Spotlight

Steve Augeri’s eight years at the helm of one of rock’s most successful groups was but a single stop in an ongoing musical sojourn that has spanned more than three decades. From 1977-1987, the rock band Journey emerged as one of the most popular and commercially successful musical acts in history. “Don’t Stop Believin,’” “Open Arms,” “Faithfully” and several other of the band’s megahits have become anthems in the live music world, cherished by the young and young-at-heart alike. But when Journey’s popular lead singer, Steve Perry, left the band in response to health challenges and internal conflicts, the group …

One of the architects of the iconic rock group Chicago, Danny Seraphine has never lost touch with his roots on Chicago’s Far Northwest Side. Danny Seraphine first picked up a set of drumsticks at 9 years of age, beginning a musical roller-coaster ride that gave the world some of the best-loved pop hits of our lifetime. Sixty years ago, the 17-year-old from the Far Northwest Side of Chicago was asked to be a drummer in Dick Clark’s road band, Jimmy Ford and the Executives. While in that band he met bassist extraordinaire Terry Kath and saxophonist Walt Parazaider. That chance …

Founding members of the standout ’60s pop band The Buckinghams, Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna were instrumental in the band’s resurrection in 1980 after a decade-long hiatus. 1967 was quite the year in pop music history. Elvis and Priscilla got married. Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and The Doors all released their debut albums. The Aretha Franklin anthem “Respect” hit the airwaves. And The Buckinghams charted five Top 40 hits that to this day remain fan favorites. Undone by the British Invasion, the band broke up in 1970. But they re-formed in the early ’80s, thanks to two original members — …

Il Volo will be performing at the Chicago Theatre on March 14, having first appeared there more than a decade earlier in the course of their first international tour. In 2009, the career paths of three young singers — one from Abruzzo, one from Sicily and one from Bologna — converged at a musical competition on Italian TV. One of them won the contest, but they all emerged victorious. The show’s director, Roberto Cenci, saw something in the teens that led to a remarkable musical journey. He thought of bringing them together in the spirit of the original Three Tenors: …

A generation removed from far northeastern Italy, Micky Dolenz skyrocketed to fame as a driving force behind one of America’s most beloved ’60s pop groups and he’s still performing today. “Hey! Hey! We’re the Monkees!” was a familiar ditty that drew so many of us to our black-and-white television sets with the “bunny-ear” antennas on Monday evenings in the mid-’60s. For me, it was the Saturday morning reruns of the ’70s that bound me to America’s Marx Brothers-esque answer to the Mop-Top British Invasion. Davy Jones, the British heartthrob and tambourine playing vocalist; Peter Tork, the simple, soft-spoken bassist; and …

Now representing Italy on his sixth of seven continents, Chicago’s new consul general has been a part of several initiatives that have significantly impacted his country’s relationship with the rest of the world. Most of us have been in the proverbial right place at the right time at least once in our lives. Mario Bartoli, Italy’s new consul general in Chicago, has made a career of it. During nearly a quarter-century in the Italian diplomatic corps, Bartoli has played a role in easing tensions between North and South Korea, worked with local authorities to secure the release of two hostages …

A driving force in the Cubs’ 2016 championship season, Anthony Rizzo returned to Wrigley Field for the first time since being traded to the Yankees in 2021 for a Sept. 6 matchup with his old team. Watching Anthony Rizzo’s rise to stardom in the Windy City was a Cubs fan’s dream come true. As the player and team reached unimagined heights together, America’s pastime became a religious experience in the home of deep-dish pizza and the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Being a lifelong devotee of the Chicago Cubs, I endured the multi-season heartbreak that reached a new low in …

Musical genres come and go, but Frankie Valli who made walking like a man famous is as dynamic today as he was when he scored his first hit with The Four Seasons in 1962. “You want a contract? OK, here’s the contract … a Jersey contract.” That’s part of an exchange in the global theatrical phenomenon “Jersey Boys,” as Frankie Valli extends his hand to bandmate Bob Gaudio when the legendary supergroup, The Four Seasons, was born. The handshake deal has stood the test of time for more than six decades. It is a barely legal arrangement unheard of in …

A longtime aide to and confidante of the late, beloved Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Monsignor Kenneth Velo has leveraged his local and national connections in the Catholic Church to do a world of good for a host of worthy causes. About a year after being ordained a Catholic priest, then-Fr. Kenneth Velo was enthusiastically helping manage the large parish of St. Angela in Chicago, where he was associate pastor. Fellow churchmen saw something in the new priest and made a seemingly small move that changed the course of Velo’s life. Ordained for only two years, he was elected by his confreres …

Indefatigable after 40 years at the helm of Giordano Dance Chicago, Nan Giordano continues to advance the legacy of her father, jazz-dance pioneer Gus Giordano. Nan Giordano says she’s blessed with a high level of energy — energy that enables her to dance, mentor dancers and produce performances, but also to run the business side of an arts organization and manage its budget. As the artistic director and leader of nonprofit dance company Giordano Dance Chicago, she’s continuing the legacy of her late father, Gus Giordano. Known across the country among dancers and dance fans for developing the Giordano jazz-dance …