Ravinia 2026 Issue 5

HUNTERPAVILION 6:30 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 , 2026 KOOL & THE GANG † with special guest MORRIS DAYAND THE TIME † and CONFUNKSHUN † ConFunkShun – – Morris Day and e Time – – Kool & the Gang † Ravinia debut CONFUNKSHUN R&B funk icons ConFunkShun formed in Vallejo, CA, more than years ago as Proj- ect Soul, nding their footing in Memphis in the early ’ s as the backing band for the Stax Records powerhouse Soul Children, also ap- pearing in the Golden Globe-nominated docu- mentary and concert lm Wattstax as the band behind Rufus omas. Working toward their own recording contract, the group took inspira- tion for their permanent moniker—ConFunk- Shun—from a song by e Nite-Liters (who themselves had reorganized as New Birth). e newly renamed group caught the ear of Mercury Records, and their self-titled debut album immediately put them on the map with the single “Sho’ Feels Good to Me.” ConFunkShun began a run of four Gold albums with ’s Secrets , which gave the band bigger exposure with the num- ber-one R&B single “Ffun.” e other three albums in the set— ’s Loveshine , ’s Candy , and ’s Spirit of Love —each contributed another top- R&B hit to their catalog, respectively “Shake and Dance with Me,” “Chase Me,” and “Got to Be Enough.” Touch ( ) and Seven ( ) kept the standards high with the hit “Too Tight” and live favorite “Straight from the Heart,” but perhaps their best-known track emerged from ’s To the Max without even being released as a single: “Love’s Train.” In addition to being another live-show staple, years later, the superduo Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) covered it to number one on the R&B Airplay chart for weeks and won an NAACP Image Award for their recording. ConFunkShun kept creating top- s into the mid ’ s with “Baby I’m Hooked” on ’s Fever and the title tracks of ’s Electric Lady and ’s Burnin’ Lov e. During the group’s hiatus until the mid ’ s, co-lead vocalists Michael Cooper and Felton Pilate remained vital in R&B as a solo artist and multi-Platinum producer, respectively. ConFunkShun’s latest full-length album is ’s More an Love , and the singles “Text Me Tomorrow” and “Smooth” were released in from their forthcoming Smooth Jukebox . is is ConFunkShun’s Ravinia debut. KOOL &THEGANG From Nairobi to Newark, Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history. eir undeniable funk and jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled R&B band of all time. In , Robert “Kool” Bell joined his brother and Jersey City neighborhood friends in creating a unique musical blend that cycled through various names— e Jazziacs, e New Dimensions, e Soul Town Band, Kool & the Flames—be- fore settling on their famous moniker. eir self-titled debut album introduced their signature instrumental sound and erce horn arrangements, which quickly landed them their Billboard R&B charting singles—“Kool & the Gang,” “ e Gang’s Back Again,” and “Let the Music Take Your Mind.” Before the band returned to the studio for ’s Music Is the Message and Good Times , they banked on their concert energy with Live at the Sex Machine (rec. ) and Live at PJ’s (rec. ). Kool & the Gang’s reputation leaped to a new level with ’s Wild & Peaceful , spurred by the immor- tal party anthems “Funky Stu ,” “Hollywood Swinging,” and the Platinum, Billboard top- ve smash “Jungle Boogie.” More hits quick- ly followed: ’s “Higher Plane” and “Sum- mer Madness,” and the LPs Spirit of the Boogie ( ), Love & Understanding ( ), and Open Sesame ( ), with the latter’s title track fea- turing in Saturday Night Fever and earning the band a Grammy from the soundtrack album. In , Kool & the Gang unveiled a smooth new sound with Ladies Night —their rst Platinum and R&B number-one album, with the title track topping the singles chart as well, closely followed by “Too Hot.” e band struck multi-Platinum in the ’ s with the in- ternational mega-hit “Celebration,” then kept the iron hot with ’s “Get Down On It” and “Take My Heart,” ’s “Let’s Go Dancing,” ’s “Joanna” and “Tonight,” and ’s “Mis- led, “Cherish,” and “Fresh” from the multi-Plat- inum Emergency . In , Kool & the Gang were honored with a BET Soul Train Legend Award; they’ve since seen “Celebration” enter the Grammy Hall of Fame ( ) and National Recording Registry ( ), and they joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in . Kool & the Gang are making their Ravinia debut. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 24 – SEPTEMBER 6 , 2026 70 NANCY DEGATA (KOOL)