Latest news with #RaviniaFestival
Chicago Tribune
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: The lesson of ‘Weird Al' Yankovic: We'll miss him when he's gone
As joyful and virtuosic and oddly as 'Weird Al' Yankovic's two-hour whirligig was on Sunday night at Ravinia Festival, I couldn't help watch without sadness: Here is the last of the great parody kings, the closing chapter, and the pinnacle, of a delightfully ridiculous tradition. Social media is not lacking in joke songs; the novelty artist today seems closer to routine than, well, novelty. And yet the world is too driven by algorithms, too fragmented in its tastes, to ever be on the same page again and get the same jokes. Will there ever be another 'Weird Al'? Even if we come across someone on TikToK or Instagram who shows a strand of that old 'Weird Al' DNA — the pillow-soft yucks, the devotion to honoring the spirit of the artist being spoofed, the open-hearted stupidity for stupidity's sake, the craftsmanship — can they get across the rigor involved in being this gloriously dumb without losing the laugh? Will they understand the funniest thing about 'Weird Al' has always been the insane amount of talent that goes into perfecting something so fundamentally idiotic? Particularly live, fronted by an eight-piece band that cuts seamlessly from the sleek corporate mellowness of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to the grind of Nirvana to a spot-on Backstreet Boy glide, changing costumes each song, it's the best joke he's got. It's just hard to see a future for this tradition. Not because of a lack of skill, but how eroded common ground has become. Looking back, it's no surprise 'Weird Al' was necessary in the early 1980s, at a moment when Mad magazine no longer generated the same and Top 40 music was driven by legitimately iconic, ultra-ubiquitous images from overplayed music videos. 'Weird Al' wore the red leather Michael Jackson jacket for 'Eat It,' his 'Beat It' parody, and even if he never played the song, we'd get the joke. For 'Smells Like Nirvana,' he wore the forest green sweater that Kurt Cobain wore in his videos. The encore was a rousing embrace of 'Star Wars,' with Stormtroopers crowding the stage, a ballpark-organ cover of 'The Imperial March,' and 'Weird Al,' eyes tight, dramatically conflating Yoda and The Kinks: 'Weird Al,' at 65, with the same string-fry hair and Hawaiian shirts as the past five decades, hit a high point early with a delirious polka of contemporary hits, from Billie Eillish and Taylor Swift to Cardi B and Olivia Rodrigo, playfully sanitized for kids in the house — But 'Weird Al' is really a creature of the monoculture, the days when your grandparents and your 8-year-old neighbor had the same cultural references, when there were three TV networks, radio played the same Top 40 songs endlessly and everyone turned out for the same movies. Which means a 'Weird Al' concert does double duty as a kind of walk through the past 50 or so years of pop culture, squashing Spider-Man against 'Piano Man,' Flintstones against Red Hot Chili Peppers — think kaleidoscopic jukebox musical, but flexible, broad for long swaths then, turning on a dime, hilariously specific. A song about Disney's Jungle Cruise ride nodded to generations of slumming actors playing river guides, while secretly dreaming they were in 'Speed-the-Plow.' A CSNY parody showed how unnervingly easy it is to swap out the back-to-nature authenticity of '70s singer-songwriters with corporate speak: He even covered Helen Reddy's 'I Am Woman,' just because, as sincerely as possible. It's our cultural currency — as is 'Weird Al' himself, even more than many of the acts he's parodied. While the band changed outfits, we got video montages reminding us just how much 'Weird Al' is part of that currency, namechecked on 'The Simpsons,' '30 Rock,' 'Scooby Doo,' and on and on. You get the sense 'Weird Al' is not bragging with these videos, but honored to find himself, decades later, a human cartoon, swallowed whole by culture, as if tossed into a B-movie sci-fi vat. The show began with a liturgy of business nonsense — — and concluded with the band singing a remarkable extended mashup of nonsense lyrics, from the 'Grim Grinning Ghosts' song at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion to Somehow, it made perfect sense.
