The Candlelight Concert Series has become a sensation, captivating music lovers nationwide with its unique blend of classical performances and contemporary tributes. These enchanting events, illuminated by candlelight, offer a memorable experience featuring variations of popular songs and timeless compositions. This article explores the Candlelight Concert Series, its origins, and its growing popularity across the United States. We were invited in by Fever to check out one of the performances in Las Vegas (the “Tribute to Taylor Swift”) and had a chance to talk to Associate Producer Erik Kausin about the concert series (with shows all over the country, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C.).
The Candlelight Concert Series: A Unique Musical Experience
What Inspired the Candlelight Concerts?
Fever, the company behind the Candlelight series, sought to make classical music more accessible and engaging to a wider audience. The series emerged from a desire to create innovative experiences that resonated with a new demographic while offering affordable concerts.
“At Fever, we constantly strive to inspire our users with innovative experiences, creating new ‘Fever Original’ ideas that we know will be of interest to them,” Kausin told us. “Candlelight launched when Fever, who was already hosting more traditional classical music concerts, saw a need to make this genre more accessible to its users, aiming to reach a new demographic and create more affordable concerts for all.”
Expanding the Candlelight Experience: Choosing Cities and Venues
Fever utilizes a data-driven approach to determine where to bring the Candlelight Concert Series. This involves combining user data from the Fever platform with external sources like Google Trends and Census data to identify locations with high interest.
“We often refer to ourselves as the “Netflix of experiences” ( we do collaborate with Netflix on many experiences, too!)—in part because of our data-driven approach,” Kausin explained. “When it comes to deciding which cities or venues to bring our events to next, we combine our internal data from users already using the Fever marketplace with external sources such as Google Trends or Census data to make strategic decisions and produce events that guests will be more interested in attending.”
Popular Candlelight Concerts and Musical Variety
Most Popular Candlelight Shows
While classical performances like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons remain popular, the Candlelight Concert Series has also gained acclaim for its creative programs that blend classical and contemporary music, such as “Bach to The Beatles” and movie soundtrack tributes.
“While the more traditional performances of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons are always popular, some of the crowd favorites in Las Vegas have been the programs where we mix old and new, such as the Bach to The Beatles show or the Songs From Magical Movie Soundtracks program which includes pieces from animated films both parents and kids will cherish from classics like Little Mermaid to recent favorites like Frozen and Coco,” Kausin said about the variety of performances. “Candlelight concerts also feature jazz and soul, and tickets to our Best of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole show are in high demand.”
Finding Musical Talent for Candlelight Performances
Local producers in each city are responsible for scouting and selecting talented musicians to perform in the Candlelight Concert Series, showcasing a range of artists from string quartets to jazz ensembles.
“All of the producers in each city have their ears to the ground, scouting for talented musicians to welcome to the Candlelight stage,” Kausin said of the search for performers. “Fever has had the pleasure of working with several artists in each city ranging from local string quartets and jazz ensembles to Tejano bands and independent artists.”
Future of the Candlelight Concert Series
Upcoming Candlelight Tributes and Shows
The Candlelight Concert Series continues to expand its repertoire, with upcoming tributes to artists like Adele, Juan Gabriel, and BTS, as well as themed shows for Halloween and the winter holidays, alongside performances of works by classical composers.
“In addition to our popular Tributes to Taylor Swift, Amy Winehouse, and Queen, fans can expect to see our Candlelight ensembles pay homage to even more iconic artists like Adele, Juan Gabriel, and BTS. In addition to tributes to modern artists, you can also expect to see themed shows for Halloween and the Winter Holidays, as well as opportunities to hear timeless composers such as Vivaldi, Mozart, and Beethoven.”
