Another first-time act is coming to the Lowell Summer Music Series on July 18th – a Chicago (the band, not the city) tribute band from Moscow called Leonid & Friends.

“In just three short years, Leonid & Friends has blown the minds of legions of fans with their uncanny ability to capture the spirit, musicality, and fire of American supergroup Chicago. And what is even more stunning is that Leonid & Friends hasn’t seen Chicago perform live, yet replicates the band’s complex arrangements amazingly note for note.

“”Chicago has never been in Russia and none of us have attended their concerts,” said Leonid Vorobyev, a multi-instrumentalist who is the band’s leader. “We have only audio records and videos (to help us learn Chicago songs). Vorobyev wasn’t always a fan of horn bands, and as a teenager gravitated to the hard driving guitar-based sounds of the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Deep Purple, and Grand Funk Railroad.

“”In the early 1970s in the USSR, electric guitars, amplifiers and drums were rare to find so at school we were playing self-made instruments,” Vorobyev explained. “We were allowed to rehearse in the same room with a horns band. Those musicians almost always were drunk and quite often tried to play with us our rock songs. It was nightmare and I hated them all!”   But that all changed when Vorobyev heard Chicago. He became an instant fan. “I loved so much the brilliant mixture of rock guitars, drums, and jazz horns with bright vocal harmonies,” he said.

“In 2014, Vorobyev decided to indulge his love for the band by gathering a few fellow musicians in a studio to record a video of them playing his favorite Chicago tune, “Brand New Love Affair.” No charts or scores of the song existed so Vorobyev transcribed the tune by ear. The result was a YouTube video that quickly went viral. Since then Leonid & Friends has recorded videos of other Chicago hits including “Make Me Smile,” “25 or 6 to 4,” and “Saturday In The Park.”

“The process of getting each tune just right is a painstaking labor of love. In addition to scoring and arranging, Vorobyev oversees mixing and mastering of each song. However, he credits his highly skilled bandmates for making each tune sing. “All of my musician friends are highly professional,” he said. With several successful Moscow concerts under their belt, Leonid & Friends are focused on bringing their heartfelt Chicago tribute to the U.S.

“We have enormous amount of requests from U.S. fans,” he said. “There is also a dream of many Russia musicians to perform for a real American audience. We are excited to meet our many American friends.””

Tickets for the Leonid & Friends show are priced at $32 in advance. There are also premium seats – beach chairs are provided by the Series – set in two rows directly in front of the stage for $132. Tickets for this show go on sale Friday, January 17th at 10 a.m. through Lowell Summer Music Series, by calling 1-800-657-8774, or by visiting the Lowell Memorial Auditorium box office, open Monday-Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.. Children under 12 are always free courtesy of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union – parents, this is a great way to introduce your kids to live music in a safe, family-friendly environment. Don’t forget their ear protection!

For those of you who are unaware of the Series, or if you are aware of it but have never attended a show there, it is an outdoor (weather permitting) concert series held on National Park Service grounds in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Series is not-for-profit, which helps keep the ticket prices reasonable. The Series is co-presented by the Lowell Festival Foundation and Lowell National Historical Park.

Surrounding Boarding House Park are old mill buildings, part of the Lowell National Historical Park, which you can tour if you arrive early enough. They provide an unusual setting for an evening of great music and ambiance.

The Series generally runs from mid-June to early September.

This Series is dear to my heart. I have been a season pass holder since 2007 and it is one of the highlights of the year (and of summer in particular) for me. Many lasting friendships have been made there. I expect this will be another excellent year!

I will post additional announcements for the Series as they are made.

So far, the  lineup is:

July 11 (Saturday) – Joss Stone

July 18 (Saturday) – Leonid & Friends