Chicago Tribune
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘People need the calm' Arts on Sheridan festival attracts art lovers and No Kings protest attendees
Thousands of people visited the new Arts on Sheridan festival in the Sheridan Road and Central Avenue historic district over two consecutive weekend event days starting June 14. Amdur Productions, founded by arts festival producer Amy Amdur of Highland Park, presented the new arts opportunity to help showcase the picturesque residential and business district east of Highland Park's railroad tracks. The weather on Saturday was 65 degrees and overcast with some sun peeking through the cloud cover. Amy Amdur said 100 booth holders offered wares. Three musical groups performed on each day. 'We're really excited to bring a hometown arts festival to the community,' Amdur said on Saturday. 'This part of town has really amazing historic architecture, and I think the whole setting creates a certain ambiance. 'It's charming and it's unique,' Amdur said. Arts on Sheridan is about one-half the size of the Port Clinton Art Festival, also held in Highland Park. The Port Clinton Art Festival has a four decade plus history. This year's weekend Port Clinton Art Festival is Aug. 23 and Aug. 24. While Arts on Sheridan is new, what was also new was the presence of vibrant handmade poster signage to rival wall art on Saturday from the No Kings peaceful protest a few blocks away at City Hall (1707 St. Johns Ave.). 'We saw everybody walking to the protest so I was hoping they would come here afterwards,' Amdur said. 'And they did. 'People need the calm.' A popular attraction was the midway section featuring food, live music and an arts area for kids. A vendor who specializes in large bubble art drew in parents and young fans, including Kinsley Neville, 1, of Highwood. Kinsley had a custom 'Baby's First Protest' small sign. Kinsley's mother Lily Neville said Arts on Sheridan is 'amazing. 'It's been wonderful. 'To see community members coming together for a protest and then get to enjoy beautiful art and culture is wonderful,' Lily Neville said. 'It's what democracy has to offer, a protest and an art fair,' said Lily Neville's sister, Lauren Beslow of Northbrook. Elsie Guy, 6, a rising first-grader from Highland Park, also played at the bubble art vendor tent. 'We're having a lot of fun,' said Elsie's mother, Maggie Guy. 'The artists have been very welcoming and friendly with Elsie.' Bill Steed of Oak Park and Jean Forbes, also of Oak Park, were among festival patrons. During college, Steed worked as a courier for the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. 'It's an absolutely beautiful show,' Steed said. 'It's one of the nicest that we've ever been to, and the atmosphere is great too.' The Arts on Sheridan Best in Show green ribbon award winner was 3D artist Skeeter Aschinger of Pompano Beach, Florida, formerly of West Suburban Aurora. Patrons, 'are very receptive,' Aschinger said about Arts on Sheridan. 'It's very nice.' Visit
CBS News
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Ravinia Festival opens for 2025 season on Friday
Ravinia Festival officially opens Friday for the 2025 season. This summer's lineup includes Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe, Grace Jones, and Kygo performing in Highland Park from June 6 to Aug. 31. Friday kicks off with legendary rockers Heart playing hits like "Magic Man," "Barracuda," "Alone," and "Crazy on You." Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe will be performing on Saturday to kick of the first Ravinia weekend. Festival goers can see over 100 concerts and 40 artist debuts. Lenny Kravitz, The Roots, James Taylor, and John Legend are also on among the performers. Check out the full 2025 lineup on the Ravinia website. Ravinia to undergo $75 million renovation In February, Ravinia Festival revealed plans for a $75 million renovation of its whole venue, with an initial focus on the Pavilion. The first steps of the renovation work were done behind the scenes. Organizers said performers who come to Ravinia will have new dressing rooms, warmup rooms, and loading docks. The noticeable changes will take place ahead of the summer of 2026. Among the renovations, the Carousel Stage will be replaced with a new outdoor performance stage. Festival organizers said the Pavilion's acoustics and seats date back to the 1950s.
New York Times
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
He Reinvigorated the Met Opera's Chorus. Next Stop, Chicago.
