An Evening With Sarah McLachlan at Ravinia reviewed by Julie Shaw

[rating=5]The Sarah McLachlan concert at Ravinia Festival on Monday night, August 12, was fabulous!  Her voice was just as beautiful as it was when I saw her perform 20 years ago.

She sang a combination of popular classics and new songs.

Known for her emotional ballads, she told a story before each song explaining what event in her life inspired the lyrics.  This really allowed the audience to feel a connection, as was proven by the number of tears around me.

McLachlan appeals to every age and gender and I loved seeing kids, men and women (young and old) enjoying the concert.  This was my first time sitting in the pavilion and thankfully we did because there was a fairly steady stream of rain all night. That is the only problem that Ravinia can not control, weather. Those of us seated inside, caught up in the beauty of Mclachlan’s talent knew nothing of what those on the lawn were experiencing. Our experience was terrific.

I could have listened to Sarah McLachlan all night!

Now that they have the lawn screen, t is being used wisely so that those on the lawn can see the performance in addition to hearing it. Ravinia has always been known for its ability to bring sound from inside the Pavilion to those in the “cheap seats”, and with the addition of the screen, those on the lawn get to watch and see what we saw inside. This was designed for “movie night”, but works well with many of the scheduled ‘on stage” acts. Bravo to Ravinia for adding this marvelous extra.

To see what is coming, visit http://www.ravinia.org

photos by Ravinia Festival/Patrick Gipson