Lucy Dacus and the Chicago Philharmonic Turn Millennium Park Into a Romantic Symphony: Live Review
- Abby Anderson
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
A yellow-pink sunset over the Chicago skyline. The robust strings of the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra. And at the center of it all, the angelic voice of Lucy Dacus, dressed in her finest black ball gown and opera gloves. Amidst her run of festivals and intimate performances for one last tour of her 2025 album Forever is a Feeling, Dacus's One Night Only performance at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion, accompanied by some of the best orchestral musicians in the Chicagoland area, landed as an elegant, romantic symphony of modernity and class.
Before Lucy Dacus even stepped foot on the stage, the Renaissance-style artistry of her most recent project was brought to life with the string-overture of “Calliope Prelude,” performed by the Chicago Philharmonic. Not a usual staple on the most recent versions of Dacus's setlist, the illustrious introduction gave the crowd a hint at the fact that this particular show might not be predictable, and certainly wouldn't be anything short of a spectacle.
Walking onto the stage to the chorusing cheers of an audience of family, friends, and fans, Dacus sang out the lines of "Hot & Heavy" with a rare warmth that can only be found in a city that feels like home: "Being back here makes me hot in the face / hot blood pulsing in my veins / heavy memories weighing on my brain." Later in the set, Lucy would go on to share anecdotes of coming to visit her family in Chicago and spending time in the heart of the city surrounding Millennium Park, laughing as she looked out at the crowd darkening in the setting sun and remarking about how she couldn't look at the faces of her family and friends in the first rows of the pavilion without getting emotional.
Settling with ease into her trademark dual soft-rock and string-instrumental sonic palette, "Ankles," "Modigliani," and "Limerance" all blossomed to life through Lucy's angelic vocal range. Led by instrumental arrangements by Phoenix Rousiamanis, every musician on stage ebbed and flowed through Dacus's catalogue. Landing heavier rockers like "Talk" with the same finesse as softer "Big Deal," Lucy and the Chicago Philharmonic masterfully paired timeless charm with rich, romantic soundscapes.
Giving the sonic weight of the performance room to breathe, the orchestra cleared the way for Dacus, her guitar, and her band midway through the set. She laughed as she removed her opera gloves to be able to strum her acoustic, almost serving as a metaphorical transition to the more human side of Dacus's performance persona. After focusing dominantly on Forever is a Feeling tracks during the orchestral set, the intimacy of the acoustic set allowed for variation from Dacus's career, hitting Boygenius's "Attention to Detail" and "Trust" from her 2016 debut album No Burden among others. While the onstage lens zoomed in on Dacus and her band cozied up around a blue velvet couch, Chicago had cinematic plans of her own, as the midsummer sky darkened fully and the illuminated skyline surrounding Millenium Park added it's own idyllic ambience.
Rejoined by the orchestra for the final act of the set, Lucy waltzed through the most powerfully poignant pieces of her set. Soft "Come Out," heady "Triple Dog Dare," and triumphant "Forever is a Feeling" crescendoed higher, paving the way for the stunning culmination in "Night Shift." The studio recording of Dacus's biggest solo hit seems pale in comparison to the stunning, extravagant marrying of Dacus's most powerful vocals over the Chicago Philharmonic's illustrious strings. As the crowd was brought to to its feet in a unanimous standing ovation, Lucy Dacus and the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra left a reminder that there are few things more moving than the impermanence of love and the power of art.
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