St. Vincent with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

“Art, luckily, is a safe place to explore all emotions, all ideas, no matter how dark or complicated,” offers the six-time Grammy winner St. Vincent to NPR, sharing a philosophy that has defined the artist’s fearless creative evolution. One of the most self-innovative artists in modern music, St. Vincent is a master of kaleidoscopic sonic and visual reinvention, reshaping her audio and visual personae repeatedly over the past 20 years. Praised by M-A Chronicle as “uniquely authentic and exhilarating,” she continues to push the boundaries of genre and performance, crafting bold new worlds that challenge, captivate, and redefine the possibilities of pop music.

In a limited, first-ever run of performances with orchestra, St. Vincent joins the CSO alongside Grammy-winning orchestrator and conductor Jules Buckley, opening a bold new artistic chapter. This special evening will see a selection of favorites and deep cuts brought to life in spellbinding new dimensions. Together with Buckley and the CSO, St. Vincent is forging new sonic worlds out of her acclaimed albums, from Marry Me to All Born Screaming, promising an unforgettable evening of bold symphonic splendor.

Featured before St. Vincent and the CSO take the Hunter Pavilion’s stage, Arooj Aftab is a Grammy Award–winning artist whose work occupies a singular space in contemporary music, blending jazz, minimalism, South Asian musical traditions, and avant-pop. The breakthrough album Vulture Prince ushered her into the cultural zeitgeist with widespread critical acclaim, earning Aftab a Grammy for the song “Mohabbat” and appearing on Barack Obama’s 2021 Summer Playlist. In 2024, she released her fourth solo album, Night Reign, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Jazz Album, while its lead single, “Raat Ki Rani,” was nominated for Best Global Music Performance.