Queen, Taylor Swift get 'Bridgerton' treatment in FL's hit Candlelight Concerts series

For a minute, it feels like you've traveled back in time to Victorian England.

Or maybe you're on the set of "Bridgerton," instead.

Four musicians sit onstage surrounded by flickering candles everywhere ― hundreds of candles, their soft light reflecting off the polished wood of the musicians' violins, viola and cello.

But wait, that's not Mozart they're playing. Or Beethoven.

It’s Queen. And not the queen of England, either: Iconic classic rockers Queen.

Specifically, it's the song "Under Pressure." Complete with a violin taking on Freddie Mercury's emotional, soaring vocals, and a cello with finger-picked strings playing that instantly recognizable bassline: Dum dum dum da-da dum dum, dum dum dum da-da dum dum.

Think "Bridgerton's" pop-classical cover songs, and you'll have a good idea what to expect from Candlelight Concerts: Queen, Taylor Swift, ABBA, Adele and other pop-rock favorites, all given the classical treatment with a string quartet on a romantic, candle-lit stage.

The ongoing concert series has been packing venues all over Florida ― and the rest of the United States, too.

"They are definitely growing in popularity," says David Lisker, a professional violinist who helps find many of the shows' high-end, professional musicians through his New York City-based company, Listeso Music Group. "They are expanding into more and more cities."

Candlelight Concerts: A Florida hit in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Sarasota and more

One thing's for sure: Audiences love it. Candlelight Concerts shows are often sold out in venues all over Florida, including Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Lakeland and more.

The same goes for the nearly sold-out Queen show recently at Fort Myers' Music & Arts Community Center (The MACC).

The Queen audience cheered, whistled and clapped along to "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Will Rock You" and other Queen hits ― plus a few classical and opera tunes by Mozart, Puccini and more than one violinist joked they "snuck into" the setlist.

For some audience members, it was their first-ever classical concert. And it might not be their last.

After the show, Bev Howard of Fort Myers said she loved the surprise classical and opera songs, and she might even listen to more later on her own.

"We love Queen," Howard says. "And then they threw in some opera songs, and we loved that at well. … It was wonderful."

That's the whole idea behind Candlelight Concerts: Give people the songs they love in a cool, laid-back setting and introduce them to the joys of classical music, too.

"It’s a great concept," says Andrew Kurtz, executive director of The MACC. "It's an amazing experience. … The candlelight makes for a really beautiful atmosphere."

Those electric candles ― a lake of flickering artificial flame, surrounding the musicians and extending up the theater's aisles, too ― help transport audiences and get them in the right frame of mind for some beautiful music.

"There's something about the candlelight ambiance," says Lisker of Listeso Music Group. "It's dim, but it's very romantic. It's very intimate. And it sort of focuses your senses to just enjoy the music."

And unlike, say, an arena or a packed auditorium, these smaller, intimate shows feel like time traveling to an older, simpler age.

"It sort of creates a nostalgia for a simpler time of experiencing music that we may not have even realized we needed," Lisker says.

Candlelight Concerts come to the United States

Organized by Madrid, Spain, production company Fever, Candlelight Concerts debuted in New York City in 2019 and quickly expanded to other U.S. cities, says Fever publicist Lucia Casado. They came to Miami in 2020, and now there are Candlelight Concerts in more than 20 Florida cities, including Naples and Fort Myers.

In all, Fever organizes Candlelight Concerts in more than 150 cities across the world, Casado says.

The shows bring in younger crowds then you typically see at classical-music shows, including people in their 20s and 30s. Candlelight Concerts attracted 16,000 people last season to The MACC, Kurtz says. For many of them, it was their first time at the Fort Myers venue.

"Most of the shows have been selling out or nearly selling out," Kurtz says.  "They're very popular."

Candlelight debuted in Europe in 2019, but its concept might be more familiar now thanks to the runaway Netflix hit "Bridgerton." There's even a Candlelight Concerts "Best of Bridgeton" show.

In the Netflix show, a string quartet often plays classical-music versions of modern hits by Miley Cyrus, Sia, Coldplay, Maroon 5, BTS, Beyonce, Alanis Morisette and more ― all while the show's Regency-era British characters dance, flirt and compete for the queen's favor.

But Lisker doesn't think "Bridgerton" has much to do with Candlelight Concerts' success. Instead, he thinks they're both tapping into the same thing: Audiences' desire for something simpler, lower-tech and separate from the usual hustle and bustle of the 21st century.

