Ravinia 2024 Issue 6

CAROUSEL STAGE 5:00 PM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2024 Metro and smartbar’s QUEEN! featuring INNER CITY † and resident DJs MICHAEL SERAFINI GARRETT DAVID plus resident hosts LUCY STOOLE NICO Tonight featuring a live set with special guests Inner City , smartbar sweethearts and musical contortionists Michael Serafini and Garrett David serve up an evening of only the rawest Chicago house music. Your Queen! hosts are as stellar and stunning as ever—the renowned but never replicated Lucy Stoole and Nico take center stage, poised to steal the show, per usual. Bask in the atmospheric vibrations, dance till you drop, and celebrate one of the best parties to come out of the city. Queen! is one of Chicago’s greatest house institutions. The 21+ party happens every Sunday at smartbar and features house and dance music, plus plenty of over- the-top kings and queens and everything in between. † Ravinia debut Inner City grew from the music Kevin Saunderson was playing and producing in Detroit in 1987; with fellow The Belleville Three mem- bers Juan Atkins and Derrick May, he laid the path for the techno genre and the global culture that followed. In- spired by marathon sets from pioneering DJs Ron Hardy and Larry Levan, Saunderson broke from Detroit techno’s tracky, dark machine funk by adding vocals to his unique productions with colorful keyboard chords and snappy drums. Crucially, a chance collaboration with Chicago vocalist Paris Grey proved the winning combination: Inner City’s marriage of techno’s propulsive, in- sistent rhythms and pop’s vibrant, melodic uplift was neither too positive for the underground, nor too gritty for commercial success. “Big Fun” and “Good Life” dominated not only clubs but the charts, sweeping top-10s all across Europe and starting a run of four consecutive number-ones on the Billboard Dance chart. Paradise , Inner City’s 1988 debut album, went platinum in the UK, setting off years of touring and further hit singles such as “Ain’t Nobody Better,” “Do You Love What You Feel,” and 1992’s “Pen- nies From Heaven,” featuring Kevin’s wife at the time and musical part- ner throughout, Ann Saunderson. Standalone releases continued across the 1990s, plus a greatest hits collection in 2003, but Inner City went on pause through the 2000s while Grey raised a family. The group revived in the 2010s, featuring Grey and Ann taking dual vocal roles. New material came, too: 2011’s “Fantasy,” 2014’s “Bad Girl”—featuring remixes from a 21-year-old and fast rising Dantiez Saunderson—and “Good Luck” in 2017, with Dantiez a full member of the group. Today, Inner City is completed by Detroit vocalist Steffanie Christi’an, forging forward to keep real house and techno alive, most recently with the single “Heavy.” Michael Serafini first got his start in Chicago night- life in the ’80s working for Berlin nightclub as a video jockey and remixer. Under the mentorship of close friends Terri Bristol and Ralphi Rosario, Serafini be- gan DJing regularly in the early ’90s and took up a position at one of Chicago house’s most famous in- stitutions, Gramaphone Records. As his experience grew, so did his reputation, later landing a residency at Boom Boom Room, then the city’s longest-running house night. In 2007, Serafini took over own- ership of Gramaphone Records, which he still operates today. Through the mentorship of Chez Damier, studying behind the desk at Gramaphone Records, and being at the helm of smartbar’s wildly successful Queen! party, Garrett David has spent the past decade de- veloping his unmistakable style and ability to hyp- notize the dance floor. His meticulous approach and underground attitude shines through his produc- tion, releasing lush and skittery tunes on prestigious labels such as Courtesy of Balance, Smallville, Residual, and his own imprint, Global Swing. Lucy Stoole , Chicago’s Black Beard- ed Beauty, is a Windy City-based drag performer, artist, and activist with an international presence. She’s an Out 100 honoree, two-time Drag Queen of the Year, and entrepreneur. Nico is the an- ti-socialite party girl that brings shots and chaotic energy to the room, straight from the runway to the punk show. She’s rough around the edges with a face that’s always blended for the HD. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 84 SCOTTSPRAGUE(INNERCITY)