Bryan Ferry at Ravinia

Saturday night was a special night. With a nice warm breeze and a star scattered sky, the king of suave,  legendary British singer Bryan Ferry made his first appearance at Ravinia. With a career spanning 40 plus years, Bryan delighted us with his deliverance of songs. His style, grace and coolness are what seems to be absent in the younger generation of performers.

Ferry’s set was made up of mostly his heavily influential band Roxy Music with a few tunes from his impressive solocareer. Songs like “Oh Yeah,” “Take a Chance with Me,”  the brilliant Dylan cover “Don’t Think Twice its Alright,” “Driving Me Wild”  and “Beauty Queen” kept the crowd happy.

 Ferry and his 10 piece band danced and engaged the audience with their infectious poses and smiles. Either standing or occasionally seated behind his keyboard the 70 year old Ferry had an elegant and sophisticated stage presence reminiscent of his days with Roxy Music.   He hit full stride and drove the crowd to its feet on his performance of “More Than This,” and never let up the full attack of hits including “Avalon,” “Love is the Drug,” “Virginia Plain,”  and “Let’s Stick Together’ until he left the stage. The crowd was in a cheering frenzy that would not stop until Bryan came back on stage for his encores.

His first choice was John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” John would have been proud of the way Bryan delicately and emotionally delivered it as if it were his own composition. The show came to an end after the rocking songs “Do the Strand”  and “Both Ends Burning.”  The whole place was on its feet dancing and clearly having a great time as Bryan waved goodbye and walked off the stage. What an experience of sound and a stellar light show by this  Legend of Music : A class act and an unforgettable evening at one of the greatest outdoor music venues. Thank you Bryan and Ravinia.

Reviewed by Terry Giardina

For more information go to www.ravinia.org