Deep Purple at Ravinia: hard rock between classics and the new album SPLAT!
Deep Purple arrives at the Hunter Pavilion in Highland Park on August 25, 2026, as part of the North American leg of the "SPLAT! Canada & USA 2026" tour, at a stage in the band's career when it is not living solely off its own catalog. The concert is part of the cycle connected with the album "SPLAT!", released on July 3, 2026, and Kansas is also performing that same evening. For the audience, this means a combination of two recognizable rock stories: Deep Purple brings a harder sound built around guitar, Hammond keyboards and a powerful rhythm section, while Kansas opens the evening with a repertoire whose best-known titles are "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind".
On the Ravinia website, the program is listed as starting at 6:45 PM, and the order is Kansas, intermission, then Deep Purple. Public gates open at 5:00 PM. Since this is a concert featuring two major names and a clearly divided program, arriving earlier makes sense both for entering and for getting familiar with the venue.
Tickets for this event are currently on sale.
A tour that does not reduce Deep Purple to a greatest-hits program
Deep Purple is a band whose identity can be recognized within a few seconds: riffs, Hammond, powerful bass and drums, and Ian Gillan's vocals. "Smoke on the Water", "Highway Star", "Space Truckin'" and "Hush" have been associated with the group's name for decades, but the current tour shows that the band does not treat new material as a brief addition between the classics.
"SPLAT!" is Deep Purple's 24th studio album. It was recorded with producer Bob Ezrin, and among the songs presented alongside the album are "Arrogant Boy", "Diablo" and "Guilt Trippin'". The band described the new material as a return to a harder sound and the energy of playing together in the studio.
Today's lineup consists of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Simon McBride. McBride has been the permanent guitarist since 2022, so this period is also interesting for listeners who want to hear how today's version of the band interprets material created by entirely different lineups. Instead of copying the past, the current Deep Purple relies on the recognizable relationship between guitar and keyboards, but plays it with its own character.
The opening of the North American tour in Raleigh provides a good, but not guaranteed, indicator of the direction of the repertoire for Highland Park. Deep Purple opened there with "Highway Star", performed songs from "SPLAT!" and the previous album "=1", while "Space Truckin'", "Smoke on the Water" and "Hush" appeared in the final section. That does not mean the running order at Ravinia will be the same. Set lists can change, and no final song list for Highland Park has been announced in advance.
What can be expected from the live sound
The most interesting part of today's Deep Purple is not only recognizing the opening riff of a familiar song, but the way the band leaves space for the instrumentalists. Don Airey on keyboards and Simon McBride on guitar have enough room for the songs to breathe beyond the studio versions, while Roger Glover and Ian Paice maintain the rhythm that is crucial to compositions such as "Highway Star" or "Space Truckin'".
At the Raleigh performance, a review highlighted McBride's guitar solo, Airey's keyboard passages and extended transitions. "Lazy" came after Airey's solo, and Gillan played harmonica during the song. Such details show that the concert is not conceived as the mere reproduction of recordings, but as a rock performance in which individual sections can open up to improvisation.
Kansas as a guest changes the rhythm of the entire evening
Kansas is not merely a short opening act. Ravinia lists the band as a special guest and gives it a separate part of the program before the intermission and Deep Purple's performance. The audience therefore gets two repertoires that meet in classic rock but have different emphases.
Kansas made its mark on American rock in the 1970s with a combination of hard rock, progressive structures, melody and vocal harmonies. "Carry On Wayward Son" has remained their most recognizable concert moment for a broader audience, while "Dust in the Wind" shows the calmer, more acoustic side of the band. That contrast sets the stage well for Deep Purple's harder and more improvisational character.
It is worth securing tickets in time.
Hunter Pavilion after a major renovation
The venue is one of the reasons this concert has a different character from a standard performance in an indoor arena. Hunter Pavilion is part of the Ravinia Festival, a venue in Highland Park that is also connected to a large lawn area for the audience. In the summer of 2026, the pavilion reopened after a thorough renovation.
The capacity of the pavilion itself was reduced from 3,350 to 2,840 seats so that the seating could be wider and more accessible. The renovation included changes related to acoustics, new lighting and ventilation. Acoustic elements that can be adjusted for different types of performances were installed above the stage, which is important in a venue that hosts both orchestras and rock bands during the season.
For Deep Purple, this is an interesting detail because the band relies on a dense combination of electric guitar, organ, bass, drums and vocals. A venue designed to adapt to different programs should allow clearer separation of the layers of sound than audiences often get in a generic sports arena.
Ravinia also has a different listening culture from a typical arena. Part of the audience sits in Hunter Pavilion, while another part follows the program from the lawn. A large screen with a feed from the pavilion has been installed on the North Lawn, alongside the existing screens inside the pavilion and facing the South Lawn. Some parts of the lawn may have a limited view of the screens, so the choice of area affects the experience.
Who the concert is especially attractive to
- For longtime Deep Purple fans who want to hear classic songs performed by the current lineup.
- For audiences following "SPLAT!" who want to hear how the new material works outside the studio.
- For fans of classic and progressive rock for whom the combination of Deep Purple and Kansas provides two different repertoires in the same evening.
