Chautauqua Institution has announced that Aretha Franklin and The Beach Boys will open and close its popular entertainment lineup for 2017, with 8:15 p.m. performances on Saturday, June 24, and Saturday, Aug. 26, respectively. Lewis Black will also open the Week Six lecture series “Comedy and the Human Condition” on Monday, July 31, at 10:45 a.m. Submitted photos

The 2017 popular entertainment schedule at Chautauqua Institution is beginning to take shape.

It was announced by the institution last week that soul superstar Aretha Franklin and American icons The Beach Boys will provide bookend performances to open and close the Saturday music series at the brand new amphitheater at 8:15 p.m. on June 24 and Aug. 26, respectively.

Known worldwide as “The Queen of Soul,” Franklin has been a beacon of creative originality for the past six decades; winning no less than 18 Grammy Awards during that span of time. By the end of the 1960s, she had earned her well-deserved moniker with a string of hits including “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “Respect” and “Think.” This momentum propelled her further into superstardom in the 1970s, in which she recorded Top 10 singles such as “Spanish Harlem,” “Rock Steady” and “Day Dreaming.”

In all, Franklin is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide. Tickets to her Saturday, June 24, performance at Chautauqua Institution are $69, and will go on sale to the general public on Jan. 9.

The Beach Boys have become season regulars at Chautauqua, and will make their return to the area on Saturday, Aug. 26, to conclude the 2017 popular entertainment series. The Beach Boys are widely regarded as the most iconic American band ever, and are among the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and widely influential bands of all time.

Their first hit — 1961’s “Surfin’ USA” — launched a string of chart-topping songs that spans over 40 years and includes eternal anthems of American youth such as “Surfer Girl,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “California Girls,” “Help Me Rhonda,” “Barbara Ann,” “Good Vibrations,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Kokomo” and more. The band has sold in excess of 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, and are listed at No. 12 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”

Tickets to their Saturday, Aug. 26, performance at Chautauqua Institution are $50, and will also go on sale to the general public on Jan. 9.

The Athenaeum Hotel, located adjacent to the amphitheater on the Chautauqua Institution grounds, is offering special package deals to out-of-area attendees to these concerts. Couples attending Franklin’s concert can take advantage of an opening night special of $399, while those attending The Beach Boys’ concert can take advantage of a closing night special of $349. Both packages include: lodging; two institution gate passes, including standard admission to the amphitheater; a Saturday dinner, along with a breakfast and grand buffet lunch on Sunday; and free parking.

Also among the announcements made last week is the scheduled appearance of renowned stand-up comedian Lewis Black on Monday, July 31, as part of the Week Six lecture series “Comedy and the Human Condition” — which is being presented in partnership with Jamestown’s National Comedy Center. Black will offer a 10:45 a.m. lecture on the power of comedy to critique and transform our world — to confront even the most sensitive issues of our time — and in doing so often testing the boundaries of what society identifies as offensive.

For more information on these and other appearances to be announced, visit ciweb.org.