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MATT NATHANSON
Massachusetts native Matt Nathanson released
his rst album,
Please
, at age on Acrobat Re-
cords, continuing with the independent label
through
Ernst
(
),
Not Colored Too Perfect
(
),
Still Waiting for Spring
(
, featur-
ing instrumental contributions by members
of Counting Crows), and the EP
When Every-
thing Meant Everything
(
). His major-label
debut came in
with
Beneath
ese Fire-
works
, which included vocal contributions by
Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket, though
it was his return to independence in
with
Some Mad Hope
that ushered in his mainstream
success. e album’s platinum single “Come On
Get Higher” became a number-three hit in the
adult contemporary format and earned Nathan-
son a spot on VH ’s
You Oughta Know
, helping
to propel
Some Mad Hope
to the number-three
position on
Billboard
’s Indie chart. “Car Crash”
and “Falling Apart” from the same album joined
“Come On Get Higher” in Top
popularity.
Nathanson soon began making appearances on
such national television shows as
Ellen
,
Dancing
with the Stars
, and
Rachael Ray
, as well as late-
night shows hosted by David Letterman, Conan
O’Brien, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, and Craig
Ferguson. Additionally, his songs began to be
featured in a growing number of lms and tele-
vision shows, including
NCIS
,
Private Practice
,
Vampire Diaries
,
, and the
American Pie
series. He followed up with
Modern Love
, which
made number on the
Billboard
and fea-
tured his next Top
hit, “Faster.”
e album
also saw Nathanson collaborate with country
duo Sugarland on “Run,” which became his
highest charting single to date on the
Billboard
Hot
. His
album,
Last of the Great Pre-
tenders
, became a number-two hit on
Billboard
’s
Rock chart and made number overall with the
singles “Mission Bells” and “Kinks Shirt,” and
’s
Show Me Your Fangs
featured the singles
“Headphones” and “Gold in the Summertime.”
Earlier this summer, Nathanson released an EP
of Def Leppard covers entitled
Pyromattia
and
teased two singles from his new disc,
Sings His
Sad Heart
, which is due out in October. Matt
Nathanson rst played Ravinia in
and to-
night makes his third festival appearance.
THE NEW RESPECTS
A rock/soul/pop quartet with an acoustic, indie
folk background,
e New Respects comprises
twins Zandy and Lexi Fitzgerald on guitar and
bass with their brother Darius on drums and
cousin Jasmine Mullen providing the vocals.
e Nashville natives are a true family band,
keeping close to their roots through in uenc-
es like Aretha Franklin,
e Beatles, and Led
Zeppelin while still buzzing with the legacy and
current creative soul of Music City. e quartet
signed with Capitol Records in
and by early
the following year released two singles—getting
placements for “Trouble” on ESPN, Fox Sports,
and TNT—and won a feature among
Rolling
Stone
’s “ new artists you need to know.”
e
New Respects debuted their rst EP,
Here Comes
Trouble
, around the same time, announcing the
collection on NPR Music’s
World Café
. A third
single, “Money,” had its video premiered by
Interview
Magazine, and the quartet recently
toured alongside Needtobreathe and O.A.R. e
New Respects are making their Ravinia debut.
O.A.R.
Formed in Rockville, MD, in
, O.A.R. (short
for Of a Revolution) initially comprised high-
school friends Marc Roberge (guitar/ vocals),
Richard On (guitar), Benj Gershman (bass), and
Chris Culos (drums), expanding to a quintet
with the addition of saxophonist Jerry DePizzo
while the group attended Ohio State University.
e original quartet recorded and independent-
ly released its debut album,
e Wanderer
, in
, quickly attracting a fan base among col-
lege students with the songs “ at Was a Crazy
Game of Poker” and “Black Rock.” With De-
Pizzo in the mix, O.A.R. soon returned to the
studio to record
Souls A ame
(
), which
broadened the group’s popularity enough for it
to hire producer John Alagia (a veteran of al-
bums by Dave Matthews, Ben Folds, John May-
er, and many others) to oversee the recording of
Risen
(
). Even without major-label backing,
the album debuted at number on
Billboard
’s
Internet sales chart, also reaching number
on the Top Independent Albums chart. O.A.R.
signed with Lava Records shortly therea er and
immediately began work on
In Between Now
and en
, which debuted at number on the
Billboard
upon its release in
. e band
continued to ascend the charts with
’s
Sto-
ries of a Stranger
(as well as a pair of live albums,
’s
th & th
and
’s
Live from Madison
Square Garden
) and the Top and alternative
rock hit “Love and Memories,” setting the group
up for its top- breakthrough with
’s
All
Sides
.
e album also became a top- ve rock
chart hit on the strength of its platinum-sell-
ing single “Shattered (Turn the Car Around).”
O.A.R.’s
follow-up
King
achieved similar
success with the single “Heaven,” as did the
band’s
album,
e Rockville LP
, with lead
single “Peace.”
e group released
XX
in cele-
bration of its th birthday, pairing live and stu-
dio favorites with two new singles, the writing
of which were documented on the Qello series
Evolution of a Song
. A new O.A.R. album, tenta-
tively titled
e Mighty
, is in the works. O.A.R.
rst appeared at Ravinia in
and are making
their second return to the festival.
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 27 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2018
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