Ravinia 2023 Issue 4
SHERVIN LAINEZ (MRAZ); MADISON (MARTIN) PAVILION 7:00 PM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2023 THE MYSTICAL MAGICAL RHYTHMICAL RADICAL RIDE MONICA MARTIN † – – JASON MRAZ & HIS SUPERBAND † Ravinia debut JASON MRAZ Born and raised in Virginia, Jason Mraz de- veloped an interest in musical theater during high school and attended the American Mu- sical and Dramatic Academy in New York for a year before nding the ultimate stage for his voice: with a guitar and original songs. He decamped to San Diego in the late ’ s and entered the city’s burgeoning co eehouse scene, soon landing a weekly residency at Java Joe’s. As Mraz began gigging to other South- ern California hotspots, a live acoustic album was recorded in , and by the following year he had signed a contract with Elektra Records. Blending his recent co eehouse folk music with the roots rock of his youth, Mraz released Waiting for My Rocket to Come in , leading o strong with the smash-hit single “ e Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” which soared up the Top chart to number three and helped propel the disc to platinum sales. Soon on his rst national tour, Mraz immortalized the moment with another live disc, Tonight, Not Again ( ), recorded in Milwaukee, WI. Moving over to the Atlantic Records roster, he followed up in with Mr. A–Z , which entered the charts at number ve. A er another live disc (recorded in part at Chicago’s Schubas Tavern), Mraz struck gold—or, to be precise, multiplatinum—with We Sing. We Dance. We Steal ings. in thanks to the lead single “I’m Yours.” e song became his rst top- hit and ultimately set a record for the longest time spent on Billboard ’s Hot chart while also earning a Grammy nomination as Song of the Year. A year later, he won Grammys for “Make It Mine” and “Lucky,” a collaboration with Colbie Caillat, o the same album. Mraz’s subsequent discs Love Is a Four Letter Word ( ) and Yes! ( ) both debuted at number two, with the former’s single “I Won’t Give Up” becoming another top- hit. e top- album streak extended to ve with ’s Know. following his Broadway debut in Waitress portraying Dr. Pomatter for a -week run starting in fall , in- cluding shows alongside composer Sara Bareilles. His latest album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride , released in June, promises a kinship with his formative collections. Jason Mraz is returning to Ravinia for the rst time following his debut. MONICA MARTIN Monica Martin is a Chicago-born sing- er-songwriter who grew up in rural Wiscon- sin, mostly waiting for Billie Holiday videos to load on back-country dial-up or making trips in a busted Geo Metro to watch punk shows in Milwaukee. Trained as a hairdress- er, she didn’t have musical plans beyond joke singing harmonies over the radio. She fronted the acclaimed experimental-folk-pop sextet PHOX, formed just outside Madison. Even- tually, Monica moved to Los Angeles because “Wisconsin is cold.” She’s presently at work putting melodies to low-key pop songs with blue note whispers, some golden-era Hol- lywood dramatics, and psychedelic ickers courtesy of a theremin. Martin is still guring out who she is, but quite happy to share her cautionary tales: “I made hundreds of mis- takes so you don’t have to.” Monica Martin is making her Ravinia debut. CAROUSEL STAGE 7:30 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2023 ELVIN BISHOP † and CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE † Ravinia debut DRINKS in the PAVILION Sip and savor the music at all performances in the Pavilion with Ravinia’s souvenir cup —purchase or refill at any restaurant or drink cart in the park. There is a one-time charge of $10 for the cup, and all proceeds from the souvenir cup go to Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play programs. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 31 – AUGUST 14, 2023 I I ; I I
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