Chicago - The Band Dothan tickets

Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967. Self-described as a "rock and roll band with horns," the group built its sound by weaving together rock, jazz, R&B, classical, and pop into something that felt entirely its own. The original seven members met across the Chicago music scene and local universities, including DePaul University and Roosevelt University, and initially called themselves the Big Thing before renaming to the Chicago Transit Authority in 1968 and shortening to Chicago in 1969. They signed with Columbia Records and released their debut double album, Chicago Transit Authority, in 1969. That first record reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

What followed was one of the most prolific runs in rock history. Chicago logged five consecutive No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and placed 20 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten. In 1971, they became the first rock act to sell out Carnegie Hall for a full week. By 1974, all seven of their albums sat on the Billboard 200 simultaneously. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and moved over 40 million units in the U.S. alone, accumulating 23 gold, 18 platinum, and eight multi-platinum certifications from the RIAA. Billboard ranked Chicago among the top 15 Hot 100 artists of all time and ninth on its list of the greatest Billboard 200 artists ever.

The band's sound evolved across decades. Their early work leaned into jazz-rock experimentation, with extended suites and politically charged compositions. Trumpeter Lee Loughnane has said the term "jazz rock" was essentially invented because of Chicago's music. In the 1980s, producer David Foster steered the group toward polished power ballads, a shift that produced some of their biggest commercial hits. Through it all, the horn section remained the sonic signature, with trombonist James Pankow arranging parts where the horns functioned as "another lead vocal" woven in and around the singing.