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Legendary rock band Chicago is set for a performance at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on April 18, 2020.
UAB’s Visual and Performing Arts will present the band for its annual gala at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. The Viva Health Gala is UAB Visual and Performing Arts’ biggest fundraiser of the year, and proceeds from this elegant evening benefit its programs.
Tickets are $175. Tickets for current UAB Visual and Performing Arts members are $150. For tickets, call the ASC Box Office at 205-975-2787 or visit AlysStephens.org. VIP dinner packages are available and include premium seating at the performance and an elegant seated dinner. To purchase dinner tickets or for more information, contact Savannah DeRieux, senior development director, at sderieux@uab.edu.
Chicago was one of the first shows presented by UAB in April 1970, so performing in 2020, on the heels of the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations, makes this concert even more special, says Lili Anderson, executive director of UAB Visual and Performing Arts.
From the signature sound of the band’s horns to their iconic vocalists and a few dozen ever-classic songs, Chicago’s concerts are celebrations. This year marks the band’s 52nd consecutive year of touring, without missing a single concert date. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Chicago ranks No. 4 in Billboard Magazine’s recent Top Bands And Duos, the highest-charting American band in the chart’s history. Chicago is the first American rock band to chart Top 40 albums in six consecutive decades. The band’s first album, “Chicago Transit Authority,” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014, and the band performed on the Grammy stage for the first time that year.
The original band members are Robert Lamm on keyboards and vocals, Lee Loughnane on trumpet and vocals, and James Pankow on trombone. The band lineup also includes Ray Herrmann on woodwinds, Wally Reyes Jr. on drums, Keith Howland on guitar and vocals, Lou Pardini on keyboards and vocals, Neil Donell on vocals, Brett Simons on bass, and Ramon “Ray” Yslas on percussion.
Lamm and Pankow were inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. These legendary songwriters wrote mega-hits “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday In The Park,” “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,” “Make Me Smile” and many others. The band’s timeless hits also include “Colour My World,” “I’m a Man” and “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” among others.
Chicago’s lifetime achievements include two Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, Founding Artists of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a Chicago street dedicated in their honor, and keys to and proclamations from an impressive list of United States cities. Record sales top the 1 million mark, and include 21 Top 10 singles, five consecutive No. 1 albums, 11 No. 1 singles and five Gold singles. An incredible 25 of their 36 albums have been certified platinum, and the band has a total of 47 gold and platinum awards.
For five years, Chicago raised over a quarter of a million dollars to fight breast cancer for the American Cancer Society by having a winning bidder come on stage and sing “If You Leave Me Now” in concert. Chicago also generously supports other charitable causes.
Chicago’s newest record of new studio tracks was released on Frontiers Records. It includes 11 brand-new songs, recorded on the road, as Chicago has built a new recording system that travels with the band.