Candlelight Concerts in Memphis

Candlelight concerts in Memphis are exactly what the photos promise — a string quartet playing in a room full of glowing candles — and also a few things the photos don't mention. Before you spend $40 a ticket, here's the honest version: where it actually happens, what it costs, how long it runs, and who'll love it (most people, honestly).

The short answer to the biggest question: in Memphis, Candlelight lives at the Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park — every current show on the calendar is there. The Fever Candlelight page has the live lineup; below is everything it won't tell you. (More evening plans on our events page, updated every weekday.)

What the experience actually is

A Candlelight show is a real, acoustic, roughly 60-minute concert by a professional string quartet — in Memphis that's ensembles like the Listeso String Quartet and the Beale Street Quartet — performing a single themed program. Half the calendar is classical (Vivaldi's Four Seasons is the flagship, and it prices highest); the other half is pop-on-strings: Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac, Coldplay vs. Imagine Dragons, 90s hip-hop, neo-soul, and seasonal programs at Halloween and Christmas.

Now the expectation-setters. The candles are LED, not open flame — Fever says so itself, and the room still genuinely glows. Shows are short and single-set: doors open 45 minutes early, the music runs about an hour, and that's the evening. Seating comes in zones (A, B, C, and Premium) — the advertised "from" price, roughly $32.50–$45.50 depending on the program, buys the back zone, and closer seats cost more inside the ticket flow. Ages 8 and up, and anyone under 16 needs an adult. Tickets are non-refundable but can be exchanged up to 48 hours out. (If a one-hour seated set leaves you wanting the loud version, our live music venues guide covers every room in town.)

What's on the Memphis calendar

A taste of the programs on sale as of mid-July 2026 — the lineup changes constantly and shows sell out, so treat this as the flavor, not the schedule, and check Fever for live dates.

• Vivaldi's Four Seasons and More

  The classical flagship and the priciest ticket (from ~$45). If you want Candlelight as it was originally imagined, this is the one.

• The tribute programs

  Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac, Whitney Houston, Coldplay vs. Imagine Dragons — pop catalogs re-arranged for strings, from ~$34.50. Know going in: it's a quartet interpretation, not a cover band.

• The Memphis-flavored ones

  Neo-soul favorites and 90s hip-hop on strings recur on the local calendar — programs that land differently in this city than anywhere else.

• Seasonal specials

  A haunted Halloween program in late October and Christmas classics in December — the fastest sellers, book early.

Getting there (and a heads-up about the venue)

The Brooks sits at 1934 Poplar Ave in Overton Park, and here's the rare good news for a ticketed event: parking is free — in front of the museum, along the park roads, and in the public lot behind the museum by the golf course. Make an evening of it: the park itself is one of the best free things in Memphis.

One thing to watch: the Brooks becomes the Memphis Art Museum, downtown on the riverfront, in December 2026 — and at least one 2027 Candlelight listing already carries the new name. If you're booking a show after this December, double-check which building is on your ticket.

The honest answers