Ravinia 2022, Issue 6

MORITZ KUENSTER (NATURALLY 7) PAVILION 7:00 PM SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 NATURALLY 7 † –Intermission– DIANA ROSS † Ravinia debut HEAVY lifting to us. Leave the Wintrust chair & table RENTAL RESERVE LAWN chairs and tables when you order tickets by clicking “ADD-ON.” Wintrust Chair & Table Rental, managed by the Ravinia Women’s Board, supports Ravinia and its Reach Teach Play music education and engagement programs. For more information, visit Ravinia.org /ChairRental DIANA ROSS Born and raised in Detroit, it was only fitting that Diana Ross, along with three childhood friends, helped define the Motown sound during the 1960s as The Supremes, which to- day remains one of the most successful vocal groups in contemporary music. For the final three years she was with the group, it was re- named Diana Ross & The Supremes to reflect her leading role. Ross began her solo career in 1970 on a high note, immediately scoring one of her most enduring number-one hits with a rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” on her eponymous debut album, which also produced the gospel-tinged hit “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” which The Supremes covered later that year. Two years later she made her acting debut in Lady Sings the Blues , a loosely based biopic in which Ross portrayed its subject, Billie Holl- iday. She earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for the performance, and the soundtrack earned critical acclaim and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart. Ross’s acting career continued to have a profound effect on her music, adding another num- ber-one hit in the theme to her second mov- ie, 1975’s Mahogany , “Do You Know Where You’re Going To.” She made her third film appearance in 1978’s The Wiz and racked up dance hits with her 1979 album, The Boss — building on the popularity of 1976’s “Love Hangover”—as well as a pair of smash suc- cesses in “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out” off the 1980 number-two hit Diana . The following year, she recorded with Lio- nel Richie what Billboard recently called the greatest duet of all time, “Endless Love.” A Rock and Roll Hall of Famer since 1988 for her work with The Supremes, Ross has also earned lifetime achievement awards from the Grammys in 2012 and BET in 2007, the same year she received the Kennedy Center Hon- ors. Diana Ross made her Ravinia debut in 2016 and is making her third appearance at the festival. NATURALLY 7 Naturally 7 is more than a tightly orchestrated group of singers—they transform their voices into instruments of any genre. From simple beginnings, two brothers and five friends have become a vocal phenomenon that has toured the world and redefined what is possi- ble with the human voice. Perhaps that’s what Roger Thomas envisioned in 1999 when he recruited his brother to become the drummer for his vocal band. At that time, the group was called Last Appeal and had built a strong following in New York. That year would end with them winning the National Harmony Sweepstakes a cappella competition and re- cording their first album, Non Fiction . Two years later they were touring full-time with more than 150 shows annually on the college circuit. Then adopting the group name Nat- urally 7, the singers signed their first major label deal, with Sony Music, in 2002. The following year, the group notched their first of many international hit records with What Is It . In 2006 Naturally 7 signed a new deal with EMI Music and released their third stu- dio album, Ready II Fly , notching another hit with their original cover of Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight.” Their spontaneous perfor- mance in a Paris subway that year became one of the first viral videos on YouTube. The group embarked on the first of four world tours with Michael Bublé in 2007, and they made numerous TV appearances ahead of 2009’s Wall of Sound . Naturally 7 teamed up with Quincy Jones on the title track to 2010’s Q: Soul Bossa Nostra after performing on his 75th birthday celebration, then in 2014 the group was a special guest on three shows with Coldplay, including at the Barclays Center. In addition to a deal with BMG, the septet added Walt Disney Hall to its major venue credits in 2017, alongside Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and Lincoln Center. Natural- ly 7 has also been featured on The World’s Best immediately after Super Bowl LIII and at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, 2016 In- dianapolis 500, and 2017 FIFA Awards. Their latest project, 20/20 , put a fresh spin on 20 fan favorites for the group’s 20th anniversary. Naturally 7 is making its Ravinia debut. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 29 – SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 34