With summer just around the corner, students begin to purchase tickets for various music festivals and concerts. Some of these concerts are at Ravinia in Highland Park, which hosts over 120 live performances between June and August.

This summer, Ravinia will feature many popular artists and performers such as Demi Lovato, Train, Colbie Callait and Gavin DeGraw. Performances will also include appearances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and small jazz groups.

According to junior Mary Friedman, Ravinia will separate itself from other concerts and festivals with its wide range of music.

“I feel like people who go to Ravinia concerts like real music,” Friedman said. “By real music I mean not techno or dubstep, but [genuine music], and it ends up that really cool people attend these concerts.”

According to freshman John Tallis, there are two kinds of ways to experience the performances: either on the lawn or in the pavilion where the performance occurs.

“I’ve been to the pavilion and the [lawn],” Tallis said. “People have picnics [on the lawn], and it’s just a bunch of families together. In the pavilion, it’s crazier. It’s more like an actual concert […] I like the pavilion more because it’s up closer.”

Freshman Noreen Andersen believes kids who attend Lollapalooza are on the wilder side and are less focused on the music.

“[Lollapalooza] is just super hectic,” Andersen said. “Ravinia [has] just […] a really chill atmosphere […] I’ve been to a lot of concerts where people are standing up and screaming and jumping and [Ravinia] isn’t really like that, but it’s still fun in its own way.”

Andersen and Friedman enjoyed the Maroon 5 concert at Ravinia last summer.

“During the song She Will Be Loved, my friends and I snuck into the pavilion and it was just really incredible because […] you experience [the music] with [the performers], not just as a listener,” Friedman said.

According to Friedman and Andersen, Ravinia is great for high school students who appreciate music, hanging out with friends and family and having a good time.

“Ravinia’s different from the other venues because you get your money’s worth,” Friedman said. “There’s so much to the concert other than the music […] I just know that [this summer] will be a really great experience.”