Candlelight Concert

Last Friday, March 24th, Jake and I had our monthly date night adventure.

This day also happened to be the date that I launched my first book, Become. So it was a very high excitement day, with lots of adrenaline coursing through our household. The week leading up to the book launch was a whirlwind of emotion, with so many things to do and so little time to do them before the big day!

Alas, my hard work prevailed and I was able to launch my book that Friday. And God really showed out, and blew away any and all of my expectations because in the first 24 hours alone I was able to make best seller in 5 different categories! Talk about amazing! I’m still in awe of the support that I have received, and I will be forever grateful to everyone who helped to further my journey as an author.

So needless to say, by the time our candlelight concert rolled around, I was still in my pajamas. I had been up since 3:30am that morning, I had consumed more coffee than our local Starbucks had probably brewed for the entire day and I was beyond exhausted.

But I rallied!

I threw on my purple 70s vintage thrift store button up, ran a brush through my unruly hair and laced up my snow boots. Oh, because did I not mention? It had been snowing all day!

I know right, Spring where you at?!

We hopped in the car to attend this concert that I had been anxiously anticipating for months.

The Candlelight Concert: From Bach to Beatles.

What is a Candlelight Concert?

Welp, Facebook Ads has me pegged because the two things that they constantly advertise to me are environmentally friendly boho styled baby items and musical events.

Those dang ads always get me! And so, that is how I found out about the Candlelight concert series.

Taking place in over 100 different cities, these candlelight performances boast about allowing you to experience live music in a completely new way.

The beautiful music on these programs are played in a smaller setting, so that the audience can be fully immersed and swept away by the music. The concerts are lit by only candles.

Seriously, there are hundreds of candles dispersed throughout these event spaces, to create an intimate vibe for the listener.

“This Candlelight series invites you to experience classical music in a new light with these sensational concerts. All you have to do is sit back, relax and let these enchanting concerts do the rest.”

A wide array of themes are displayed during these Candlelight events, from tributes to musical artists like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Adele, Queen, Coldplay and Hans Zimmer to concerts with the best Anime themes and concerts playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

All of these looked interesting, but it wasn’t until my eye landed on one of my favorite words, a bright and shining word that always promised happiness and joy. Ahhh, one of my all time favorite bands.

The Beatles.

Yes, I am a hippie at heart. Yes, I am a diehard Beatles fan. And yes, I walked down the aisle to “Here Comes the Sun”.

My dream is to have a chicken coop that is designed and built to look like a Volkswagen bus and all of my chickens will be named after songs from the Beatles: Eleanor, Penny, Lucy, Jude… you get the idea.

Anyways, once I saw there was a Candlelight concert that featured Beatles music, I couldn’t purchase the tickets fast enough.

Jake is a good sport, and always goes along with my ideas. And my sports loving man, has been especially interested in live music ever since I surprised him with piano lessons earlier in the year. Now he is better able to recognize different aspects of the musical pieces, and we are able to bond more over this passion.

So we packed up, and drove off into the snow to listen to a night filled with Beatles and Bach.

The concert was being held in the Miller Hall and this specific concert, was composed of a group of four musicians, also known as a quartet. The stage was set up in the middle of the room, with chairs encircling the musicians. Jake and I arrived right on time, found some seats near the back of the zone we had purchased our tickets for and settled in for a lovely evening.

The room was only lit by the warm glow of hundreds of LED candles. Which I will admit, was a little bit of a surprise. Because I thought candlelight meant real candles, but now thinking about it, that’s a huge fire hazard. Not to mention it would get hot, and my whole not having a thyroid thing, makes me extremely susceptible to hot flashes. So all in all, I think the LED candles were actually brilliant. They still gave off the perfect intimate ambiance that I was hoping for.

The concert began with by Bach. The next song on the program was also by Bach, “Cello Suit No. 1 in G Major BVW 1007: I. Prelude”. Hearing this song made the biggest smile break out on my face, as I love to write to classical music. And this particular song featuring the cello, I always find especially moving. And one last Bach song was played before the real centerpiece of the event came about, The Beatles.

Alas, it was time for the Beatles songs to make their long awaited appearance. As soon as the quartet started playing the first Beatles song, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, I closed my eyes and leaned my head to rest of my husband’s shoulder. The music was so captivating, that in order to truly immerse myself in the experience I needed to have my eyes closed and simply allow the music to take me on a ride (A Magical Mystery Tour).

While in the concert, I was able to truly decompress from the long anticipated arrival of publishing my book. So much hard work (I’m talking blood, sweat and tears) went into making Become. And to have finally been able to fulfill the calling that God placed on my life for this book, and walk in obedience in that calling, was such a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.

I was so exhausted from all the super late nights and early mornings of work that the previous week had demanded, thus allowing the music to carry me away, was the best way to settle in with the accomplishment of becoming a bestselling author. And also to celebrate such a long journey to get to the point of publishing Become, and releasing it into the world.

The concert was truly magical. And while I knew the lyrics to every single Beatles song that was played, being able to hear them all live through the string instruments added an extra layer to the intricacies of the songs.

The Beatles have always held a special place in my heart. Heck, ever since my childhood best friend burned a copy of her Father’s The Beatles 1 cd album for me, I was hooked. Through my childhood, adolescence, experimental college years and into my adulthood the songs of the Beatles have always seemed to carry me through.

And even now that I am a mom, somehow the Beatles still make their daily appearance into our lives, as I hum the tunes for my daughter. And when she is overtired in the car, or just upset, nothing can calm her like singing “All You Need is Love”. But I’ll admit sometimes I change the lyrics to “All I Need is Dove”.

Getting to be in a room full of other Beatles lovers, in the peaceful ambiance that the warm flickering candles made, was the most splendid way to celebrate such a significant moment in my life with my precious husband. It was the perfect opportunity for us to unwind from the busy work week and simply cuddle up while listening to some beautiful live music.

I would absolutely attend another candlelight concert, it was such a unique experience that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to go to.

So head on over to candlelightexperience.com to grab your tickets and join in on this rare musical movement.