(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ravinia Festival is kicking off its summer concert season on Friday, and performers at the north suburban outdoor venue may have competition — in the form of noisy cicadas.
The lawn of Ravinia is nestled among oaks, maples and other trees that provide an ideal spot for picnics but have also played host to periodical cicadas.
“We hear them every day and mostly during the daytime hours,” said Erik Soderstrom, Ravinia’s senior artistic producer. “As the night settles in, they seem to quiet down.”
Soderstrom said they don’t have plans to change anything at this point, but the festival’s opening weekend will provide an opportunity to see if it’s needed.
Ravinia’s updated sound system should help carry the sounds of the progressive rock band the Flock on Friday night and singer songwriter James Taylor on Saturday and Sunday.
Soderstrom said the lawn speakers were replaced two years ago, and the pavilion speakers are new.
Past performers, he said, have had to compete with the noise of the annual cicadas and some have fun with it by trying to match the insects’ pitch.
Soderstrom was working at the Highland Park festival during the last mass emergence 17 years ago and told WBBM this seems to be on par.
Various projects at the 36-acre park have meant that there are not as many cicadas as other areas of Highland Park with mature trees, he said.
Find more information about the Ravinia Festival right here.
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