Sounds of Summer

Summer can feel like a gift, but also a bit like a tease. Once it’s finally and reliably warm enough by July 4 to plan a beach outing in the Chicago area, we have to face the fact that summer is nearly half over. Still, summer is easily our favorite time of year here at Language of Friendship. The season’s longer days make it a perfect time of year to connect with friends and embrace some of the fleeting, but memorable activities summer has to offer.

One of our favorite things to do in summer is to enjoy music outdoors. Depending on where you live, outdoor music festivals can be plentiful. If you’re not up for huge crowds, park districts and local farmers markets often feature live performers. And as Sara shared in an August 2021 post, “sharing music under the open sky with friends and loved ones is always great for the soul.”

There’s magic everywhere, everywhere in the summer.

Gladys Night and the Pips

This weekend I enjoyed the opening performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the outdoor venue, Ravinia. I loved hearing American standards like Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and the visit reminded me of the many other evening of picnicking, wine and music I’ve enjoyed with friends at Ravinia over the years.

An all-time favorite summer music experience of mine took place at Chicago’s Wrigley Field last summer. As one of the country’s oldest baseball stadiums and home of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley is not only a great place to watch baseball but also to see concerts. When Bruce Springsteen played there last summer, my friends and I knew we were about to experience an epic night.

I’ve been a Springsteen fan since the 1980s. Back in high school, Sara and I both attended a show at Rupp Arena and still remember how powerful his hold was on the crowd. I can’t believe that was 40 years ago! I always admired the 40-year friendship between Bruce and legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons. Watching them perform together, live or on TV, it was clear their bond went deep. As Springsteen shared in his eulogy of Clemons in 2011: “Together, we told an older, richer story about the possibilities of friendship that transcended those I’d written in my songs and in my music.”

Seeing Springsteen perform live at Wrigley, decades after I’d first seen him in concert, was absolutely thrilling. I anticipated missing the energy of Clarence joining Springsteen on stage, but I was instead treated to the performance of another member of the Clemons family. Clarence’s nephew, Jake, joined the E Street band soon after his uncle’s passing, and brings a youthful energy reminiscent of the band’s early days. Watching the many kinds of friendships that can be formed when making music is a joy both to witness and to hear.