By keith valfreya | may 9, 2025
I can immediately feel the immense weight of the building. Not of the stone, wood, and red velvet that stand in silent witness, but of what lingers in the empty space between them. A history, a wisdom. These walls have seen more performances than I ever will. Tonight, flickering candlelight dances across the stage like an altar in a cathedral. There’s a certain solemnity and reverence to the pre-show conversation; The audience has arrived for ceremony as much as spectacle. The prayer is song, and the sermon will be delivered by The Rock Orchestra in the great Massey Hall.
The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight started in 2020 as an idea from Nathan Reed. The show boasts over 400 shows and half a million guests in 4 years across Europe and North America.
It features setlists that bounce from AC/DC to Evanescence to System of a Down without blinking and has gained a reputation not just for the interesting marriage of rock and classical, but also for the theatricality and performance that results from that.
The show opens with “Storm” from Antonio Lucia Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” swelling into the cavernous hall, stretching it open before transitioning into AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”. By this point it’s already apparent this is not a typical orchestra. Aside from the immaculate costume and stage design, they are making use of amplifiers and what sounds like potentially even effect pedals on the electric string instruments. There is also no conductor here, save for maybe a masked violinist pointing her bow at the crowd, cueing them to lyrics. The musicians are bound only by their chemistry with each other and their obvious love for the music they’re playing, making the entire performance feel bursting at the seems with a raw, sincere energy, that might be difficult to find in a typical orchestra performance. The show also features two vocalists who enter and exit the stage at various points for certain songs, often interacting with each other in choregraphed movement. By the time they reach The Cranberries’ “Zombie”, they’ve turned the audience into their choir. And shortly after, Rage Against the Machines’ “Killing in the Name” has them out of their seats as well.
You’ve heard all these songs before. Certainly, there’s some interesting twists and turns with arrangements and instrumentation to keep things fresh. However, the show feels less about trying to surprise you with songs you already know, and more about reminding you why you loved them in the first place.
Keith Valfreya is a freelance photojournalist for Majestic Music Magazine. See more of his work here