When Donald Palumbo departed his post as chorus master of the Metropolitan Opera last year after nearly two decades, he could have easily taken a break. But Palumbo, 76, wasn't finished. 'I knew it was not a retirement situation for me,' he said. Now Palumbo has lined up his next position: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra announced on Tuesday that he would serve as its next chorus director — only the third in the choir's 67-year history — beginning an initial three-year term in July. 'I love this chorus,' Palumbo said in a telephone interview from Chicago, where he was rehearsing the chorus. 'I love this city.' Palumbo was a fixture at the Met from 2007 to 2024, helping turn the chorus into one of the most revered in the field. He could often be seen during performances racing around backstage, working with singers to refine bits of the score. He was chorus master at Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1991 to 2007. At the Chicago Symphony, he said, he hoped to work with the singers on 'creating an identity as a chorus from the way we sing, and the way we devote ourselves to the music.' Jeff Alexander, the Chicago Symphony's president, said that Palumbo had built a close relationship with the chorus during guest appearances over the years, creating 'an atmosphere of collaboration that yielded exceptional artistry.' 'We knew this would be the ideal choice to build on the legacy of this award-winning ensemble,' Alexander said in a statement. Palumbo, who lives in Santa Fe and will commute to Chicago, is already at work with the Chicago singers. He will serve as guest chorus director this month for Verdi's Requiem, working with Riccardo Muti, the Chicago Symphony's former music director. In July, he will begin his tenure as chorus director with a performance of Mahler's 'Resurrection' Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, led by the festival's chief conductor, Marin Alsop. While Palumbo has forged a close relationship with Muti, he said, he was still getting to know Klaus Mäkelä, the Chicago Symphony's incoming music director, who begins in 2027. (Palumbo said he has been watching videos of Mäkelä on YouTube: 'Everything he does musically is exciting,' he said.) Palumbo said he hoped to stay in Chicago beyond the end of his initial term in 2028. 'I certainly am not planning on having a cutoff point,' he said. 'I intend to keep working.'
Chicago Tribune
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Classical and jazz for summer 2025: From concert halls to the open air of Millennium Park
Condolences to everyone's calendar. Despite sobering news of canceled summer festivals and slashed National Endowment for the Arts grants, Chicago summer — knock wood — looks to be as busy as ever. Classical and jazz programming alone is packed with blockbusters. Before the subscription arts season is out, Riccardo Muti is back at the Chicago Symphony, closing out the season with Verdi's Requiem, his calling card, and trumpeter Esteban Batallán as a featured soloist (June 12-24). After that, Giancarlo Guerrero begins his tenure as director of the Grant Park Music Festival, bringing with him a bevy of music by living and American composers (June 11-Aug. 16). Musicians and celebrity chefs team up for the Ravinia Festival's Breaking Barriers, with audiences taste-testing the results (July 25-27). Then, to close out the season, the Chicago Jazz Fest returns, this time with esperanza spalding, Monty Alexander, Kermit Ruffins and Eliades Ochoa as headliners (Aug. 28-31). But with so much excitement afoot, it's all too easy for other cultural highlights to get lost. Here's a handful to keep on your radar well ahead of summer's dog days. Before the boycott: Rosa Parks was just the most famous representative of a group of women who worked to desegregate Montgomery's public transit system in the 1950s. Chicago Opera Theater's 'She Who Dared' — with music by the talented young composer Jasmine Barnes and a libretto by Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton — foregrounds their overlooked story. June 3, 6 and 8 at the Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave., tickets $60-$160, Price's precocious champion: Still in his 20s, Randall Goosby has become one of the leading interpreters of Florence Price's music. The violinist brings her music — specifically her second violin concerto — back to its home city alongside the CSO and conductor Sir Mark Elder. June 5-7 at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., tickets $39-$299, What happens to music never heard?: