Fever will bring the Candlelight Concerts to Townsville

Townsville’s St James Cathedral will be lit up with thousands of candles following the success of Fever’s Candlelight Concerts in more than 100 cities worldwide.

St James Old Cathedral, Melbourne, lit up for Fever's Candlelight Concert.

Candlelit concerts are coming to a Townsville church with a series of special performances including shows dedicated to Vivaldi, Coldplay and Hans Zimmer.

After delighting audiences in more than 100 cities around the world, including Paris, New York, Madrid and Melbourne, Townsville is next in line for ‘multi-sensory musical experience’ Candlelight Concerts, organised by events company Fever.

At the first concert, St James’ Cathedral will be illuminated by thousands of candles, allowing viewers to fully immerse themselves in a range of classical music.

Fever’s regional Candlelight manager, Phil Mallet, said in 2022 around 70 per cent of its audiences had never been to a classical music performance before attending a candlelight concert.

Those who may have never considered a classical concert before have the chance to connect with the most iconic pieces of the greatest composers and listen to the top hits of well-known artists in a different way.

Mr Mallet acknowledged that for younger audiences a traditional classical concert could be very intimidating and the candlelight performances are “removing some of the barriers” they found younger demographics had when it came to enjoying live classical music.

Fever’s “Instagrammable” and “viral” performances aim to draw in modern consumers and open classical music to a whole new audience.

Candlelight Concerts are a series of original music concerts created by Fever aimed at democratising access to culture by allowing people all over the world to enjoy live performances from local musicians in various stunning locations illuminated by thousands of candles.

Candlelight was initially conceived as a classical music series with concerts featuring works from the greatest composers, such as Vivaldi, Mozart, and Chopin.

Now, the ever-growing list of programs includes a wide variety of themes and genres, including tributes to contemporary artists like Queen, ABBA, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran, as well as shows dedicated to K-Pop, movie soundtracks and many more.

This multi-sensory experience has also evolved to feature different elements, such as ballet dancers or aerial performers, as well as other genres, such as jazz, soul, opera, flamenco and more.

The Townsville shows will be performed by a Brisbane-based ensemble, Paradiso String, a string quartet.

“We’re very excited to get to Townsville. The sales have been very strong compared to the size of the city,” Mr Mallet said.

While September’s shows are sold out, tickets are still available for performances at the start of October at feverup.com.

Originally published as Fever will bring the Candlelight Concerts to Townsville