Sonic Symphony

Last updated
Sonic Symphony
Tour by Sega
Sonic Symphony World Tour promotional art.jpg
Key art of Sonic Symphony World Tour
Location
  • Online
  • South America
  • Europe
  • North America
  • Asia
Associated albumSonic 30th Anniversary Symphony
Start dateJune 23, 2021 (2021-06-23)
Legs3
No. of shows31
Website www.sonicsymphonytour.com

Sonic Symphony is an ongoing concert tour featuring original arrangements of the music of the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series by Sega [1] performed by an orchestra and rock band. [2] A concert also displays footage of gameplay from the series synchronized to the music. [3] The first concert, Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony, was presented as a free live stream on YouTube and Twitch on June 23, 2021 to commemorate Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th anniversary. [4] The second and first live concert was presented on October 12, 2022 at the 2022 Brasil Game Show. [5] A live tour, Sonic Symphony World Tour, started on September 16, 2023 in London, England.

Contents

History

The Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony was announced in the Sonic Central presentation on May 27, 2021. [6] [7] The concert starred the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra performing orchestral arrangements and the Tomoya Ohtani Band and Crush 40 performing pop rock arrangements, [1] with Nathan Sharp as the guest singer. [8] [9] The fan-made Chao Camera mod for Sonic Adventure 2 was used for gameplay footage. [10] The Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony was also featured in the 2021 Summer Game Fest. [11] [12] [13] The concert took two years to plan and switched to being shown as a free live stream due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [14] An album of its music was released on September 18, 2021 on the iTunes Store and Apple Music [15] and on other major digital music services four days later. [16]

The concert at the 2022 Brasil Game Show was announced in the Sonic Central presentation on June 7, 2022 with more tour dates to come. [17] [18]

Sonic Symphony World Tour Atlanta concert - "Believe in Myself & It Doesn't Matter".jpg
Sonic Symphony World Tour Atlanta concert - "Reach for the Stars".jpg
Orchestral performance (top) and orchestral and rock performance (bottom) of December 29, 2023 Sonic Symphony World Tour concert at Atlanta, Georgia, United States

On May 19, 2023, two dates in London, England and Los Angeles, California, United States for the Sonic Symphony World Tour were announced. The Sonic Symphony World Tour is produced by Sega and soundtrec, and presented by MGP Live. Pre-sale for subscribers to the official newsletter started on May 25, 2023 and public sale started a day later. [3] Guest stars are to appear at certain dates. [2] More dates were announced in the Sonic Central presentation on June 23, 2023, [19] with pre-sale starting on June 28, 2023 and public sale on June 30, 2023. [20]

Reception

The Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony was received positively; Andy Robinson of Video Games Chronicle and Daniel Hollis of Pure Xbox noted such reception from fans. [14] [21] Ash Parrish of Kotaku and Kenneth Shepard of Fanbyte reported that they cried of happiness [1] [8] and the former described the concert as "a heartwarming, tear-inducing, nostalgic happy-time-memory-recalling performance that surpassed all expectations". [1] Stephen Tailby of Push Square called it "a brilliant musical trip down memory lane" [13] and Hollis of Pure Xbox deemed it "the perfect birthday treat" and "one of the best things SEGA has produced in a long time for their trusty mascot". [21]

Set list

The following set list is of the Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony and is not intended to represent all dates; later tours incorporated themes from games released after the 30th anniversary, including Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Superstars . [22]

First act

  1. " Sonic the Hedgehog Medley"
  2. " Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Medley"
  3. "Sonic Game Gear Medley" [lower-alpha 1]
  4. " Sonic 3 & Knuckles Medley"
  5. " Sonic Mania Medley"
  6. "Sonic SEGA Saturn Medley" [lower-alpha 2]
  7. "Believe in Myself" / "It Doesn't Matter"
  8. "Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Medley"
  9. " Sonic Unleashed Medley"
  10. " Sonic Lost World Medley"
  11. " Sonic Forces Medley"
  12. " Sonic Colors Medley"

Intermission

  1. "Chao Garden - Neutral"

Second act

  1. "Reach for the Stars (Re-Colors)"
  2. "Speak with Your Heart"
  3. "Endless Possibility"
  4. "Open Your Heart"
  5. "Sonic Heroes"
  6. "Green Light Ride"
  7. "Sonic Boom"
  8. "I Am... All of Me"
  9. "Knight of the Wind"
  10. "Escape from the City"
  11. "Live & Learn"

Credits

  1. "Friends"

Tour dates

Individual concerts

List of tour dates with city, country, and venue
DateCityCountryVenue
June 23, 2021Online
October 12, 2022 [23] São Paulo BrazilExpo Center Norte (Brasil Game Show)

Sonic Symphony World Tour

List of tour dates with city, country, venue, and number of concerts [19] [24]
DateCityCountryVenueConcerts
September 16, 2023 London England Barbican Hall 2
September 30, 2023 Los Angeles United States Dolby Theatre 2
October 14, 2023 São Paulo BrazilExpo Center Norte (Brasil Game Show)2
October 15, 2023
October 21, 2023 Boston United States Colonial Theatre 1
October 28, 2023 Chicago Auditorium Theatre 1
December 15, 2023 San Antonio Majestic Theatre 1
December 29, 2023 Atlanta Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre 1
January 5, 2024 Seattle Paramount Theatre 1
January 6, 2024 San Francisco Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall 1
January 20, 2024 Washington, D.C. Warner Theatre 1
January 27, 2024 Kansas City Kansas City Music Hall 1
February 11, 2024 Tokyo Japan Line Cube Shibuya 1
February 17, 2024 Toronto Canada Meridian Hall 1
March 24, 2024 Montreal Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier 1
March 29, 2024 Portland United States Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 1
April 6, 2024 Milwaukee Bradley Symphony Center2
April 7, 2024
April 20, 2024 Cleveland Playhouse Square 1
June 2, 2024 [lower-alpha 3] Paris France Le Grand Rex 1
June 8, 2024 New York City United States United Palace 2 [lower-alpha 4]
June 15, 2024 Phoenix Phoenix Symphony Hall 1
June 16, 2024 Salt Lake City Abravanel Hall 1
June 22, 2024 Minneapolis Orpheum Theatre 1
June 29, 2024 Greensboro Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts 1
July 27, 2024 San Diego San Diego Civic Theatre 1

