Ravinia Festival has just unveiled its 2025 summer lineup, which consists of over 100 concerts and 40 artist premieres. Featured artists include Cynthia Erivo, Lenny Kravitz, Janelle Monáe, Maren Morris, Lang Lang, Beck and Earth, Wind & Fire, along with the 89th Chicago Symphony Orchestra residency.
Heart, John Legend, James Taylor, The Black Crowes, Al Green, The Roots and Diana Krall return to the stage this year, joined by newcomers like Kygo, Juanes, Nas, Sutton Foster, Ray LaMontagne, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and The Mohan Sisters.
“Ravinia has something for everyone—classical music, rock, pop, R&B, soul, Latin, jazz, country, hip-hop, DJs, movies, musical theater, and more!” says Ravinia president and CEO Jeffrey P. Haydon. “We are grateful to continue opening our beautiful park for communities throughout Chicagoland to enjoy an evening under the stars with their family and friends, listening to music from their favorite artists and discovering new ones.”
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The 2025 festival showcases an unprecedented number of orchestral productions, including a six-week residency from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) from July 11 through Aug. 17, performing alongside Ravinia chief conductor Marin Alsop, soloists Garrick Ohlsson, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Himari and Tony Award winners Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara.
In addition to performing renditions of Rite of Spring, Mahler’s Second Symphony and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, the CSO presents thoughtfully orchestrated performances in partnership with Beck, Cynthia Erivo and legendary actor, film producer and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman. Artists including King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Marvel’s Infinity Saga, Lindsey Stirling and Nas are accompanied by the Chicago Philharmonic.
This season’s programming includes the Breaking Barriers Festival—founded in 2022 to showcase female classical music artists—which is centered around women leaders in food and music this season. Food Network’s Girl Meets Farm star and Juilliard-trained percussionist Molly Yeh has partnered with chief conductor Alsop to co-curate orchestral and chamber concerts that pair music with culinary creations from celebrity guest chefs Maneet Chauhan, Jacqueline Eng, Sarah Grueneberg and Mika Leon.
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Another stand-out initiative, One Score, One Chicago, brings over 2,000 Chicago Public School students to the festival. There, they watch the CSO perform Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, which they have studied through Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play programs.
Tickets to this season’s festival go on sale to the public on Thursday, April 24. For more information and to view the full lineup schedule, visit ravinia.org.
See also: The Ultimate Guide To Highland Park
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