- For visitors who prefer Ravinia's combination of pavilion and open lawn instead of a typical enclosed arena.
How to plan your arrival in Highland Park
Highland Park is located on Chicago's North Shore, along the shore of Lake Michigan, north of downtown Chicago. For visitors coming from another city, it is important to know that Ravinia is not in downtown Chicago, but in a separate city that is well connected to its urban area by rail and roads.
One of Ravinia's practical advantages is the railway. The Metra Union Pacific North Line stops at the main entrance for most programs, and for this event Ravinia states that the train to and from Ravinia can be used at no additional charge with a concert ticket. This can be a simpler option than driving, especially after the concert ends when a larger number of visitors leave the area within a short period of time.
For those arriving by car, the West Parking Lot is located at 201 Ravinia Park Rd. For this evening, the parking lot opens one hour before the public gates. Ravinia also lists a Park and Ride location in downtown Highland Park, from which shuttle buses begin operating half an hour before the public gates open.
When arriving by taxi or rideshare service, it is important to use the designated drop-off and pickup locations. Stopping on the surrounding residential streets is not permitted. If visiting Ravinia for the first time, it is useful to arrange the return ride in advance to one of the designated locations rather than to a random street next to the park.
Entry, bags, food and drinks
Ravinia has rules that differ depending on whether a visitor stays on the lawn or enters the reserved section of Hunter Pavilion. Drinks in appropriate plastic cups or bottles of up to 24 ounces are allowed in the pavilion, but metal and glass containers are not permitted. Food may not be brought into the reserved seating area.
Bags larger than 18 x 12 x 12 inches cannot be brought into Hunter Pavilion, and items may be inspected at the entrance. For visitors planning to spend part of the evening in the Lawn area, this means it is worth considering in advance what to bring and what will be allowed into the pavilion itself.
There are restaurants, bars and concession stands throughout Ravinia, and some locations operate cashlessly. If dinner or drinks are planned before the music portion of the evening, arriving before Kansas begins has a practical advantage: there is less need to move through the venue while the program is already underway.
How to read the current set list without false expectations
With a band whose catalog stretches across several decades, it is easy to make a list of songs the audience would like to hear. The current tour, however, shows that Deep Purple deliberately gives space to new music. In Raleigh, "Arrogant Boy" appeared after McBride's solo, "Diablo" was part of the middle of the performance, while "Scriblin' Gib'rish" and the instrumental "Guinnesis" also represented "SPLAT!".
At the same time, the ending brought "Space Truckin'", "Smoke on the Water" and "Hush". This relationship between the new and the old is the most useful framework for expectations: the audience comes for songs that have been part of the rock canon for decades, but the band is currently also actively presenting its 2026 album.
It should not be expected that every famous song will fit into the program. At a concert with Kansas and an intermission, the available time is not the same as at a standalone evening by a single performer. The repertoire may therefore be concentrated on several periods and albums rather than providing an even overview of the entire discography.
Highland Park within the band's intensive 2026
Highland Park is not an isolated performance, but one stop on a tour that takes Deep Purple through Canada and the United States during August. Immediately before Ravinia, Detroit, Salamanca and Indianapolis are on the schedule, while Prior Lake, Winnipeg and Calgary follow Highland Park. This gives the performance the context of a band in the middle of an active tour rather than making an occasional festival appearance.
A practical plan for the evening
If the goal is to hear the entire program, the most important thing is not to treat Kansas as an opening act that can be skipped. The program begins with their performance, followed by an intermission and Deep Purple. The public gates open early enough to find a place, check the route to the pavilion or Lawn, and take care of food and drinks before the music starts.
Visitors arriving by train should check the current Metra schedule for that day before departure. Those arriving by car should follow the directions for the West Parking Lot or Park and Ride rather than looking for parking on the surrounding residential streets. For the return trip, it is useful to know in advance from which location the rideshare or shuttle pickup takes place.
It is worth securing tickets in time, especially if a specific type of seat in Hunter Pavilion or area on the Lawn is important.
For the concert itself, it is best to arrive with a few solid expectations and without an invented set list: Kansas has a separate part of the evening, Deep Purple is touring in support of "SPLAT!", the new album is a real part of the repertoire, and the major classics still play an important role. Everything else - the order of songs, the length of individual solos and any possible changes to the program - should be left to the evening itself in Highland Park.
Sources:
- Ravinia - Deep Purple with special guest Kansas event page; date, Hunter Pavilion, program start time, gate opening, Kansas - intermission - Deep Purple running order, information about the Lawn, transportation, parking and entry rules.
- Deep Purple - "SPLAT! Canada & USA 2026", "Deep Purple Release New Album SPLAT!" pages and band biography; tour schedule, the album "SPLAT!", singles and current lineup.
- Music Recall Magazine - report from the opening of the North American tour in Raleigh; song selection, instrumental sections and the relationship of new material to the classics.
- AP News - report on the renovated Hunter Pavilion; capacity, acoustic changes, seating, lighting and ventilation.
- Enjoy Highland Park - information from the city of Highland Park about its location on Chicago's North Shore and context for visitors.