Ravinia 2026 Issue 2

ST. VINCENT Annie Clark made her recorded debut as St. Vincent in with Marry Me , quickly be- coming regarded as one of the most innovative and fascinating presences in modern music. Her subsequent albums would include Actor ( ), Strange Mercy ( ), and her self-ti- tled fourth album, winner of the Grammy for Best Alternative Album. In , Masseduc- tion , St. Vincent h album, would break her into the US and UK top s and win two more Grammys—Best Rock Song for its title track and Best Recording Package. Daddy’s Home ( ) found St. Vincent channeling the hun- gover glamor and gritty sepia-toned soundtrack of s downtown New York City to an ecstatic reception, ultimately winning her a second Best Alternative Album Grammy Award. Following a – global tour that rea rmed St. Vin- cent’s status as one of live music’s preeminent forces with headline appearances at the likes of the Hollywood Bowl and Radio City Music Hall, Clark would begin work on album num- ber seven: Her rst fully self-produced album— having co-produced every one of her previous e orts—and third Best Alternative Album Grammy winner, All Born Screaming showed St. Vincent at her most primal. Featuring Clark leading “a curated group of rippers” through the brawny “Broken Man” (her second Best Rock Song Greammy winner), infectious Best Alternative Performance Grammy-winning “Flea,” and mordant catwalk sashay through deafening assault of self-loathing that is “Big Time Nothing,” All Born Screaming was written to be equal parts spiritual desolation and rap- turous acceptance. “If you’re born screaming, that’s a great sign,” says Clark, “because it means you’re breathing. You’re alive. It’s joyous. And then it’s also a protest. We’re all born in protest in a certain way. It’s terrifying to be alive, it’s ecstatic to be alive. It’s everything.” St. Vincent previously appeared at Ravinia in in her duo with David Byrne, and tonight she makes her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut. JULES BUCKLEY Composer, arranger, curator, and conductor Jules Buckley has collaborated with some of the most in uential names in music, trailblazing his way through a staggering discography of over albums. He is a Grammy winner with two num- ber-one albums, as well as the go-to orchestrator for iconic names in music. rough his expertise in non-classical orchestral music, he has earned a reputation as a pioneering genre alchemist. Across his career, Buckley has collaborated on recordings and live projects with such artists as Arctic Monkeys, Stormzy, Basement Jaxx, Mas- sive Attack, Tori Amos, Joshua Redman, Kurt Elling, Chaka Khan, Mark Ronson, and Dee Dee Bridgewater, among many others. Buckley is the co-founder and conductor of the Heritage Or- chestra with Chris Wheeler, a genre-smashing ensemble dedicated to performing new music from stadium tours to chart-topping albums. eir collaboration e Breaks was released in on Decca Records, taking the sonic blue- print that cemented breaking as a pillar of hip- hop and reimagining it with orchestra—an evo- lution of their BBC Prom program with the breaking crew Soul Mavericks at Royal Albert Hall. In , Buckley led the Metropole Orkest in a tribute to his idol, Quincy Jones, at the BBC Proms, a collaboration that continued through performances from Paris to the US, including Jones’s th birthday at the O in , which saw Jones perform his hits in Buckley’s brand- new arrangements. Now Honorary Conductor of the Metropole Orkest, following his tenure as chief conductor – , Buckley has led the orchestra across concerts and recordings, in- cluding Grammy-winning collaborations with Snarky Puppy ( Sylva ) and Jacob Collier ( Djesse, Vol. ), as well as Ledisi’s Grammy-nominated Nina Simone tribute album. Buckley became Creative Artist in Association with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in , and his inter- national projects and collaborations have also included the Helsinki and Rotterdam Philhar- monics, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Zu- rich and Umeå Chamber Orchestras, Seattle Symphony, and (US) National Symphony Or- chestra. Jules Buckley is making his Ravinia and Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuts. RAVINIA’S WINTRUST CHAIR&TABLE RENTAL PICK UP AT THE GREEN TENT NORTH OF THE MARTIN THEATRE $15 PER CHAIR OR TABLE Rent a table and chairs & help support our Reach Teach Play education programs. Reserve in advance for a discount and guaranteed availability! Order as Add-On Items with your tickets or separately. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 81