Ravinia 2022, Issue 1

KIT WOOD (OCMS) DWIGHT YOAKAM A native of Kentucky, Dwight Yoakam was raised in Ohio on a steady diet of Elvis Pres- ley, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens. In the late ’70s he set out to Nashville but instead found his canvas in Los Angeles, playing the same clubs as roots and punk rockers like The Blasters, X, and Los Lobos, who all shared similar influences and helped define a crossover subgenre termed “cowpunk.” His first full-length album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. , was a smash hit in 1986, captur- ing the top spot on Billboard ’s Country Al- bums chart, and its first two singles, a cover of Johnny Horton’s “Honky Tonk Man” and his original “Guitars, Cadillacs,” both made the top five. Yoakam’s 1987 follow-up, Hilly- billy Deluxe , was just as big a hit and pro- duced a string of four top-10 singles: “Little Sister,” “Little Ways,” “Please, Please Baby,” and “Always Late with Your Kisses.” The hit parade continued with 1988’s Buenas Noch- es from a Lonely Room , which contained his first Billboard Country number-one singles: “Streets of Bakersfield,” which was record- ed with Buck Owens, and “I Sang Dixie.” Yoakam has remained in the top 10 conver- sation with over a dozen hit albums since the ’90s: If There Was a Way (1990), This Time (1993), Gone (1995), Under the Covers (1997), A Long Way Home (1998), Tomorrow Sounds Today (2000), Population: Me (2003), Blame the Vain (2005), Dwight Sings Buck (2007), 3 Pears (2012), Second Hand Heart (2015), and his most recent, Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars… (2016). This Time featured his first Grammy winner in “Ain’t That Lonely Yet,” and following the release of 3 Pears he was named Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Awards. Yoakam was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019. Alongside his music career, Yoakam has culti- vated extensive acting credits, including roles in more than 40 feature films, such as 1996’s Sling Blade and 2002’s Panic Room . In 2016 he joined the cast of the Amazon series Goliath alongside Billy Bob Thornton, and he most recently appeared in 2017’s Logan Lucky and 2021’s Cry Macho . Tonight Dwight Yoakam makes his Ravinia debut. OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW They’re masters at delivering traditional folk and bluegrass with plenty of rock and roll attitude, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Old Crow Medicine Show. The group had a humble beginning, busking in the streets of countless cities throughout the Shenandoah Valley, up and down the East Coast, across New York State, and even into Canada. It was during one such gig 15 years ago in Boone, NC, when legendary bluegrass artist Doc Watson caught their act in front of a local pharmacy and added the band to his MerleFest concert lineup. Relocating to Nashville, Old Crow Medicine Show was soon performing at the outdoor Opry Plaza and made its Grand Ole Opry debut in 2001 (the group became official members in 2013), inking a record deal shortly thereafter and releasing its eponymous album in 2004. Old Crow Medicine Show quickly captured the top spot on Billboard ’s Bluegrass chart, a feat the group repeated with each of Big Iron World (2006), Tennessee Pusher (2008), and Carry Me Back (2012). In 2011 Old Crow Medicine Show was invited to join Mumford and Sons’ Railroad Revival Tour, which also featured Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and yielded the Big Easy Express , a documentary of the tour’s rail trek across the Southwest that premiered at SXSW in 2012 and won the 2013 Grammy for Best Long Form Music Video. The group has also played such festivals as Coachella, Bonnaroo, Stagecoach, and New- port, earning it the Trailblazer Award from the Americana Music Association in 2013. Si- multaneously, Old Crow Medicine Show was climbing ever higher on the Country chart, reaching the top five with both Carry Me Back and 2014’s Remedy (2014), which won the 2015 Grammy for Best Folk Album. Their classic single “Wagon Wheel” reached dou- ble platinum sales in 2019, shortly before the release of Live at the Ryman , a compilation of live performances at the historic Nash- ville venue from between 2013 and 2019. The band’s latest studio disc, Paint This Town, was recorded at their very own Hartland Studio and released in April. Tonight is Old Crow Medicine Show’s first return to Ravinia fol- lowing the band’s 2015 debut. PAVILION 7:30 PM SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2022 CLASSICAL MYSTERY TOUR † A Tribute to The Beatles JIM OWEN, rhythm guitar, piano, vocal TONY KISHMAN, bass guitar, piano, vocals ROBBIE BERG, lead guitar, vocals CHRIS MCBURNEY, drums, vocals CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC GEORGE STELLUTO, conductor Orchestral Overture LENNON Songs fromThe Beatles’ catalogue MCCARTNEY HARRISON –Intermission– LENNON Songs fromThe Beatles’ catalogue MCCARTNEY HARRISON † Ravinia debut RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 45