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Ravinia Announces 2014 Season

By Lisa White in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 27, 2014 3:45PM

Ravinia released their full 2014 season, reminding us that despite the cold, summer is only a few months away. Things kick off on the main stage June 16 with a solo piano show from John Legend. The calendar is the usual mix of classical, country, adult contemporary and big name classic rock. Tickets for the season will go on sale Thursday, April 24 at Ravinia’s website.

You can check out the full schedule here but some of the highlights that piqued our interest include a night with Hall & Oates June 22, a co-headliner slot with Cat Power and Rufus Wainwright June 25, two nights with James Taylor June 26 and 27, a likely patriotic performance from Earth Wind & Fire July 3, Willie Nelson and Family with Alison Krauss and Union Station and Jason Isbell July 12, an evening with Joshua Bell July 26, Heart on Aug. 8, more classical from Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma on Aug. 18 and 21, Jeff Beck and ZZ Top on Aug. 28, Toto and Michael McDonald on Aug. 29, two nights with The Moody Blues on Sept. 4 and 5 and two nights with Carrie Underwood and an orchestra Sept. 6 and 7. Phew. And that is just a small slice of the full schedule.

The season finishes up Sept. 20 with the Food Network In Concert Festival. Phil Vettel wrote up some more information about this new event which features multiple music stages, wine and food tasting, cooking demonstrations and more. According to Vettel, the event with feature 50 chefs and although names haven’t been announced, producers are hoping for a strong Chicago presence. Food Network personalities Anne Burrell, Alex Guarnaschelli, Jeff Mauro, March Murphy and Geoffrey Zakarian will participate. John Mayer will headline the music portion and more acts will be announced soon. A portion of the the proceeds from the festival will go to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.

Get your wine and cheese baskets ready and get ready to hit refresh to snag those tickets April 24. To check out the full schedule, head over to Ravinia’s website.