Kurt Elling and Wynton Marsalis Headline Ravinia's Summer

The Ravinia Festival, under the direction of its new President and CEO Jeffrey P. Haydon, announced its summer schedule today, which includes 64 performances between July 1 and September 26, and marks the 85th concert season in the history of the oldest outdoor music festival in the country.

Jazz and blues highlights include Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter (July 13) and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (July 25), plus Shemekia Copeland (July 3), Madeleine Peyroux (Aug 10), and more.

Ravinia’s three-month summer schedule represents the range of musical genres for which the festival has earned renown, while maintaining its commitment to classical music of all kinds, including the annual six-week residency by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Marin Alsop celebrating her inaugural year as the festival’s Chief Conductor and Curator. New this summer are Carousel Concerts, a series of casual evening performances of jazz, folk, and bluegrass music at the carousel-styled rotunda on the North Lawn with general admission Lawn seating only. 

New this season, in partnership with Metra, all trains on the Union Pacific North line will honor Ravinia tickets as train fares; patrons can show their concert e-ticket for a free train ride to and from the park on concert days.

Tickets for 2021 performances will go on sale in two phases, in order to provide flexibility for updating seating protocols and programming in the second half of the season. Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Ravinia’s website, ravinia.org, on June 16 for concerts between July 1 and August 15, and on July 21 for concerts after August 15. 

Ravinia's complete Summer schedule is available on the Ravinia website.