Ravinia 2022, Issue 2

JEREMY COWART (KEB’ MO’) KEB’ MO’ With five Grammy Awards, 14 Blues Foun- dation Awards, and a groundbreaking career spanning nearly 50 years, Keb’ Mo’ stands as one of the most accomplished and respected active artists in contemporary roots music. Born and raised in Compton, CA, Keb’ Mo’ (Kevin Moore) got his start as a behind-the- scenes guitarist, songwriter, and arranger for nearly 20 years, regularly collaborating with Jefferson Airplane member and blues fiddler Papa John Creach from the age of 21 and ap- pearing on several of his solo albums during the 1970s. Mo’ made his own solo breakout with the release of his 1994 debut Keb’ Mo’ , which earned widespread acclaim for its genre-bending take on old school sounds. Just two years later, with his follow-up Just Like You , he won his first Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. In the decades that followed, Mo’ not only topped Billboard ’s Blues Chart seven times but performed every- where from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center to The White House and the Ryman Auditorium, as well as released signature gui- tars with both Gibson and Martin. The range of artists he’s collaborated with has never stopped growing either, including Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, and Lyle Lovett, as well as fellow blues icon Taj Mahal on the Grammy-winning 2017 album TajMo . Mo’ has also written for television se- ries like Mike and Molly , Memphis Beat , and B Positive , and he has appeared as himself on Sesame Street , The West Wing , and Martin Scorsese’s The Blues . As a mentor in the Ken- nedy Center’s Turnaround Arts Program, he adopted The Johnson School for Excellence in Chicago. In 2021 he was awarded lifetime achievement honors by the Americana Music Association. Released earlier this year, Mo’s newest album, Good To Be , weaves togeth- er the sounds of his childhood in Compton with the influences of his adopted hometown of Nashville, drawing on country, soul, and blues to craft a tapestry that transcends genre and geography. Keb’ Mo’ first played at Ra- vinia in 1997 and is making his fifth season appearance at the festival. SOUTHERN AVENUE With a lifelong passion for American roots music, Israeli-native guitarist Ori Naftaly arrived in “Soulsville USA” to compete in the International Blues Challenge, where he soon met the Jackson sisters—singer Tierinii and drummer Tikyra—who were immersing themselves in the genre after a childhood steeped in church music. Together with key- boardist Jeremy Powell and bassist Daniel McKee (whose seat in the quintet is now filled by Evan Sarver), they adopted the name of the main thoroughfare from East Memphis to the original headquarters of the Stax Records and began developing a reverent but distinct- ly contemporary sound. Less than a year later, Southern Avenue had reached the finals of the International Blues Challenge, signed to the legendary label, and began working with producer Kevin Houston (North Mississippi Allstars) on their first album. The eponymous collection was released in early 2017 and im- mediately became a phenomenon, reaching number one on iTunes’ blues chart while punching in at number six on Billboard ’s. The group won Best Emerging Artist Album hon- ors from the Blues Music Awards for Southern Avenue and hit the road, playing hundreds of shows—including on tour with the North Mississippi Allstars—before returning to the studio. Clearly energized, the quintet notched even greater success and acclaim with 2019’s Keep On , reaching Billboard ’s top five and earning their first Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Despite the loss of live shows in 2020, Southern Ave- nue maintained its creative momentum over eight days in the analog-centric Memphis Magnetic Recording Co. studios, with Nafta- ly co-producing alongside Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin, who they met traveling the Mexican Riviera in 2019 on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. The result, Be the Love You Want , was released on Renew Records last August, featuring guest co-writers Cody Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars) on “Push Now” and “Heathen Hearts” and Jason Mraz on “Move Into the Light.” Southern Av- enue is making its Ravinia debut. PAVILION 7:30 PM FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2022 HEARTY HAR † –Intermission– JOHN FOGERTY 6:00 PM, CAROUSEL STAGE ROOKIE † † Ravinia debut ROOKIE Comprising shaggy-haired friends from Chi- cago who play rock and roll that’s more at home next to their parents’ battered vinyl LPs than on their peers’ streaming queues, Rook- ie solidified its broad-yet-intimate sound not long after forming in 2017. The band of 20-somethings are former members of un- der-the-radar local outfits Joe Bordenaro & the Late Bloomers, Yoko & the Oh Nos, and Max & the Mild Ones, and their new project grew beyond excited whispers in 2018 with two singles, “One Way Ticket” and “Let’s Get It Right,” and a 7-inch pressing of “I Can’t Have You But I Want You” and “The Move” with the nascent Chicago studio and label imprint Treehouse Records. The group’s modern take on timeless American rock pulls from many corners of the sonic map: the ’70s/’80s pop-rock sheen of recent tour-mates Cheap Trick, precision songwriting of Big Star, and the hazy, psych-flavored boogie of The Allman Brothers and Thin Lizzy. Rookie brought evocative touches of cosmic country to classic rock hooks and harmonies and distinctively indie-minded songwriting on its debut full-length album, released in early 2020 on Bloodshot Records. While touring shut down at the same time, the band kept writing, and a new album was already in the pipeline by the time they played a few dates with Seattle’s Band of Horses and hit the Lollapalooza stage last summer. Tonight Rookie is making its Ravinia debut. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 4 – JULY 17, 2022 26 ’ ’