctly and unmistakably DJ Madrid.
Joe Bryl
Joe Bryl, previous co-owner and musical director of the famed Chicago nightclub Sonotheque, has focused on a wide range of eclectic, underground sounds. He has been working in the club and entertainment industry for the last 30 years and was an original partner in the creation of the renowned HotHouse, exposing Chicagoans to a diverse selection of left-field dance music with a range of rare groove, Latin, funk, Brazilian, steppers, African, acid jazz, and neo-soul. Bryl was also involved in the early days of The Funky Buddha Lounge, setting new standards for nightclubs in Chicago. He is also an accomplished DJ and record collector—once named by the Chicago Tribune as Chicago’s “Most Interesting DJ”—with an extraordinary knowledge of music genres and history from around the world. He has deejayed with Os Mutantes, Gilles Peterson, Seu Jorge, Thievery Corporation, and many other cutting-edge artists. Currently, he is musical director for Dorian’s Through the Record Shop in Wicker Park.
Frank Orrall
The founder, bandleader, and lead singer of Poi Dog Pondering, Frank Orrall is a multi-instrumentalist, poet, and composer with a host of side projects, including the Mod dub rockers Thievery Corporation, Palm Fabric Orchestra, Lost Souls of the Great lakes, Soft Explosion, 8fatfat8, and Mourning Doves, which recently cut its first album. Orrall began recording in the days of tape decks, putting out his first cassette albums as Poi Dog Pondering in Hawaii and Southern California. Gathering collaborators across stints in San Francisco, New York, Austin, and Chicago, he’s since released eight full-length LPs with his longtime band. As a producer and DJ, Orrall brings a global and eclectic style of “acous-tronic groove music” that melds his influences from across Brazil, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas.