2017 Ravinia Summer Music Festival Shows Off Its Best Lineup Yet!

In taking another break from our usual schedule of automotive industry news and updates from Lexus dealers nationwide to look at some upcoming local events, we realized that we’d be absolutely remiss in overlooking the amazing Ravinia Festival! For those who may be new to the summer-long performance series this year, the recently released schedule of events makes it very clear that it’s a better opportunity than ever to be fully introduced to North America’s oldest music festival, and one of the most exciting recurring events in the local sphere.

An Illustrious Local History

Local records show that the first stage in Ravinia’s illustrious history began in 1904, when Ravinia was first opened as an attraction designed to draw passengers and visitors through the newly-christened Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad.

According to Ravinia’s website, “the first piece ever played at the park was ‘Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home’ on a steam calliope.” It would seem fair to say  that things have come pretty far!

From Local Attraction to World-Class Stage

Soon proving itself to be much more valuable than as a simple amusement park, Ravinia reopened as an independent event at a major gala in 1911. From that point on, the park became an increasingly popular and prestigious summer venue for music, first of the classical and orchestral variety, with opera quickly joining the roster. As the story goes, “by the end of the decade, Ravinia earned a reputation as America’s summer opera capital.” It was only a matter of time before popular forms of all kinds would be added to the annual program, continuing Ravinia’s evolution into one of the most popular and diverse musical attractions in the world.

The Legacy Continues

Today, the yearly Ravinia Festival attracts more than half a million attendees to a series of well over 100 events spread across the summer. Capturing performances from a wide range of genres, including classical, jazz, pop, rock, country, and musical theater, the festival has played host to an extremely distinguished roster of defining artists over its century of life, a list that only begins with the mention of such timeless icons as Louis Armstrong, Leonard Bernstein, Dave Brubeck, Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, George Gershwin, Janis Joplin, Yo-Yo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Stephen Sondheim, and Frank Zappa.

Down to Business: Schedule Highlights

Naturally, this year’s schedule marks another amazing year for the Ravinia Festival. We’d definitely say that kicking things off on Saturday, June 10^th with piano-based R&B maestro John Legend definitely counts as starting out on the right foot! Fans of classic rock, country, and soul can also look forward to a trio of treats in the early stages of the festival; Thursday, June 15^th, sees Portuguese singer-songwriter Seu Jorge presenting his breezy take on the catalogue of David Bowie (which many will remember as part of film ‘The Life Aquatic’), followed by appearances by country music patriarch Willie Nelson and the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, on Friday, June 16^th, and Saturday, June 17^th respectively. A joint appearance by the Beach Boys and the Temptations on Sunday, July 2^nd should be more than enough to drive home the fact of Ravinia’s world-class quality, year after year.

Ravinia’s Roots Continue to Thrive

For fans of the festival’s traditional focus, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will also be continuing its regular series of events featuring very notable guest performers from across the globe. The CSO will be joined by popular Chinese pianists Yuja Wang and Lang Lang and on Tuesday, July 11^th and Saturday, July 29^th respectively. Opera fans definitely haven’t been forgotten either, with a number of world-class performances, including one by Metropolitan Opera Singer Ryan Speedo Green on Monday, July 3^rd, featured throughout the schedule.

More Info and Detailed Schedule Available

It’s a program that’s sure to offer a truly amazing experience to fit any taste, and you can find out plenty more about it at Ravinia’s website or in the festival’s Ravinia Magazine publication. From all of us here at Lexus of Highland Park, we’ll hope to see you there!