Dancing Queen: An ABBA Salute at the Bishop Hill Village Park -- July 13.
Saturday, July 13, 1 p.m.
Village Park, 304 South Bishop Hill Road, Bishop Hill IL
Now celebrating their 20th year of thrilling crowds with spectacular renditions of “Waterloo,” “The Winner Takes It All,” “Take a Chance on Me,' and additional favorites, the tribute artists of Dancing Queen: An ABBA Salute headline a July 13 concert in Bishop Hill's Village Park, the outdoor show held in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Swedish pop legenda' Eurovision victory,
Dancing Queen's founding women, Nicky von Kondrat (the original Agnetha) and Julie Brock (the original Frida), through their combined love of performing together and the inherent magic of ABBA's songs, established their band's strong foundation and connection with audiences from the very beginning, and it remains the group's cultural bedrock. ABBA themselves are among the best-selling music artists in history, with record sales estimated to be between 150 million to 385 million sold worldwide. ABBA was also the first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Republic of Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. They are the best-selling Swedish band of all time and the best-selling band originating in continental Europe, and ABBA had eight consecutive number-one albums in the U.K. ABBA was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, becoming the first and only recording artists to receive this honor from outside an Anglophonic country. Meanwhile, in 2015, their song "Dancing Queen" was inducted into the Recording Academy's Grammy Hall of Fame.
Formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, ABBA's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome. One of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, ABBA became one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982, and again in 2021. In 1974, ABBA were Sweden's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo," which in 2005 was chosen as the best song in the competition's history as part of the competition's 50th-anniversary celebration.
Ten years after the group broke up in 1982, the ABBA Gold compilation was released and became a worldwide best-seller. And in 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into Mamma Mia!, the Tony-nominated stage musical that toured worldwide and, as of this year, is still among the top-10 longest-running productions on both Broadway (where it closed in 2015) and London's West End (where it is still running). A movie musical of the same name, released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year, with its sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again enjoying a 2018 release.
In addition to the two-hour Dancing Queen concert, local organizations will be offering food and drinks. The Bishop Hill Old Settlers’ Association will have a hot dog stand, located next to the Colony Store. The Bishop Hill Methodist Church will also be having a bake sale next to the Steeple Building Museum. Henn House BBQ and Azteca will have food trucks, located between the Prairie Arts Center and the post office on Christina Street, across from the park.
Dancing Queen: An ABBA Salute plays their Bishop Hill engagement on July 13, and due to the financial support of the Community State Bank, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, Minneapolis Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, and the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, admission is free. Guests are asked to bring lawn chairs and blankets, and more information is available by calling 309 927-3899 and visiting BishopHillHeritage.org.