"Audiences react well to something from a simpler time," Lisker says. "You have these authentic, antique instruments performing modern music. I think there's some kind of subconscious nostalgia there that people really resonate with."

It marks a dramatic shift in how people want to experience classical music ― or, at least, modern music played with classical instruments, he says.

"I often get asked this question, whether classical music is dying," he says. "Because some of the larger-format concert halls are struggling to fill the seats. From my perspective, it’s not so much the music that's the issue. It's more about the environment.

"People are a lot more interested now in having a more personalized approach, where they're not one of 5,000 guests, but more like one of 200-300 guests. They feel like they have direct access to the musicians. It's close. It's intimate."

Candlelight Concerts: The Beatles, Coldplay, Taylor Swift and more

The short concerts ― typically only about one hour ― usually feature a string quartet playing popular songs by modern rock and pop groups: Coldplay. The Beatles. Adele. ABBA. Ed Sheeran. Even Taylor Swift.

The Swift shows are particularly fun, says violinist Hannah Cho of the Southwest Florida Symphon y and The Venice Symphony .

"These Swifties, you don’t mess around with them," Cho says and laughs. "They know everything. They know all the lyrics. They get so excited."

The shows are just as awesome for the rotating lineup of musicians, Cho says. They're a nice change of pace from playing with 50-100 musicians in a big orchestra at an even bigger performing arts hall.

"It’s very intimate," Cho says. "Often, they come up to us afterward and talk to us about why they like it."

For the Fort Myers show, Cho and three other musicians ― dressed in black and billed, like many of Candlelight's U.S. shows, as the Listeso String Quartet ― sat onstage surrounded by the real-looking electric candles.

And they did more than play creative, emotional arrangements of Queen classics. They also told the stories behind the songs, encouraged the audience to shoot photos and videos (only on the last song), and stuck around afterward to chat with audience members.

The setlist included most of Queen's most popular songs, including the epic "Bohemian Rhapsody," a demanding tour de force that had all four musicians sweating a bit by the end.

"All right!" the grinning cellist, Shea Kole, said afterward. "That's a pretty serious workout!"

Kole, a regular with the Naples Philharmonic, says he's happy to put in the work, though. Candlelight Concerts are a lot different than typical classical concerts, he says. And they're helping bring more people to classical music – one packed venue at a time.

That's one reason why the Miami musician travels all over southern Florida to perform the shows.

"I'm very happy to be involved with it," he says. "I think it's helping make string quartets relevant in a more mainstream way.

"I appreciate any enthusiasm surrounding my art form, you know. Wherever I can get it."

More about Candlelight Concerts in Florida

If you live in Florida, chances are good you'll find a Candlelight Concerts show somewhere near you. They're everywhere.

Here are the Florida venues currently hosting Candlelight Concerts:

• Coral Gables: Coral Gables Congregational Church and Hotel Colonnade
• Daytona and New Smyrna Beach: The Grand 721 and Brannon Center
• Destin: Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center
• Fort Lauderdale: The Sanctuary Church FTL and Savor Cinema
• Fort Myers: The Music & Arts Community Center (The MACC)
• Gainesville: Hippodrome Theatre
• Jacksonville: Friday Musicale
• Lakeland: Lake Mirror Auditorium
• Miami and Miami Beach: Scottish Rite Temple, Pinecrest Gardens and Eden Roc Miami Beach
• Naples: Naples United Church of Christ
• Ocala: Ocala Civic Theatre
• Orlando and Winter Park: The Azalea Lodge at Mead Gardens and The Abbey
• Pensacola: First United Methodist Church
• Port Lucie: MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Event Center
• Sarasota: St. Boniface Episcopal Church
• St. Petersburg: First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg
• Tallahassee: First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee
• Tampa: Centro Asturiano de Tampa
• Vero Beach: Waxlax Center for the Performing Arts
• West Palm Beach: First Presbyterian Church of West Palm Beach and The National Polo Center

Tickets for Candlelight Concerts range from $30-$70.

For tickets or more information, visit candlelightexperience.com .

Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com .

Follow or message him on social media: Facebook ( facebook.com/charles.runnells.7 ), X (formerly Twitter) ( @charlesrunnells ), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram ( @crunnells1 ).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Queen, Taylor Swift get 'Bridgerton' treatment in FL's hit Candlelight Concerts series