Ravinia 2022, Issue 1

LIINA RAUD (FRANCIS) PAVILION 7:00 PM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 NEAL FRANCIS † –Intermission– AMOS LEE † Ravinia debut AMOS LEE Originally working as an elementary school teacher after completing a bachelor’s degree in English, Amos Lee was drawn into a mu- sic career after playing numerous open-mic nights in his native Philadelphia and building connections with managers and promoters. Straddling folk and soul genres, his demo recordings were soon picked up by the Blue Note label, leading to him opening for Norah Jones on her 2004 tour. The following year— with the assistance of Jones’s bassist, Lee Al- exander, as producer—Lee released his epon- ymous debut album, which featured guest appearances by the jazzy chanteuse and sev- eral of her band members. Amos Lee reached number two on Billboard ’s Heatseekers chart, and the singer-songwriter was named an “art- ist to watch” by Rolling Stone as a result of the album’s success and its song “Colors” being featured on several TV shows. Lee’s sopho- more album Supply and Demand followed in 2006, earning critical acclaim as it rose into the top half of the Billboard 200 chart. A host of guest musicians studded 2008’s Last Days at the Lodge , which soared to number 29 and confirmed his status as a bluesy crooner to be mentioned in the same breath as John Prine, James Taylor, and other ’70s folk artists. Lee then reached the top of the charts with 2011’s Mission Bell , which featured such guests as Willie Nelson, Iron & Wine, Lucinda Wil- liams, and Calexico. On 2013’s Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song , he delved deeper into the roots-rock- and country-tinted sound he began on Mission Bell with contributions from such artists as Patty Griffin, Alison Krauss, and Jerry Douglas. Lee joined the le- gion of artists to record a live album at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2015, but he had a twist—the performance showcased him alongside the Colorado Symphony Or- chestra. Back in the studio, he produced Spirit for 2016, combining contemporary R&B and pop grooves with folk-inspired melodic arcs. Lee teamed with prolific producer Tony Berg for 2018’s My New Moon and then enlisted Christian Langdon for Dreamland , which was released this February following the suc- cess of the mantra-like lead single “Worry No More.” Amos Lee first appeared at Ravinia in 2015, and tonight he makes his first return to the festival. NEAL FRANCIS Born in the suburbs of Chicago, Neal Fran- cis began playing piano at age 4, and by his teens his interests in blues and roots music had blossomed under the tutelage of the lo- cal stride specialist Erwin Helfer and through touring spots alongside Muddy Waters kin Mud Morganfield. Those experiences stoked a burgeoning interest in New Orleans icons like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John, and Francis soon found himself at the helm of the instru- mental funk band The Heard—sharing stages with the likes of The New Mastersounds, The Revivalists, and George Clinton & Parlia- ment Funkadelic—through the early 2010s. With the fresh infusion of musical influences, Francis eyed a solo career and teamed up with the analog-obsessive producer Sergio Rios (of CeeLo Green and Alicia Keys collaboration fame) to create 2019’s Changes . In addition to lavish acclaim, the hit debut led to sets on- stage with members of The Meters at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, a live set on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” and tour dates alongside such acts as Lee Fields & The Expressions and Black Pumas. Francis’s new disc, In Plain Sight , came to life over the course of a tumultuous year spent living in a church in Chicago, its songs sparked from Greek myths and frenzied dreams and late- night drives in the depths of summer deliri- um. Recorded almost entirely at the church, the new long-player leaned further into the New Orleans R&B influences, and by the close of 2021 it had landed on best-of-the- year lists from the likes of KCRW, KEXP, and The Current. Neal Francis is making his Ra- vinia debut. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JUNE 15 – JULY 3, 2022 24 LIINA RAUD (FRANCIS)