Music Top 5: August 2018

1
JAY-Z AND BEYONCÉ
(Soldier Field)
This qualifies more as a royal progression than a musical event, but there’s no discounting the ample gifts of each, however much their personal lives tend to distract.
August 10 and 11

2
CHICK COREA TRIO
(City Winery)
One of the most towering figures in jazz, the brilliant, restless composer-pianist-bandleader is still evolving, and at a pace artists half his age can’t begin to match.
August 23

3
DAWN UPSHAW
(Ravinia Park)
The cut-crystal-voiced soprano sings “Narrow Sea,” a new work by Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw, plus George Crumb’s “Winds of Destiny”—both under a summer sky.
August 27

4
JACKIE VENSON
(Schubas)
Austin-based singer-songwriter and blues guitarist Venson has one of the most arresting voices on the current scene… and she shreds her chords like she’s riding a cyclone.
August 29

5
ANGELIQUE KIDJO
(Ravinia Park)
Africa’s reigning diva, Kidjo blends genres, styles and influences like a boss. She’s touring her latest album, an ecstatic cut-by-cut reimagining of Talking Heads’ iconic “Remain In Light.”
August 6

Robert Rodi

Robert Rodi is an author, spoken-word performer and musician who has served as Newcity’s Music Editor since 2014. He’s written more than a dozen books, including the travel memoir “Seven Seasons In Siena,” and his literary and music criticism has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Salon, The Huffington Post and many other national and regional publications.
Contact: robert@newcity.com