The film releases in US & Canadian theaters this April
The theatrical release of Chicago & Friends in Concert will premiere on April 18th and April 21st, in select theaters via Iconic Events Releasing, Mercury Studios, and FanTracks.
“This concert film is a unique approach to any of our previous live performances,” states Chicago founding member Lee Loughnane. “We very rarely play with guest artists, much less seven of them. It was very interesting to work with each guest and experience their interpretations of our music.”
Chicago, the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, brings its iconic sound to moviegoers across North America in this two-and-a-half-hour cinematic event. Recorded this past November at Ovation Hall at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ in front of a live audience of 10,000 fans over two nights, the band was joined by special guests Robin Thicke, Chris Daughtry, Steve Vai, VoicePlay, Judith Hill, Robert Randolph, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Each performance is visualized in vibrant video and animation.
This once-in-a-lifetime event showcases Chicago’s greatest hits and celebrates the 55th anniversary of their groundbreaking double platinum debut album, Chicago Transit Authority. The film also captures the unplugged a capella arrangements and reimagined Chicago’s hits in an emotionally moving centerpiece.
Chicago & Friends In Concert’s executive producer Barry Summers worked directly with co-producer, Chicago’s Lee Loughnane, and each special guest on song selections. Loughnane also acted as music director and managed the post-production audio mix.
The Decades Rock Live Chicago & Friends production was filmed on a custom-built LED stage set with nine 4K cameras. This film premiere contains Chicago’s greatest hits and classics with each visualized in all original full-length animations shown against an amazing custom LED backdrop.
The legendary rock and roll band with horns, Chicago, came in as the highest-charting American band in Billboard Magazine’s Top 125 Artists of All Time. Chicago recently received The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys and was previously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. Band members Robert Lamm and James Pankow were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. The band has 21 Top 10 singles, five consecutive No. 1 albums, 11 No. 1 singles, and five gold singles, with 48 gold and platinum awards. The original three band members are Robert Lamm on keyboards and vocals, Lee Loughnane on trumpet and vocals, and James Pankow on trombone. The band line-up also includes Ray Herrmann on woodwinds, Walfredo Reyes Jr. on drums, Neil Donell on vocals, Ramon “Ray” Yslas on percussion, Tony Obrohta on guitar, Loren Gold on keyboards and vocals, and Eric Baines on bass and vocals.
