Ravinia 2025 Issue 1

Michael Serafini has spun sets at each Queen! event at Ravinia since 2022, always watched over by resident Queen! host Lucy Stoole. Variously, DJs Derrick Carter and Garrett David have joined Serafini at Ravinia (Carter returns June 7), and drag performer Nico has also hosted each year. “The Queen! events at Ravinia are awesome,” says Michael Serafini, longtime DJ and owner of Gramaphone Records, an all-vinyl record shop in Lakeview, who also founded the pan- sexual dance event. “They’re everything we’re about, but they reach beyond the nightclub,” where of course the fun is restricted to ages 21 and up. But at Ravinia, Serafini says, “We see a mix of all races and generations, ev- eryone from parents with kids to seniors dancing. We get club-goers as well as those who are older and don’t club any- more—just a great group of people out enjoying a beautiful day, you know. As the sun goes down and the kids are on their way home, a few glowsticks come out, a few shirts come off. But it’s noth- ing beyond PG-13. It’s people dancing and showing their love of house music.” It’s more than a party, too, he points out. The Sunday-night happening began 13 years ago as a way to celebrate those who feel outside of the mainstream— pretty much anyone covered by the umbrella term “queer.” “Queer encompasses more than just gay, lesbian, or bisexual,” Serafini notes. “For example, it also represents people who identify as non-binary. You can be straight and queer. Queer encompasses it all. “And that’s what Queen! is too. Its roots are in gay underground house parties,” he continues. “Those parties might’ve started out exclusive, but they became very welcoming—a place to escape whatever pressures or oppression people felt from society. You didn’t have to be Black, you didn’t have to be gay. The roots are in a particular place, but the tree spreads out and covers so much more. “We focus on music and how it pro- vides some sort of escape from the prob- lems of the world, to feel camaraderie and connection, yet it’s also subtly about more than just the music.” That’s the through line between the dance party that kicks off the event in the early evening at Ravinia’s Carousel and the renowned artists who’ll head- line the Pavilion later that night. “Both Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe are iconic artists to us at Queen!, not just for their music—which is obviously a main part of their appeal—but also their inclusive points-of-view,” Serafini ob- serves. “We celebrate the different, not the mainstream or typical, so there’s a common ground between them and us. “Janelle Monáe is an icon. She has embraced the queer community, and both her style and her social attitudes resonate with us. Grace Jones is, of course, legendary. We play her music regularly. Her music, her fashion, her androgyny—they all reflect Queen!’s attitude.” RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JUNE 6 – JUNE 15, 2025 8 THISPAGEANDPREVIOUSSPREAD:KYLEDUNLEAVY/RAVINIA