In The Loop Magazine Turning Up the Heat: Squirrel Nut Zippers Bring 'Hot' 30th Anniversary to Ravinia's Carousel Stage on the Hottest Day in Two Years

Turning Up the Heat: Squirrel Nut Zippers Bring ‘Hot’ 30th Anniversary to Ravinia’s Carousel Stage on the Hottest Day in Two Years

Jul 15, 2026 admin_bitlc Features, Music News, Reviews 0

By Kelly Clausen

There couldn’t have been a more appropriate soundtrack for the hottest day Chicago had experienced in nearly two years. As temperatures flirted with the 100-degree mark that afternoon, the Squirrel Nut Zippers stepped onto the stage at Ravinia Festival’s new Carousel Stage venue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album, Hot. The irony wasn’t lost on anyone. While concertgoers searched for every patch of shade they could find before showtime, the band’s signature blend of New Orleans jazz, swing, folk, blues, and vaudeville warmed the crowd in an entirely different way.

The performance was more than another stop on a summer tour, it was the tour. The Highland Park appearance stands alone as the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ only scheduled summer concert of 2026, making it a rare gathering for longtime fans who have waited years to catch the band outside of their annual holiday performances. That exclusivity gave the afternoon an unmistakable sense of occasion before the first note was even played.

It also marked another milestone for Ravinia itself. While much attention has deservedly been focused on the beautifully renovated Hunter Pavilion this season, this performance introduced audiences to an entirely different concert experience as the Carousel Stage officially welcomed its first live performance of the summer. Intimate where the Pavilion is grand, the circular bandshell encouraged an up-close relationship between performers and audience that couldn’t have suited the Squirrel Nut Zippers any better.

Rather than towering above the audience, the band seemed to perform among them. It felt less like watching a concert and more like stumbling upon a lively jazz revue from another century. The Carousel’s vintage-inspired architecture paired effortlessly with the Zippers’ timeless sound, creating an atmosphere that transported listeners somewhere between a 1920s dance hall, a Southern medicine show, and a smoky French Quarter nightclub. Few contemporary bands possess a musical identity so perfectly matched to a venue.

Celebrating Hot‘s three-decade legacy, the band performed every song from the landmark record, although not in its original running order. Favorites including “Put a Lid on It,” “Hell,” “Blue Angel,” “Prince Nez,” and the irresistible “The Ghost of Stephen Foster” reminded everyone why the 1996 album became one of the defining swing revival records of its era. Three decades later, the songs remain wonderfully impossible to categorize. Equal parts Dixieland, ragtime, jazz, blues, folk, cabaret, and rock, they still sound unlike anything else in American music.

One small disappointment lingered throughout the afternoon, however. With the band currently in the studio working on its first new material in years, I had hoped this unique performance might offer a preview of what’s to come. Instead, the evening remained firmly rooted in nostalgia. An hour and a half of it. While no one left unhappy after hearing Hot celebrated in full, the absence of even a single new composition felt like a missed opportunity to hint at the group’s next chapter.

If the audience began the afternoon cautiously, the music gradually dissolved every reservation. Early in the set, most fans respectfully remained planted in their lawn chairs or lingered around the perimeter of the venue. But as the brass blared, rhythms bounced, and tempos accelerated, the distance between stage and audience slowly disappeared. By the final songs, listeners had gathered around the bandshell several rows deep, many abandoning their seats altogether. Couples began spinning across the open spaces, strangers became dance partners, and spontaneous swing dancing broke out throughout the venue. It was impossible not to smile.

The Carousel transformed into exactly the kind of communal celebration the Squirrel Nut Zippers have always inspired—joyful, playful, slightly eccentric, and wonderfully timeless. Nature even seemed determined to provide one last flourish. As the final songs echoed through the trees, the blazing afternoon finally surrendered to a spectacular sunset. Golden light poured across the Carousel stage, washing both musicians and audience in warm amber hues that made the performance feel almost cinematic. It was one of those fleeting concert moments no amount of production design could manufacture.

When the final notes faded away, fans didn’t rush toward the exits. Instead, hundreds of cell phone lights illuminated the gathering as audience members waved goodbye to the band, creating a gentle constellation beneath the evening sky. It was a surprisingly emotional farewell for a group whose music has always thrived on humor, whimsy, and exuberance. Perhaps everyone understood just how uncommon the afternoon had been.

This wasn’t simply another anniversary show. It was the only opportunity all summer to see one of America’s most distinctive bands performing one of its most beloved albums in an intimate venue seemingly built specifically for its vintage aesthetic. For the lucky fans who endured the blistering heat, they witnessed not only the opening chapter of Ravinia’s newest performance space but also one of the most memorable and exclusive concerts of the festival season.

The Squirrel Nut Zippers will return to the road this winter for their beloved annual Christmas Caravan tour. Unfortunately for Chicago fans, this year’s itinerary skips the city entirely, making Saturday’s unforgettable appearance at Ravinia’s Carousel Stage feel even more like lightning in a bottle a singular performance that won’t soon be repeated.