The Ravinia Festival on Thursday announced its summer concert lineup, preparing to reopen the park for the first time in more than a year for an in-person 2021 season.
The summer lineup will include 64 performances between July 1 and Sept. 26, organizers said, and will be the 85th season in Ravinia's history as the oldest outdoor music festival in the country.
The season will begin with three free events on July 1, 2 and 3 for invited audiences of essential, frontline and health care workers, Ravinia said.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will once again return for a six-week summer residency beginning in July, featuring 15 programs led by Marin Alsop and seven guest conductors.
Some of the featured pop, rock, indie, country and reggae artists in the lineup this year include:
- Classic Albums Live: Led Zeppelin IV, July 24
- Yacht Rock Revue debuts at Ravinia, July 31
- Sideline makes its Ravinia debut, August 11—Carousel Concert
- Willie Nelson & Family and Nate Smith, August 14
- Gladys Knight, August 18
- The Infamous Stringdusters and Leftover Salmon in their Ravinia debuts, August 20
- The Beach Boys, August 21 and 22
- John Hiatt and the Jerry Douglas Band, August 24
- Lake Street Dive, August 26
- Train, August 27 and 28
- King Crimson and The Zappa Band make their Ravinia debuts, August 29
- Collective Soul, Better Than Ezra, and Tonic share the bill on September 1
- Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco, September 10
- Black Violin and Blind Boys of Alabama, September 11
- Ben Folds with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, September 18
- Ziggy Marley: A Celebration of Bob Marley, September 19
- Andrew Bird, September 24
Ravinia also announced a new Carousel Concerts series coming this summer, with "casual evening performances of jazz, folk, and bluegrass music at the carousel-styled rotunda on the North Lawn with general admission Lawn seating only."
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To see Ravinia's full summer lineup, click here.
Tickets for this year will go on sale in two phases, organizers said, for flexibility in seating protocols and programming in the second half of the season.
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Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Ravinia’s website on June 16 for concerts between July 1 and August 15, then on July 21 for concerts after August 15.
“More than ever before, we look forward to welcoming audiences back to Ravinia to be re-inspired by live music together,” Ravinia President and CEO Jeffrey Haydon said in a statement.
"As one of the nation’s best outdoor music venues, Ravinia is perfectly positioned to welcome audiences to comfortably experience live music together again,” he continued. “While this year’s experience may be a little different, we look forward to continuing one of Chicagoland’s favorite summertime traditions with music under the stars.”
Ravinia canceled its 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic and closed the park for what organizers said was the first time since the Great Depression.
Ravinia plans to reopen with guidance from state and local health officials, as well as consultation with Northwestern Medicine, organizers said.
This year, all concerts will be shorter, with no intermission, and will take place outside in the open-air pavilion with a reduced capacity. Tickets must be reserved in advance, and distanced seating will be used throughout the facility. Organizers noted the number of performers on stage also will be reduced to promote social distancing.
New this year, all Metra trains on the Union Pacific North line will honor Ravinia tickets as train fare for a free ride to and from the park on concert days.