Cancelled dates

Sonic Symphony World Tour

List of canceled dates with city, country, venue, and number of concerts
DateCityCountryVenueConcerts
November 17, 2023 Düsseldorf Germany Mitsubishi Electric Halle 1

Notes

  1. ↑ A medley of themes from the 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 , Sonic Drift 2 , Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble , and Tails Adventure
  2. ↑ A medley of themes from the Saturn games Sonic R , Sonic Jam , and Nights into Dreams
  3. ↑ Was originally going to be held on September 22, 2023, but was postponed
  4. ↑ A second show was announced on February 26, 2024 due to increasing demand from a sold out show that was scheduled later on that day [25]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonic the Hedgehog (character)</span> Video game character

Sonic the Hedgehog is a character created by the Japanese game developers Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima. He is the star of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Sega. Sonic is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds. He races through levels, collecting rings and avoiding obstacles, as he seeks to defeat his archenemy, Doctor Eggman. He is accompanied by supporting characters, such as his sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower, self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose, and friendly rival Knuckles the Echidna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow the Hedgehog</span> Video game character

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<i>Sonic Adventure 2</i> 2001 video game

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Parrish, Ash (June 23, 2021). "Sonic's 30th Anniversary Concert Kicked So Much Ass I Cried". Kotaku . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Romano, Sal (May 19, 2023). "Sonic Symphony World Tour 2024 concert series announced". Gematsu. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Egan, Toussaint (19 May 2023). "The Sonic the Hedgehog symphony is going on a world tour". Polygon . Vox Media . Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Wen, Alan (June 23, 2021). "Sonic turns 30 today – here's how you can stream the anniversary concert". NME . NME Networks. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Price, Leigh (19 May 2022). "Sonic Symphony World Tour Dates Announced". Siliconera . Gamurs Group . Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Long, Katherine (27 May 2021). "Sonic Central Revealed a Whole Lot of Sonic the Hedgehog News". Paste . Paste Media Group. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Carter, Chris (27 May 2021). "Here's everything that happened at the first Sonic Central stream". Destructoid . Gamurs Group . Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 Shepard, Kenneth (June 25, 2021). "I'm Still Crying About the Sonic Symphony Concert Days Later". Fanbyte. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ Carter, Chris (June 24, 2021). "Watch the lengthy and very good Sonic 30th anniversary concert right here". Destructoid . Gamurs Group . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  10. ↑ Doolan, Liam (June 23, 2021). "Random: Sega Embraced Sonic's Mod Community During The 30th Anniversary Symphony". Nintendo Life . Hookshot Media. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ Sheehan, Gavin (June 23, 2021). "Sonic The Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony Happening Today". Bleeding Cool . Avatar Press . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  12. ↑ Chandler, Sam (June 10, 2021). "Watch the Summer Game Fest 2021 livestream here". Shacknews . Gamerhub. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Tailby, Stephen (24 June 2021). "Sonic's 30th Anniversary Symphony Is a Brilliant Musical Trip Down Memory Lane". Push Square . Hookshot Media. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Robinson, Andy (June 24, 2021). "Watch again: Sonic Symphony concert earns overwhelming fan praise". Video Games Chronicle . Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  15. ↑ Blake, Vikki (18 September 2021). "The Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony is available to stream or buy now". GamesRadar+ . Future plc . Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  16. ↑ Doolan, Liam (September 22, 2021). "Sonic's 30th Anniversary Symphony Album Is Now Available On Major Digital Services". Nintendo Life . Hookshot Media. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  17. ↑ Purslow, Matt (7 June 2022). "Sonic Central 2022: Everything Announced Including Sonic Prime and Sonic Frontiers". IGN . IGN Entertainment Inc. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  18. ↑ Coulson, Josh (8 June 2022). "Sonic The Hedgehog Symphony Is Going On Tour In October". TheGamer. Valnet Inc. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  19. 1 2 Shepard, Kenneth (June 23, 2023). "Everything Sega Announced For Sonic The Hedgehog's 32nd Anniversary". Kotaku . G/O Media . Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  20. ↑ Shea, Brian (23 June 2023). "Sonic Symphony World Tour Dates Announced". Game Informer . GameStop . Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  21. 1 2 Hollis, Daniel (July 10, 2023). "Sonic's 30th Anniversary Symphony Is A Wonderful Treat, Met With Tons Of Fan Praise". Pure Xbox . Hookshot Media. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  22. ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog. "Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony". YouTube . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  23. ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog (October 12, 2022). "If you're at Brasil Game Show - be..." Facebook . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Home". Sonic Symphony. Sega . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  25. ↑ @MGPLiveNYC (February 26, 2024). "Great news everyone! We added a new show for #SonicSymphony in NYC! Presale starts on Wednesday, 2/28" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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