The recent events regarding the legality (or not) of same-sex marriage has clearly inspired some of the music on “Poseidon and The Bitter Bug,” the Indigo Girls’ first independent offering in two decades—a move that came after they left Hollywood Records (and the major-label game altogether) last year. “Fighting For The Love Of My Life” points an accusatory finger at the results of the passing of Proposition 8 in California while also celebrating the new revolution that has brought so much change for gay men and women around the country. Also, the R&B-esque “Digging For Your Dream” encourages listeners to incessantly fight for what they believe in. For their upcoming stop in Chicago, expect the set list to heavily showcase tunes from the new disc alongside favorites like “The Power of Two” (featured on the soundtrack of “Boys on The Side”), “Galileo” and “Closer To Fine,” which should be enough to keep oldies fans away from the concession stand. (Ernest Barteldes)
June 26, Ravinia Festival, 418 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, (847)433-7983, $45.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
For “Want” of a Change: A Preview of Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia Park Rufus Wainwright isn’t the first singer-songwriter to reinterpret earlier work through an orchestral lens. And much of Wainwright’s third and fourth albums, “Want One” and “Want Two”—whose twentieth anniversaries are the prompt for this new tour—is fully scored. But when Wainwright hits the Pavilion stage at Ravinia tonight, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be behind him.
Ms. Maestro: Is Ravinia’s Marin Alsop in Line to Succeed Muti at the CSO? After thirteen seasons, Riccardo Muti took his last bow as music director in late June. July sees the CSO return to its summer home of the Ravinia Festival where Marin Alsop begins her third year as chief conductor…. It could be argued that the CSO would miss an extraordinary opportunity if they didn’t—or already haven’t—asked Alsop to be their next…
