Ravinia Festival tickets for 2024 season go on sale Wednesday – NBC Chicago

The lineup and highly anticipated schedule for Ravinia Festival’s 2024 summer concerts were announced last month, with big names including The Beach Boys, Norah Jones, James Taylor and Robert Plant and Alison Krause.

Since the announcement, a few additional artists have been added to the bill, including TLC & Shaggy, and a tribute to Whitney Houston with the Chicago Symphony.

“With an extraordinary lineup of concerts and artists, we are excited to deliver an inspiring and captivating season to all who come to Ravinia,” Ravinia President and CEO Jeffrey P. Haydon said in a statement. “Whether at Bennett Gordon Hall, the Martin Theatre, the Pavilion, the Lawn or the Carousel, audiences are sure to experience the spirit of summer with incredible music under the stars.”

In 2023, the Ravinia Festival saw performances by John Legend, Jethro Tull, Santana and Ms. Lauryn Hill.

Here’s a look at some of the acts listed on the 2024 program:

JAZZ, BLUES, FOLK, GOSPEL and AMERICAN SONGBOOK

● Jazz in June: Battle of the Big Bands with Adonis Rose & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra* and Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band, with special guests Kurt Elling and Rufus Reid, as well as the Jazz Fellows of the Ravinia Steans Music Institute. Students and professional musicians from the Ravinia Jazz Mentor Program, one of the Reach Teach Play programs, open the evening on the Carousel Stage. – June 16 ● Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with Big Boi and Danielle Ponder* – June 19
● Because of You with Michael Feinstein and the Carnegie Hall Big Band in A Tribute to the Legendary Tony Bennett – June 23
● Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper* – June 27; Carousel step 7
● Norah Jones and very special guest Mavis Staples – July 14
● Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers – August 7; Carousel scene
● Samara Joy* – August 25

GLOBAL and LATIN MUSIC

● Little Feat and Los Lobos on the Can’t Be Satisfied Tour – June 22
● The Reset: An immersive sound experience with Davin Youngs* – July 11; Carousel scene
● Gipsy Kings with Nicolas Reyes and Choco Orta with Caribe ProjectJuly 31
● Conductor Gustavo Dudamel leads the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela in two works by South American composers – Dances of the Estancia by Alberto Ginastera and Mediodía en el llano (Noon in the Plain) by Antonio Estévez – among other pieces on the program. – August 6
● Eighth Annual Ravinia Fiesta, with Julieta Venegas* and La Santa Cecilia* headlining the day’s main stage show – September 15

POP, ROCK, R&B, INDIE, HIP-HOP, COUNTRY and DJ

● The Flock with Jerry Goodman* – June 7; Carousel scene
● James Taylor & His All-Star Band – June 8 and 9
● Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and JD McPherson* on the Can’t Let Go tour – June 12
● Hauser* on his Rebel with a Cello tour – June 14
● Michael Franti and Spearhead, Trevor Halland Bombargo on The Togetherness Tour – June 15
● Violent Femmes* performs its debut album in its entirety with the Chicago Philharmonic and conductor Stuart Chafetz* – June 21
● Ben Platt* – June 28
● Roger Daltrey and KT Tunstall* – June 29
● Lyle Lovett & His Large Band and Clint Black – June 30
● ABBA music with the arrival from Sweden – July 5
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● Daryl Hall and Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton – July 6
● The Beach Boys with special guest John Stamos – July 7
● Norah Jones with very special guest Mavis Staples – July 14
● Killer Queen: Tribute to Queen with Patrick Myers* as Freddie Mercury – July 27
● Angélique Kidjo and Meshell Ndegeocello* – August 8
● Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge – August 11
● Robert Glasper* and J. Ivy* – August 14
● Gaelic Storm* and The High Kings* – August 22
● OAR, Fitz & the Tantrums and DJ Logic* – August 23
● Roots, Digestible Planetsand arrested development – August 24
● ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd on The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour – August 29
● Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit and Alejandro Escovedo – September 8
● Crowded house* – September 11
● Queen! with resident DJs Derrick Carter, Michael Serafini and Garrett David, hosts Lucy Tabouret and Nico and special guests – September 14; Carousel deer

FALL PERFORMANCES

● Shelly Berg Trio* – October 26; Bennett Gordon Room
● Alexander Hersh^, cello, Victor Santiago Asunción, piano, present Beyond Borders, with works by Debussy, Wiancko, Britten, Schumann, Say and Sollima. – November 2; Bennett Gordon Room
● PROJECT Trio* – November 9; Bennett Gordon Room
● Ryan Townsend Strandtenor and Karina Kontorovitch, piano, presents Letters to Jackie, a newly conceived song cycle based on the letters sent to Jacqueline Kennedy by the American people following the assassination of her husband, the 15 musical settings of Letters to Jackie represent the collective grief of a nation and the power of community and healing in a time of great tragedy. – November 16; Bennett Gordon Room

