Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Landing somewhere between the explosion of grunge and alternative rock, Collective Soul practically defined both lanes while always barreling forward with melodic aggression and memorable songwriting.

In fact, the multi-platinum players dropped their 10th long player, “Blood,” in 2019 to mark 25 years together, and like pretty much everyone, have been itching to get back in front of the masses throughout the entire pandemic.

That opportunity finally arrived when the fellas revisited Ravinia for “The Return” Tour and cranked out the current “Right As Rain,” though they primarily stuck to the already established.

Thankfully, front man Ed Roland’s throaty howls were just as durable as the band’s delivery, especially on surprisingly early inclusions of “Precious Declaration,” “December” and an extra extended “Shine.”

Perhaps the truest testament to the group’s endurance was the ethereal “The World I Know,” which despite the changes that have happened in the decades since it ruled the radio, resonates even more at this very moment.

Marquee mates Better Than Ezra, currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of “Friction, Baby,” also made the most of an hour, refreshing its rootsy spin on post-grunge with a stomping backbone, alongside cover mash-ups and some comedy.

Following the ginormous opener “Good,” BTE blended “Extra Ordinary” with The Weeknd’s “I Can’t Feel My Face” and Sublime’s “What I Got,” interjected a hysterical Dave Matthews imitation into the otherwise pleading “Desperately Wanting” and sprinkled a series of retro rap hooks and The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” within “Juicy.”

Openers Tonic were worth turning up punctually thanks to acoustically-framed alt-rockers such as “Open Up Your Eyes,” “You Wanted More” and “If You Could Only See,” the latter of which just turned 25 as well, but kept in line with everyone else on this Ravinia triple header’s ability to transcend time.

For additional information on Collective Soul, Better Than Ezra and Tonic, visit CollectiveSoul.com, BetterThanEzra.com and TonicOnline.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at Ravinia include Lady A (Sept. 3); The Roots (Sept. 4); John Legend (Sept. 5-6); Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco (Sept. 10); Black Violin and Blind Boys Of Alabama (Sept. 11); Ben Folds (Sept. 18); Max Weinberg’s Jukebox (Sept. 19); Andrew Bird (Sept. 24) and Ms. Lauryn Hill (Sept. 25). For additional details, visit Ravinia.org.

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