Candlelight Concerts Enchant Austin Audiences

Some things in life simply feel like an indulgence: champagne, dark chocolate, soft fluffy robes, pedicures, a visit to the opera, or pampering yourself by candlelight. What if we told you that you could luxuriate in a multi-sensory evening with the Candlelight Concert series, a captivating musical performance illuminated by candlelight, right here in Austin? It’s true! 

A Dreamy Night Out

Austinites have been turning out in droves to enjoy the global phenomenon, the Candlelight series, at a handful of local venues. Performed by local musicians, often a string quartet, or dance troupes, these novel events allow music lovers and performers to bask in the warm, amber glow of hundreds or even thousands of lit candles. 

According to their website, “Candlelight Concerts are a series of original music concerts created by Fever aimed at democratizing access to culture by allowing people all over the world to enjoy candlelit live music performances played by local musicians in various stunning locations illuminated by thousands of candles.” The series has continued to grow and expand in cities around the world, with programming that encompasses not only specific eras from musical history but also pop culture. 

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From Mozart to Metallica and More

While some of the performances in the series honor the program’s orchestral origins as a series of candlelit classical music events, other shows entice even more concertgoers by including popular music (think Taylor Swift, Rihanna, K-Pop), classic rock (Queen, Pink Floyd), dance troupes (flamenco, ballet), and even whimsical collections with set lists based on movies, video games (Zelda), or holidays. 

Besides the tribute to classical composers such as Vivaldi, Hans Zimmer and contemporary artists including Coldplay, you can also enjoy a musical celebration of Warner Bros. Studios’ 100th anniversary. This intriguing set list includes music spanning the 100 years the studio has been producing films and TV series. Listeners at this film-buff fever dream of a performance can revel in the music from classics like Casablanca and The Sound of Music, groovy TV series Batman and Scooby Doo, unforgettable bangers including Prince’s Purple Rain and Selena’s Dreaming of You, and contemporary hits, the theme to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and “Shallow” from A Star Is Born. 

For fun holiday programming, Fever has recently added dates for Haunted Halloween Classics and Día de los muertos, a Holiday special including “The Nutcracker,” and a Holiday Jazz & Soul collection featuring Ella Fitzgerald numbers.

Candlelight Concert Performers

Musicians play most of the Austin-local shows in the series at one of three classy venues, the Sanctuary at St. David’s Episcopal Church, The Mansion, or the AFS Cinema. Local musicians, often a string quartet either from Austin or around Texas, perform each of the shows in the Candlelight series. The Listeso String Quartet, DIVISI’s Amp’d String Quartet, or the Austin Camerata String Quartet will be playing most of the Austin shows from now through December. 

Candlelight programming is always expanding and adding new shows, however. Candlelight already has scheduled one event, a tribute to Juan Gabriel, with The Adelaide Band. This show will feature a music ensemble with trumpets and a Mexican guitarrón. Other shows may feature a pianist, dancers, or aerialists. 

If you don’t see what you want on their Austin calendar yet, you can wait for new programs to arrive, as Fever has been steadily building up the calendar of Austin Candlelight events. You can also pop down to San Antonio to catch a show there, too. They must be doing something right, because these shows are taking off, entertaining rapt audiences in hundreds of cities around the globe. Austin is in great company with this series!