Lollapalooza’s first orchestra to perform with Laufey

It was almost start time, and onstage in the sweltering heat of Grant Park, 52 musicians tuned their instruments and warmed up before the guest of honor arrived. For the Chicago Philharmonic, this rehearsal had to go on without a hitch.

Musicians in the Philharmonic got their sheet music two weeks prior, but Wednesday’s rehearsal was the only time they’d practice with their guest star — Icelandic-Chinese pop artist Laufey — before appearing alongside her Friday at Lollapalooza. It’s believed to be the first time an entire orchestra has played the festival.

The Philharmonic has played with popular artists before — over the past months they’ve accompanied the Violent Femmes and Tank and the Bangas. But during a designated break in a lounge area behind the Bud Light stage, violinist Eleanor Bartsch said, “Lollapalooza is kind of another animal.”

Laufey has made it a mission to bring jazz and classical music back to the minds of music lovers. Her warm, commanding voice sounds like she could easily make a cover of “Mr. Sandman” sound like the original; if born in a different era, she perhaps would be contemporaries with Ella Fitzgerald or Peggy Lee. She’s also incredibly versatile, playing piano, guitar and cello.

At the top of the rehearsal, with temps nearing 90 degrees, executive director Terell Johnson emphasized performer well-being. Laufey then took the stage to light, sweet applause. It was go time.

Pop artists performing along orchestras isn’t exactly a new phenomenon; take Death Cab for Cutie’s 2012 tour with Magik*Magik Orchestra or Sufjan Stevens’s The BQE where he arranged a symphony about a despised expressway. The duo of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett is the textbook example of pop meeting jazz (the Chicago Philharmonic even performed with them once at Ravinia, Johnson said). But Laufey offers something undeniably special, said Bartsch, who teaches violin at Elmhurst University and first learned about Laufey from her students.

“I certainly felt like the orchestra has a respect for her as a musician and of her whole vision for the show, said Bartsch, who appreciates the musician’s penchant for “genre crossings.” “For my students to see someone like that, at that level, they not only aspire to that but it helps them to feel inspired as well.”

This will likely be the largest audience that many of the members of the Philharmonic have encountered. “It’s a huge crowd and lots of young people and people from all over the place,” Bartsch said. “So I think this will bring just such an amazing energy to the stage. It’s an interesting juxtaposition because the music is pretty reserved.”

As the rehearsal took place, so did set up for the festival. A music supervisor followed along with the sheet music on an iPad, while just feet from the stage, people in bright yellow-and-orange vests used a circular saw for construction. Street noise and sirens blared from nearby streets. All the elements created a sort of beautiful cacophony that the performers seemed to embrace.

“One of the things I’ve been so impressed with with our musicians is their incredible ability to just roll with it, whatever we do,” said Scott Speck, the Philharmonic’s artistic director.

That includes audience interaction. Unlike Ravinia or Millennium Park, Lollapalooza crowds may scream, shout and sing along. “I think it’s the response of the audience that you have to prepare for,” Johnson said. “It’s very reciprocal in a traditional setting where the audience is there and they’re experiencing it alongside you, but I think at festivals like this, they will be participating with you.”

An hour into the rehearsal, Laufey and the Philharmonic rehearsed “Bored,” a bonus track on the singer’s sophomore album Bewitched about the ennui of having an uninteresting partner.

The original recording features layered vocals, live instrumentation and lyrics that reflect those of a modern pop song: “And maybe you’re just way too vain to be interesting / Baby, keep talkin’ but nobody’s listening / Don’t mean to walk out the door / But, baby, I’m bored.” But on Wednesday, Laufey’s grand voice, with the backing of 50-some instruments, made the words an assertion rather than a perspective. Live, it sounded both fragile and strong.

Violinist Lori Ashikawa sees an opportunity to court new generations of audience in this weekend’s performance. “In a way, as classical musicians, we’re trained to sort of be in a bubble when we’re on stage,” Ashikawa said. “And I think that’s a kind of outdated way of thinking of yourself as a performer. Lately, I’ve noticed when I look into the audience and see what kinds of things they’re projecting back, that that helps me relate to them.”

For Johnson, speaking a few days before rehearsal in a Zoom call, the pendulum may be swinging back to orchestra ensembles, even in pop. “A track recording is pretty fixed, it’s very predictable. But in the moment, there’s going to be those nuances that happen. Like if there was a run or something, and [Laufey] feels that she might wait a second, before going to the next phrase, all those unpredictable things just make a very organic, great experience.”

Towards the end of the rehearsal, the sun was blaring down at the edge of the stage, right where Laufey and her guitar, piano and cello stood. Stagehands put a collapsible tent to shade her from the harsh light. But during that last song of rehearsal, Laufey left the shadowy confines, singing and taking up the stage as though there were a crowd of thousands and not an empty field.

If you go: Laufey and the Chicago Philharmonic will perform together at Lollapalooza on Aug. 2 at 6:45 PM. Single-day passes start at $155.

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Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis is a digital producer on WBEZ’s Arts & Culture desk.