Yanni's Sold Out Rialto Concert Considered Rousing Success

JOLIET, IL - There were lofty expectations for Saturday night's downtown concert at the Rialto Square Theatre and Yanni fans did not walk away disappointed. Saturday's show, heralded as an intimate conversation with Yanni, sold out. Most of the audience came from the Chicago area, but several ticket buyers traveled here from as far away as Minnesota and Michigan. This was Yanni behind the piano. Much of the evening included a relaxed, back and forth conversation between Yanni and his Joliet audience. At one point, he even invited a young man in the audience to come up on stage to play his piano.

"It was a great night. He took questions from the audience a good part of the evening. It was a sellout, and Yanni played an extended show, he went for two-and-a-half hours," said Jack Ericksen, marketing and development director for the Rialto.

Ericksen said he had a chance to visit with several fans afterward. "From speaking with people at the show, they were very happy with this unique (show) with Yanni."

The crowd included a group of 40 to 50 people who belong to one of the Yanni fan clubs. "There are quite a few people who follow Yanni wherever he goes," Ericksen said.

Beforehand, the Rialto did issue a strict warning on social media that cameras and cell phones would not be allowed inside the historic venue for the Yanni performance.

"Photography is not permitted during the show," the statement declared.

Here at Joliet Patch, it's our belief that any rule-breakers in the audience would have been duct-taped to one of Joliet's drawbridges, the specific bridge, of course, being at Yanni's choosing.

However, we're pleased to report that a review of the Joliet Police Department weekend police logs showed no arrests at the Rialto Square Theatre. As a result, we're under the impression that the crowd of nearly 2,000 fans got the message and everyone behaved for Yanni.

Image of Yanni via Rialto Square Theatre