Ravinia 2021 - Issue 3

ALYSSE GAFKJEN (LADY A); MATTHEW BERINATO (MOON) PAVILION 8:00 PM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 WHAT A SONG CAN DO TOUR NIKO MOON † –Intermission– LADY A † Ravinia debut LADY A Shortly after Georgian childhood classmates Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood began writing music together in Nashville, they con- nected with Tennessee native Hillary Scott at Music City’s clubs, and the duo became a trio, recently adopting the moniker Lady A. With- in a year of gigging around Nashville, the trio signed with Capitol Records. Their first single, “Love Don’t Live Here,” became an instant hit, leaping into the top five of the country charts and setting up their debut album to become a mainstream top-five, multiplatinum seller with a host of other popular tracks, including their first Grammy winner, “I Run to You.” Work quickly progressed on their follow-up Need You Now , whose title track became a worldwide smash, going nine-times platinum in the US since its 2009 release and captur- ing the number-two spot on Billboard ’s Hot 100. The disc’s subsequent singles, “Ameri- can Honey” and “Our Kind of Love,” became their third and fourth straight country num- ber ones, but the spotlight shifted back to the album and its title track at the 2011 Grammys, where the trio nearly made a clean sweep of their six nominations, taking both Record of the Year and Song of the Year honors for the single. At the same time, the band released “Just a Kiss,” a critical darling that marked their best Billboard Hot 100 debut at number seven and their third multiplatinum single. Its parent album, Own the Night , was released later that summer and produced another two top singles, “We Owned the Night” and “Dancin’ Away with My Heart.” After the 2012 holiday album On This Winter’s Night , the trio backed Darius Rucker on his version of “Wagon Wheel” and teased their next album, Golden , with “Downtown.” The following year saw the release of 747 and its top sin- gle, “Bartender,” their ninth country-radio number one. The group returned in 2017 with “You Look Good” and Heart Break , con- tinuing a streak of top-five albums, and de- buted on the Big Machine label in 2019 with “What If I Never Get Over You” and Ocean . Following their induction into the Grand Ole Opry earlier this year, the trio released “Like a Lady” and their latest album, What a Song Can Do (Chapter One) . The trio Lady A made its Ravinia debut in 2019. TONIC Formed by Emerson Hart (vocals, guitar) and Jeff Russo (lead guitar) in 1994, Tonic added Dan Lavery (bass) in 1996, shortly after the band exploded onto the scene with the plat- inum-selling Lemon Parade , featuring the most-played rock song of 1997, “If Only You Could See,” as well as the major pop and rock radio hit “Open Up Your Eyes.” Self-produc- ing their 1999 follow-up, Sugar , Tonic cap- tured the airwaves again with “You Wanted More,” which was the lead single not only for that disc but also the platinum-selling soundtrack album for American Pie . By that time they had also contributed to soundtrack albums for Scream 2 (“Eyes of Sand”) and The X-Files (“Flower Man”). In the midst of mara- thon tours, Tonic returned to the studio to cut Head On Straight in 2002, earning Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album with the collection as well as Best Rock Performance for “Take Me As I Am,” which also charmed Top 40 radio. After a five-year hiatus, the trio returned with an eponymous disc, hitting the independent album charts at number 25 and Top 40 radio with “Release Me.” Following a successful Pledge Music campaign, Tonic re-recorded its seminal debut album acousti- cally in 2016. Outside of the band, Russo has made a musical impact as a film, television, and video game composer, scoring HBO’s critically acclaimed The Night Of in addition to Legion , Counterpart , and Star Trek: Discov- ery , winning an Emmy in 2017 for his work on Fargo . Lavery also played with The Fray before establishing himself as a writer, pro- ducer, and manager, working with the likes of Joe Jonas and Adam Lambert. Meanwhile Hart ignited a solo career, releasing Cigarettes and Gasoline in 2007, Beauty in Disrepair in 2014, and 32 Thousand Days in 2019. Tonic is making its Ravinia debut. NIKO MOON Recording with RCA Nashville, Niko Moon began this year living the title of his debut single, “Good Time,” which topped multiple charts while achieving platinum sales and more than 250 million on-demand streams, catapulting Moon to the top of Billboard ’s Emerging Artists chart and earning him par- ticular praise from the likes of the Tennesse- an and Think Country Music . He’s also been named an “artist to watch” by CMT, Amazon Music, MusicRow , NY Country Swag , and many more outlets. Born in Tyler, TX, Moon relocated to Douglasville, GA, at age 10, right in the middle of hip-hop hub Atlanta and country breeding ground Newnan, GA. The equal gravity inspired his artful persona mixing hooky melodies with shrewd wordplay and edgy electronic beats. Moon quickly found success co-writing with the Zac Brown Band, sharing credit on five number-one hits—“Loving You Easy,” “Homegrown,” “Beautiful Drug,” “Keep Me In Mind,” and “Heavy Is The Head”—and recently contributed to singles by Dierks Bentley (“Gone”), Ashley Monroe (“Drive”), and Rascal Flatts (“Back to Life”). He’s also worked with Brown and Ben Simonetti as the electronic dance trio Sir Rosevelt since 2016, and he supporting reggae/hip-hop artist Michael Franti as a co-writer and producer on Stay Human, Vol. 2 . Moon recently released the singles “No Sad Songs” and “Small Town State of Mind” from his debut full- length record Good Time . Niko Moon is making his Ravinia debut. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 18 – SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 52