Inaugurated by the Chicago Jazz Orchestra Sextet on July 3, the brand-new Carousel Stage at Ravinia offers a series of casual evening performances of jazz, folk, and bluegrass music, hosted in the carousel-styled rotunda on the North Lawn with general admission Lawn seating only. Tickets for concerts between July 1 and August 15 are on sale now, and concerts after August 15 go on sale to the public July 21, exclusively at Ravinia.org.
Kurt Elling returns to Ravinia on July 13, bringing along Charlie Hunter for his festival debut. Renowned for his singular combination of robust swing and poetic insight, two-time Grammy winner Kurt Elling has a secure place among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. His voice is instantly recognizable, embracing listeners with a warm, rich baritone and navigating the full span of his four-octave range as a virtuoso improvisor and a compelling storyteller. With the addition of hybrid guitarist Charlie Hunter and their new music together, the evening is bound to create a magical music experience. With a career spanning 25 years and almost 20 albums, Hunter consistently ups his game as an innovative musician. His signature style of writing and performing puts him in a category of his own as one of today’s great guitarists. He always stuns audiences with his ability to simultaneously bust out tasty bass parts, melodic leads, and swinging rhythms on his unique instrument. View Concert.
Brett Dennen returns to Ravinia on August 4. Dennen is telling us to get out and see the world at a time when we need it more than ever. Flame-haired, six-foot-five, and with a singular gift for meditating on life’s most meaningful subjects with equal parts innocence and razor-sharp wit, you know Dennen from his decade-plus career as a singer-songwriter. With a successful string of albums and four Top Ten AAA singles like “Make You Crazy,” “Wild Child,” and 2018’s “Already Gone,” which achieved his highest chart position yet, Dennen has cemented himself as a fixture in American folk music. The singer’s next release, See the World, is due out July 23. Like the man himself, the new album is a potpourri of experiences and sometimes seeming contradictions. View Concert.
Sideline will make its first Ravinia appearance on August 11. The band is known for its pedigreed six-piece powerhouse style that has set the pace in bluegrass music for over two decades. To listen to Sideline reminds the fan of why so many people fall in love with bluegrass in the first place; pulse-pounding drive, songs sung from the heart, and tight timing and dynamics, as well as a visceral emotion in the rendering. What started as a side project for the seasoned players soon moved to the front and center and a full-time dream team of players and singers. View Concert.
Frank Orrall returns to Ravinia on September 23, playing a DJ set with a global and eclectic style of “acous-tronic groove music” that melds his influences from across Brazil, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas. He’s been recording since the days of tape decks, collaborating with a wide array of musicians on the way to releasing eight full-length albums with his longtime band. The founder and bandleader of Poi Dog Pondering, Orrall is a multi-instrumentalist, poet, and composer with a host of side projects including the Mod dub rockers Thievery Corporation, Palm Fabric Orchestra, 8fatfat8, and Mourning Doves, which recently cut its first album. View concert.