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

● July 12 – The CSO opens its 88th summer season in Ravinia with Alsop and two stars
soloists, soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha* and pianist Michelle Cann.* In a
evening of American music, the orchestra opens with Aaron Copland’s beloved classic
Appalachian Spring followed by James P. Johnson’s Charleston, showcasing these early jazz
the influence of the piano conductor and the iconic dance of the same name. Rangwanasha is in the
spotlight for the evocative portrait of a little boy from the southern United States by Samuel Barber,
Knoxville: Summer 1915. Program ends with 100th anniversary celebration
from George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, with Cann on keyboard making his CSO debut.
● July 13 – South African cellist-composer Abel Selaocoe* joins Alsop and makes his debut with the
CSO performing his Quatre Esprits, which “takes the concerto format to an exciting level
new places” (Bachtrack). Themes of ancestral wisdom, faith and community
permeate the program, because the piece is put into perspective alongside that of Ludwig van Beethoven
the monumental Fifth Symphony and its distinct explorations of destiny.
● July 19 – Conductor Ted Sperling joins the CSO with special guest singers to celebrate
two iconic pop songwriters, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.
● July 20 – Alsop and the CSO take the stage for Gustav Mahler’s last major work for
orchestra, Symphony No. 9. Voted the greatest symphony of all time by BBC Music
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Magazine, the work of an evening has seduced the public since its creation in 1912 by Bruno
Walter and the Vienna Philharmonic.
● July 21 – Winner of the gold medal at the International Chopin Competition and recipient
among numerous prestigious prizes, the Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino* reunites with Alsop and
made his debut with Ravinia and CSO performing Fryderyk Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
the second half of the program, Alsop explores symphonic narration at the turn of the
19th century, leading the CSO in Richard Strauss’s symphonic poem Don Juan and that of Maurice Ravel
choreographic symphony Daphnis and Chloé (Suite no. 2).
● July 25 – Mendelssohn’s successful violin concerto, performed by Augustin Hadelich^, is at
in the spotlight as Alsop leads the CSO. Also on the program are the joyful
Symphonic dances from West Side Story and Stravinsky’s timeless Firebird Suite.
Conductor Alena Hron, the Taki Alsop 2024-2026 fellow, invited to the podium to direct Icarus in Orbit by Geroge Walker. ● July 26 – The centerpiece of Breaking Barriers 2024 is a space-themed concert, complete with visuals and introductions by NASA specialists. Alsop leads the orchestra in Holst’s The Planets, followed by a suite from Falkenberg’s The Moons Symphony. Audiences will see science come to life and hear planetary scientists, including astronaut Nicole Stott and the composer, discuss how Falkenberg’s symphony offers new perspectives for humanity to contemplate our home in the cosmos. ● July 28 – Carolyn Kuan, former Taki Alsop Conducting Fellow. leads this year
Tchaikovsky Spectacular, with Ravinia’s iconic cannons in the 1812 overture.
Making her CSO debut, she opened the program with the complete music of the first act of
Nutcracker. Désirée Ruhstrat also makes her CSO debut as a soloist for the
darling Violin Concerto.
● August 2 – Conductor Valentina Peleggi, another TACF alumnus, returns to Ravinia and
CSO, following an appearance at last summer’s Breaking Barriers Festival, will join
with the famous pianist Jorge Federico Osorio on Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto.
Peleggi will also direct Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini and Respighi’s The Pines of Rome.
● August 4 – Music director, conductor and arranger Kevin Stites explores the music of
legendary performer and film composer Henry Mancini for the annual benefit gala evening.
Organized and hosted by actor Rob Lindley, “Mancini at 100: The Music of Henry Mancini,
From the big screen, to the small screen, to the stage and beyond » presents Broadway
singers Jessie Mueller* (Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Norm Lewis*
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(The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables) and Karen Mason* (Sunset Boulevard), with
all three made their debut with Ravinia and CSO.
● August 9 & 11 – The CSO dives into the lyrical repertoire in a half-staging by Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart’s Idomeneo is conducted by Los Angeles Opera (and former Ravinia)
Director James Conlon at the Martin Theatre. The work, which takes place in Crete in 1200 BCE and
telling a story of the Trojan War, highlights a talented group of singers. The stars are
tenor Matthew Polenzani in the role of the Greek king Idomeneo, soprano Andrea Carroll* in the role
Princess Ilia and soprano Alexandria Shiner* in the role of Princess Elettra.
● August 10 – Conlon will conduct an all-Mozart program with the CSO in the Festival Pavilion
between opera performances. The program will feature both the composer’s G minor
symphonies — the “small” No. 25, K. 183, and the “large” No. 40, K. 550 — accompanied by the violin
Concerto No. 5, welcoming James Ehnes as violin soloist.
● August 18 – Conductor Jonathan Rush, frequent guest of Ravinia in recent seasons and
Alsop’s former assistant, returns to the CSO podium. Rachel Barton Pine, originally from Chicago
takes the stage with Rush and the orchestra as soloist for Violin by José White Lafitte
Concerto and La Campanella by Niccolò Paganini