Ravinia 2021 - Issue 2

8:00 PM WEDNESDAY, AUG. 4, 2021 BRETT DENNEN CAROUSEL STAGE BRETT DENNEN Brett Dennen spent much of his West Coast youth learning guitar and writing songs. Fol- lowing studies at the University of California–Santa Cruz, he released an eponymous album in 2004, from which “Desert Sunrise” went into rotation on KCRW, leading to a record deal with the indie folk label Dualtone. The fresh partnership begat 2006’s So Much More , catching the ear of John Mayer, who invited Dennen to open for him at several shows. Subsequently, Dennen was named an “artist to watch” by Rolling Stone . He teamed up with Jason Mraz to contribute “Long Road to Forgiveness” to the 2008 charity album Songs for Survival , and later that year he followed up with his own disc, Hope for the Hopeless , featuring Femi Kuti on the track “Make You Crazy.” His tour credits soon grew to include opening dates with Dave Matthews Band, Rodrigo y Ga- briela, Pete Murray, and Michael Franti, among others. Dennen’s 2011 disc, Loverboy , brought an expanded sonic palette, layering funky pop over African rhythms, but 2013’s Smoke and Mirrors was pared back to acoustic lines with his arrival on the Atlantic Records folk imprint F-Stop Mu- sic. The latter disc was also his first to make Billboard ’s top albums chart, landing at number 65, with “Wild Child” becoming a top-10 alternative rock hit. Several of his songs were featured on the NBC drama Parenthood before “Comeback Kid (That’s My Dog)” became the theme for the network’s 2014 sitcom About a Boy . His 2016 album, Por Favor , continued the acoustic aesthetic and appeared on Atlantic’s famed Elektra label, and a pair of EPs were released in 2018 along with the top-10 alt rock hit “Already Gone.” Dennen recently wrote the new official Smokey Bear song commemorating the PSA character’s 75th birthday, and his new album See the World has just been released on Mick Music. Brett Dennen previously played Ravinia in 2017 and 2018. 7:30 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021 MICHELLE DEYOUNG, mezzo-soprano KEVIN MURPHY, piano J. NICOLE BROOKS, poetry reader CHRISTINA ROSSETTI “Ariadne to Theseus” J. Nicole Brooks HAYDN Arianna a Naxos Recitativo: Teseo mio ben! Aria: Dove sei, mio bel tesoro? Recitativo: Ma, a chi parlo? Aria: Ah, che morir vorrei Michelle DeYoung; Kevin Murphy PABLO NERUDA “Tonight I Can Write” J. Nicole Brooks MAHLER Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ( Songs of a Wayfarer ) Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz Michelle DeYoung; Kevin Murphy MAYA ANGELOU “When Great Trees Fall” J. Nicole Brooks KORNGOLD Lieder des Abschieds ( Songs of Farewell ) * Sterbelied Dies eine kann mein Sehnen nimmer fassen Mond, so gehst du wieder auf Gefaßter Abschied Michelle DeYoung; Kevin Murphy There will be no intermission in this program. * First performance at Ravinia Tonight’s concert is performed in memory of Stephen R. Smoot . PAVILION RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 49