In the case of Oscar Peterson's 'Africa,' it gets resurrected. Peterson performed and recorded movements of the suite throughout his career, but never the entire thing. Thanks to bandleader and arranger John Clayton, the late jazz pianist's epic finally sees the light of day. 8 p.m. June 13 at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., tickets $39-$299, Soundtrack to the 21st century: World-class soloists and contemporary classical music are both hallmarks of the Grant Park Music Festival, but they don't always converge. This summer is a refreshing change of pace, with several guest artists platforming pieces written in the new millennium. First among them: cellist Inbal Segev, who plays Mark Adamo's 'Last Year' (July 9) and Anna Clyne's 'Dance' (July 16) as this year's artist-in-residence. Also on tap are trumpeter Pacho Flores in Arturo Márquez's Concierto de Otoño (June 20-21); the Imani Winds in a concerto grosso penned by former ensemble member Valerie Coleman (June 25); mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges in Peter Lieberson's 'Neruda Songs' (Aug. 1 and 2 at Harris Theater); and Glen Ellyn native Jennifer Koh in Jennifer Higdon's epic 'The Singing Rooms' for solo violin, orchestra and chorus (Aug. 8 and 9). All at Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St., free admission, Paired pipes: From 2018 to 2020, Camille Thurman — as alluring a singer as she is a tenor saxophonist — made history as the first woman to join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra roster. But she's a commanding, charismatic bandleader in her own right, as this local run of shows will no doubt co-sign. June 26-29 at the Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Court, tickets $25-$45, more information at Big news for people who hit things: Chicago institution Third Coast Percussion is turning 20. The quartet rings in the milestone with 'Rhythm Fest,' an all-day bash with collaborators past and present. Noon to 10 p.m. June 28 at Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave., tickets $60-120 and $30 for students, Irakere at 50: The iconic Cuban ensemble technically celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. Then again, no celebration is big enough to capture its outsized mark on contemporary Latin jazz. Founder and bandleader Chucho Valdés is joined by former bandmates Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval — a rare convening of the genre's elder statesmen — for this one-night-only Ravinia extravaganza. 7:30 p.m. July 9 at the Ravinia Pavilion, 201 Ravinia Park Road, Highland Park, tickets $29-$65, One day, two premieres: Slather on sunscreen if you must, because new music fans are advised to post up at the Ravinia grounds on July 20. Steans Institute musicians debut a string quartet by American composer Joel Thompson at Bennett Gordon Hall (1:30 p.m.). A few short hours later, the CSO gives the first performance of Malek Jandali's 'Rhapsody for Orchestra' (5 p.m.). Both July 20 at Ravinia, 201 Ravinia Park Road, Highland Park, free admission for the Steans recital, tickets $15-$95 for the Pavilion concert, Early music everywhere: 'Baroque-and-before' need not mean 'boxed in.' Creative and unconventional early-music performances abound this summer, starting with 'Secret Byrd,' a theatricalized account of William Byrd's Mass for Five Voices devised by Bill Barclay. (Barclay was the mind behind 2023's excellent 'The Chevalier.') Meanwhile, at Ravinia, Cleveland- and Chicago-based early music troupe Apollo's Fire presents a 'dueling double concerto' program — as do actual fencers, demonstrating the sport on the lawn. Haymarket Opera Company also makes its festival debut with a semi-staged 'Alcina'; soprano Nicole Cabell, who starred in the company's recent 'L'Amant anonyme,' sings the title role. 'Secret Byrd,' two shows each, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., on July 20 and 21 at Salvage One, 1840 W. Hubbard St., tickets $65-$75, 'Fencing Match' with Apollo's Fire, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at Ravinia's Martin Theatre, tickets $15-$75, Handel's 'Alcina' with Haymarket Opera, 1 p.m. Aug. 24 at Ravinia's Martin Theatre, tickets $15-$75, Partitas na praia: Bach and Brazil meet in Plínio Fernandes. The São Paulo-born guitarist's 'Bacheando,' featuring Bach arrangements, was one of the illustrious Decca label's most striking 2023 releases. He picks up where the album left off with this Ravinia recital. 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at Ravinia's Bennett Gordon Hall, tickets $20,
