Ravinia 2019, Issue 6, Week 11

Reviving the Machine NICKELBACK ENJOYS SOME HERE T O P U T I N P E R S P E C T I V E the magnitude of Nickelback’s popularity with the mainstream masses, the Canadian rockers are behind only The Beatles among the best-selling import acts in America throughout the entire 21st century. The group’s more than 50 million album sales include the elusive diamond status (10-times platinum) for the album All The Right Reasons , alongside 23 chart-topping hits and a dozen consecutive sold- out world tours. With such staggering statistics, it’s perhaps no surprise that the group was named Billboard ’s “Top Rock Group of the Decade” for all of the 2000s with the standalone smash “How You Remind Me” being named the same publication’s “Top Rock Song of the Decade.” Add in nine Grammy nominations, a trio of American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People’s Choice Award, and a dozen Juno Awards, alongside an induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame, and that never-ending momentum carried into Nickelback’s latest release, Feed the Machine , which debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and has thus far prompted 90 full-capacity concerts all around the globe. The latest leg of performances lands at Ravinia on Tues- day, August 13, and Wednesday, August 14 (with Buckcherry warming up), marking Nickelback’s immensely awaited venue debut, which according to a phone conversation with bassist Mike Kroeger, was already on the radar of the band that also includes his brother Chad Kroeger (lead vocals, guitar), Ryan Peake (guitar), and Daniel Adair (drums). Read on for his take on everyone’s cyclone of success up through today, including what to expect from the double-decker, hit-stacked dates and the everyday ways he unplugs from all the excitement. 24 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 25, 2019