Photo provided by Ravinia Festival

At first glance, the differences between the Ravinia of yesteryear and the brand new Hunter Pavilion were subtle, yet to the tens of thousands who caught a show during the opening stretch of the 2026 season, the improvements likely turned out to be quite substantial.

In addition to the aisles being wider, the seats getting softer and the smallest of details earning a thorough facelift, every aspect of the staging and sound system of America’s longest-running seasonal music series was completely updated to meet the state-of-the-art standards of today.

Hosting Harry Connick Jr. was a natural fit to put it all to the test, not only because he’s a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning star capable of commanding any stage of this caliber, but because his bustling big-band was filled with some of the finest jazz musicians around and they always came across crystal clear.

Throughout a 100 minutes or so, the sole headliner gave a sampling of more than 30 million albums sold, dating back to the late 1980s through his latest recording, “Alone With My Faith.”

He also spoke of an upcoming book and audio companion “Babe: Elaboratio,” (out September 29), written in honor of late mother Anita-Francis Livingston Connick, who passed away when he was merely 13 after living an extraordinary life of a storied childhood in New York, unexpectedly meeting her husband in Morocco, going on to run a record store and eventually becoming one of the very first female judges in New Orleans.

In the meantime, Connick Jr. would’ve surely made her proud by flawlessly crooning standards such as “That Old Black Magic,” “It Had To Be You” and “The Way You Look Tonight.”

From there, the net was cast even wider, diving into a Crescent City-inspired piano solo, the patriotic “My Country, ‘Tis Of Thee” and Nina Simone’s “Chain Gang (The Work Song),” which individually showcased the multitude of musicians.

The gospel of “How Great Thou Art” shined brightly, “City Beneath The Sea” seemed to be a Billy Joel-inspired take on his hometown, while the band really got swinging by “Mardi Gras In New Orleans.”

During Paul Barbarin’s “Bourbon Street Parade,” Connick Jr. let loose vocally and was grooving completely carefree to the beat as everyone rose out of respect for the prolific performer and savored a completely revamped Ravinia that never looked, felt or sounded better.

For additional information on Harry Connick Jr., visit HarryConnickJr.com.

Upcoming shows at Ravinia’s Hunter Pavilion include Paul Simon (Jul. 17-18); St. Vincent & Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Jul. 25); Emmylou Harris and Graham Nash (Jul. 26); Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band (Jul. 28); Laurie Berkner (Aug. 1); Chance The Rapper (Aug. 8); Hugh Jackman & Chicago Philharmonic (Aug. 9); Brian McKnight and Gladys Knight (Aug. 11); Joe Bonamassa (Aug. 12); The Music Of Quincy Jones (Aug. 13). Brahms X Radiohead (Aug. 14); Moe. and Umphrey’s McGee (Aug. 15); Gregory Alan Isakov & Chicago Philharmonic (Aug. 19); Ricky Martin (Aug. 20); Alabama Shakes (Aug. 21); Bonnie Raitt (Aug. 22); “Grease” Sing-Along (Aug. 23); Deep Purple (Aug. 25); Brandi Carlile (Aug. 26); Kool & The Gang (Aug. 27); Alabama (Aug. 28); Ray LaMontagne (Aug. 29); Miranda Lambert (Aug. 30); Snoop Dogg (Sept. 4); Rod Stewart (Sept. 5); Squeeze (Sept. 6); Erykah Badu (Sept. 10); Alison Krauss & Union Station (Sept. 12); Los Tigres del Norte (Sept. 13); Ziggy Marley and Thievery Corporation (Sept. 17); Tom Jones (Sept. 18) and Martina McBride (Sept. 19). For additional details, visit Ravinia.org.

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