Ravinia 2023 Issue 5

PAVILION 7:00 PM SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2023 THE ISLEY BROTHERS † – – BOYZ II MEN † † 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. BOYZ II MEN Boyz II Men rede ned popular R&B and con- tinues to create timeless hits that appeal to fans across all generations. e group’s four Grammy Awards are just the tip of the ice- berg: throughout their -year career, Boyz II Men has also won nine American Music Awards and Soul Train Awards each, three Billboard Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a Casino Entertainment Award for their acclaimed Las Vegas residen- cy that launched in . Boyz II Men’s clas- sic hits include “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” “One Sweet Day,” and “Mo- townphilly,” among many others, while their recent albums have earned major critical acclaim: their Decca label debut, Motown: A Journey rough Hitsville USA ( ), earned two Grammy nominations. In , Boyz II Men marked their th anniversary by re- leasing the landmark album Twenty , which featured the group’s rst original material in nearly a decade as well as a dozen remastered career-de ning hits. e collection debuted in Billboard ’s top while capturing top- ve slots on the R&B chart and on iTunes; its rst single, “More an You’ll Ever Know,” cracked the top on the Urban AC chart. Following a summer concert tour with New Kids on the Block and Degrees, Boyz II Men showcased more fresh original songs and a new sound on the album Collide . e group became a social sensation with an appearance on Fox’s live broadcast staging of Grease in . e following year, a er an- other tour with New Kids on the Block, the group released the doo-wop album Under the Streetlight , then in Boyz II Men collab- orated with Charlie Puth on the hit song “If You Leave Me Now” and opened for Bruno Mars on his K Magic Tour across the Unit- ed States. at summer the group received a CMT Award nomination for their Crossroads performance of “Motownphilly” with Brett Young, then continued the Americana streak alongside the Steep Canyon Rangers with the bluegrass song “Be Still Moses.” Recent TV appearances have included ABC’s A Very Boy Band Holiday , Live in Front of a Studio Audi- ence: Di erent Strokes , CMT Christmas with Brett Young, and e AFTR PRTY featuring Shawn and Wanya in , as well as a perfor- mance during Super Bowl LVI in . is is Boyz II Men’s Ravinia debut. THE ISLEY BROTHERS ere is only one band in American music history that had a proven in uence on both e Beatles and Ice Cube—the Isley Broth- ers. Formed in the mid- s as a teenage gospel quartet by the eldest four Isley Broth- ers—O’Kelly, Rudolph, Ronald, and Ver- non—the original con guration of the group quit performing when Vernon was tragically killed at age when riding his bike. In , at the urging of their parents, the remaining three brothers moved to New York City to make it as a rock and roll band, and the rst song they wrote together was “Shout!”—a massive smash that had multiple lives fol- lowing its inclusion on the Animal House soundtrack. From that rst single and album in , the Isley Brothers repeatedly rede- ned their music, creating two classic records with the Motown label, including ’s is Old Heart of Mine , then forging their own paths in R&B a er launching their own la- bel, T-Neck Records, with the top- smash It’s Our ing in . A er years of hearing white rock bands cover their hits, the Isleys turned the tables with folk-in uenced Givin’ It Back in , riding the charts high with songs by the likes of Neil Young and Stephen Stills, followed up by the glitter rock collection Brother, Brother, Brother ( ). By they were joined by younger brothers Ernie and Marvin as well as bother in law Chris Jasper, and thus began a run of R&B chart-toppers, including the soul-funk opuses + ( ) and Go For Your Guns ( ) and the pure dance album e Heat Is On ( ), whose lead single was later interpolated on the icon- ic Public Enemy song “Fight the Power.” e Isleys went full disco on ’s Winner Takes All before slowing it down to make one of the top quiet storm albums, ’s Between the Sheets , and the jam-laden Mission to Please ( ), followed by a trio of top- ve smash- es: Eternal ( ), Body Kiss ( ), and Baby Makin’ Music ( ). e Isley Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in —in a class with their old backing guitarist, Jimi Hendrix—and received a life- time achievement Grammy in . e Isley Brothers are making their Ravinia debut. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 15 – AUGUST 27, 2023