There was something in the air Friday night as The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA took to the stage at the Luhrs Performing Arts Center. 

Billed as “the greatest ABBA tribute band in the world,” the group transported the audience back to the '70s with over a dozen of ABBA’s biggest hits. The band has performed at major venues and festivals across the country, including sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl and Ravinia Festival, which can each hold more than 10,000 patrons.

The show opened with the high-energy classic “Waterloo” before encouraging the audience to sing along and do a so-called Swedish finger dance during “Mamma Mia” and “Take A Chance On Me.”

After a performance of “Fernando” that ended with a brief encore lead by the audience, the band transitioned into an acoustic medley of several ABBA Songs, including “SOS,” “Slipping Through My Fingers” and “Honey, Honey.”

There were also wonderful renditions of “Chiquitita,” “The Winner Takes it All,” “Eagle” and, of course, “Dancing Queen.”

Throughout the show, I could not stop thinking, “These people are just so cute!” ABBA is one of my favorite musical groups, so this was as close to a ‘real’ ABBA experience as I have had, and I loved it. As a huge fan of both ABBA and “Mamma Mia,” any environment where it is socially acceptable to sing and dance along to some of the most iconic songs of all time is a place for me. 

My only negative is that the audience was a mostly older crowd, so the energy was not as high as it could have been. That did not stop my fellow Slaters and I from acting like we were back in the '70s despite being born decades later.

If you want to party like we did, check out Spotify’s Best of ABBA playlist or The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA’s website.

Share