Like Thoreau's Walden and, to a lesser extent, his handmade line of pine-cone earrings, concerts at zoos facilitate an effortless fusion of art and nature. Dance among animals with today's GrouponLive deal: for $14, you get one general-admission ticket to see Sugar Ray at the Lincoln Park Zoo on Friday, July 22, at 7 p.m. (a $23 value in advance, or up to a $28 value at the gate). Doors open at 6 p.m., and the closing tune will sound around 10:30 p.m.

The Lincoln Park Zoo's Jammin' at the Zoo series mollycoddles audiences with a diverse range of chart-topping tunesmiths. Former metalheads turned triumphant adult-contemporary crooners, Sugar Ray layers pop pinup Mark McGrath's easygoing vocals atop the band's irresistible melodies to result in tunes like "Fly," "Every Morning," and "Someday." Concertgoers can echo each memorable chorus from blankets (no larger than 5'x5') and chairs spread across the zoo's idyllic outdoor environs. Nearby, resident animals school their sheepish zookeepers in a choreographed succession of funky struts. Although not included in the price of this Groupon, on-site libation peddlers team up with the zoo's Park Place Café to irrigate arid sing-alongs with beer, wine, and snacks; the stage's kaleidoscopic radiance will illuminate audiences as they nestle beneath towering oak trees and an ethereal assembly of shade-sporting spirit animals.

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