Icons align: Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe own Ravinia

On June 7, Ravinia was a sanctuary. Black, queer, unapologetically bold. A place where freedom danced alongside fashion, and art bled into activism. When Janelle Monáe and Grace Jones share a bill, you’re witnessing an experience that shifts culture.

Monáe took the stage radiating charisma, sliding through selections from The Age of Pleasure like a priestess of joy and sensuality. The vocals were tight, the movements intentional, and the message unmistakable: live free, love louder. Her energy was all celebration and connection — pride, pleasure, and power wrapped in rhythm. She turned Ravinia into a block party-meets-spiritual revival, and the audience was locked in from the first note.

Then Grace Jones arrived

Grace Jones appeared. Cloaked in red, face obscured by a sculptural headpiece that would’ve made sci-fi jealous. The crowd went into a frenzy.  She presents as a work of art and even while standing still her presence is arresting.

Every move she made was performance art. It was a masterclass in presence. Jones’s wardrobe change consisted of changing hats. And listen — when Jones changed hats it was theater, grand, intentional and symbolic. Watching her remove one headpiece and don another felt like we were witnessing transformations in real time.  It was proof that the mere act of being Grace Jones is performance in its highest form.

To see Grace Jones live is to understand the full definition of ICON. The kind they can’t manufacture. The kind you don’t just watch, you feel. Jones created moments that lingered. With her barefoot defiance, the towering shadows she cast, and the way she held the crowd with a single stare, she reminded us that age means nothing when your artistry is timeless.

At one point, Jones walked into the pavilion in the the arms of her adoring fans. We she made her way around and was lifted back on the stage Monáe joined her. And when Monáe came back onstage to join her for “Pull Up to the Bumper” it was a visual of legacy in motion, two generations of Black, queer brilliance colliding in full celebration.

Ravinia amplifies celebration

Ravinia itself amplified it all. The space, the crowd, the warm night air, candles flickering on tablecloths, people barefoot on the lawn, laughter echoing under trees. It was elegance and energy, a blend of fine arts and real joy. The whole night felt intentional, rooted, and divine.

The show was a reminder of what freedom looks like. Of how joy itself is resistance. Of how showing up, fully, loudly, and beautifully matters.

Monáe reminded us to live out loud. Jones showed us how to turn life into art. And for one night at Ravinia, the crowd got to witness both.

Take a look at a few pictures from the show below.