Ravinia 2019, Issue 5, Week 10

7:30 PM SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 2019 PAVILION 7:30 PM SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2019 BELA NANNI –Intermission– CHICAGO CHICAGO Inspired by the fusion of brass sections with popular music, The Big Thing hit the Midwest club tour circuit in 1967, adopting the name Chicago Transit Authority when it moved to Los Angeles the following year to pursue its re- cord deal with the Columbia label. The group’s eponymous double-album debut was released in 1969, though in the liner notes its name was truncated to simply Chicago, the name by which the group has indelibly etched itself upon music history. Chicago’s first two top-10 hits, “Make Me Smile” and “25 or 6 to 4,” appeared on its second album, while the third paved the way for its landmark four-disc live album, Chicago at Carnegie Hall (1971). The group’s next four stu- dio albums were all chart-toppers that spawned several top-10 singles, including “Saturday in the Park,” “Just You ’n’ Me,” “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long,” “Call on Me,” and “Old Days.” Chica- go’s first number-one hit, however, was “If You Leave Me Now” from its 1976 album, followed by “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” from its 16th album, the first with Warner Bros. Records. The next three albums continued adding top-10 singles to the band’s catalogue: “Hard Habit to Break,” “You’re the Inspiration,” “Will You Still Love Me?,” “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love,” and number-one “Look Away.” The 1995 album Night & Day found Chicago reworking such swing-era standards as “In the Mood,” “Moon- light Serenade,” and “Sing, Sing, Sing,” with the Gipsy Kings as guest artists. Named number 13 among Billboard ’s top 100 artists of all time, in 2014 Chicago released its latest studio record- ing, Chicago XXXVI: Now . The group also gave its first performance with the Chicago Sym- phony Orchestra that year, later embarking on a nationwide orchestra tour, and had its debut album inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Tonight Chicago returns for its fifth season at Ravinia, where it first appeared in 1972. BELA NANNI Bela Nanni has been captivating audiences with her sultry voice and self-confessional songs for over 10 years. She began to write songs at age 9, with the first three chords she learned. Writ- ing songs was a crucial part of her journey to managing the highs and lows that come with being a fiery, passionate young woman. Nanni’s songs are filled with refreshingly honest story- telling and rich, evocative melodies that pull you in. From a young age, she had her own unique and beautifully vulnerable way of writing songs. Now, at 21, she continues to charm her audienc- es with her effortlessly raw and disarming songs. Following a gig at Stubbs in Austin, TX, in 2009 Nanni connected with vocal coach Raab Steven- son—who has worked with the likes of Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, and Kelly Rowland—and began honing her own voice with Stevenson for the next five years. She would then connect with the manager of Chicago in 2010 after a gig at Notre Dame’s Irish Green, who invited her to open for the band at Ravinia the following summer and on a multi- city tour that fall, during her first semester of high school. Having completed two years of study at the Interlochen Academy for the Arts, Nanni is currently a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, majoring in songwriting. She gigs, waitresses, volunteers at nonprofit organizations, and works as an Americorps member during the summers. During the school year, she works on honing her songwriting craft and absorbing Berklee’s in-depth music theory curriculum. Bela Nanni has twice opened for Chicago at Ravinia, in 2011 and 2015. AUGUST 5 – AUGUST 11, 2019 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 103