Video Games Live

Video Games Live is a touring concert production in which a live orchestra and choir perform arrangements of video game music? synchronized with video footage from the games, stage lighting, special effects, and interactive segments with the audience.¹⁴ Founded in 2002 by video game composers Tommy Tallarico? and Jack Wall? under the parent company Mystical Stone Entertainment, LLC, it was the first and, by its own account, the most successful video game touring concert in the world.¹²⁶ The stated purpose of the production was to demonstrate that video game music had become culturally significant and artistic, and to introduce new and younger audiences to the symphonic concert experience.¹²

Tallarico described the intended effect as “all the energy and excitement of a rock concert mixed with the power and emotion of the symphony, combined with the cutting-edge visuals, technology, interactivity and fun video games provide”.⁸ Orchestras have taken up the format in part to reach the younger, tech-savvy audiences that traditional programming struggles to fill halls with, presenting it as a bridge between gamers and the classical concert hall.²⁴ The show pointedly avoids the violent imagery for which video games are often criticized; Tallarico has said he takes responsibility for presenting the industry in a positive light, with “this is a show for everyone” as his mantra.⁴

Each performance is played by a local professional orchestra hired by the presenting symphony or venue, rehearsing the day before and the day of the show, rather than by a permanent touring ensemble.⁸¹² The company has created more than 200 different segments, of which a roughly two-and-a-half-hour show draws about 18 to 20, so that the setlist changes from night to night.¹² Recurring staples include music from Halo, World of Warcraft, and Final Fantasy, while other segments have drawn on The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, Metal Gear Solid, Kingdom Hearts, Tomb Raider, Myst, God of War, and Tetris, among many others.¹²⁶³ Pre- and post-show activities include a costume contest, interactive competitions such as a Guitar Hero play-along and a Space Invaders face-off pitting parents against their children, prize giveaways, and a free meet-and-greet with game composers, designers, and industry figures.¹⁸ A limited “Ultimate V.I.P. Experience” sold separately offers a pre-show production tour and a personal question-and-answer session with Tallarico.¹²¹⁴

Origins and creators

The production grew out of the careers of its two co-creators, both established game composers. Tallarico, a cousin of Aerosmith? singer Steven Tyler, said his musical direction was set as a boy in Springfield, Massachusetts, when in 1977 he saw Star Wars and was struck by John Williams?’s orchestral score, which led him to check a Beethoven album out of the library.²⁴ As a child he recorded video game music on cassette tapes at arcades, spliced them together, and charged a nickel a head for neighborhood concerts.⁸ He began composing for video games in the 1980s, has worked on more than 350 titles including Mortal Kombat, Earthworm Jim, and the original Prince of Persia, and was the first musician to release a video game soundtrack worldwide, Tommy Tallarico’s Greatest Hits Vol. 1 on Capitol Records.⁶²⁸ Wall left Video Games Live in mid-2010 after eight years as co-creator, conductor, and music director to focus on composing, having scored games including the Mass Effect series and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.¹¹¹²

Tallarico has said that the show deliberately answers the misconception that video game music is “just bleeps and bloops,” even opening performances by playing simple bleeps and bloops before the orchestra takes over.⁴³ The concert removes the formality of the classical setting — musicians perform without tuxedos and audiences are encouraged to cheer and clap — a philosophy Tallarico framed around Beethoven’s own delight when listeners lost control of their emotions during a performance.⁴ The production distinguishes itself from music-only video game concerts, such as the Seattle Symphony’s “PLAY! A Video Game Symphony,” through its heavier emphasis on visuals and audience interaction.⁸ According to the company, its development took over three years to design, build, and license, requiring new technology for synchronizing the orchestra with the video and effects and the cooperation of publishers worldwide.⁴¹²

Debut and touring history

The debut performance took place on July 6, 2005, at the Hollywood Bowl? in Los Angeles, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic? playing to more than 11,000 people, described as the largest video game concert in history at that time.⁶¹² Most of the music performed that night — from Halo, Sonic, Metal Gear Solid, Mario, Zelda, Warcraft, Tomb Raider, Myst, Kingdom Hearts, Tron, and others — had never been performed live.⁶ The tour grew from three shows in its first year, staged in just three states, to more than 60 by 2009.⁴⁸

Video Games Live opened new markets abroad, giving what it describes as the first video game concert in Canada (Vancouver, October 30, 2005) and the first ever in countries including England, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, France, Taiwan, and China.⁶¹² It was the first non-Asian game concert to perform in Asia, in Korea at the 12,000-seat Olympic Park Stadium in Seoul, and the first non-Japanese-produced concert to perform in Japan.¹²¹⁹ In several countries the shows were subsidized by governments seeking to interest young people in the arts; in February 2009 the production played to 100,000 people to open the Taiwan International Music Festival, and in 2007 it received a “Special Breakthrough Achievement” award in Brazil following performances in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo the year before.⁴⁶ On October 22, 2007, it became the first and only show to sell out the Royal Festival Hall? in London (with the Philharmonia Orchestra?) since the venue’s refurbishment earlier that year.⁶

Other notable venues have included the Bird’s Nest National Olympic Stadium in Beijing, the Kennedy Center? in Washington, D.C., and Red Rocks Amphitheatre? in Colorado.⁶¹⁶ By the company’s own reckoning it had performed over 500 shows in 42 countries on 5 continents, with over 2 million people having seen it live, and holds a Guinness World Record as the biggest, most successful, and longest-running game concert.⁶ As of the 2026–2027 season it continued to tour internationally, with scheduled dates in Los Angeles, several cities across China, Salt Lake City, and Newport News, Virginia.¹⁹ Individual dates are typically booked by local orchestras such as the Boston Pops?, the Colorado Symphony?, the Utah Symphony?, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Austin Symphony Orchestra?.^1416201915 Conductor Emmanuel Fratianni? serves as principal conductor of the production.¹¹⁴

Recordings and media

Video Games Live has released nine albums worldwide, all of which debuted in the Billboard Top 10.⁶ The Video Games Live: Volume One album, released by EMI Classics in the summer of 2008, debuted on the Billboard charts at number 10 and was, according to the company, the first video game compilation album released worldwide by a major label; it won “Best Soundtrack of the Year” and Editor’s Choice awards from IGN and the Best Soundtrack Album award from the Game Audio Network Guild.⁶ A later album, Video Games Live: LEVEL 6, debuted at number 5 on the Billboard charts.¹³ In 2010 a full-length concert program aired nationally on PBS? and became one of the network’s top-rated specials, reaching more than 90 million American homes; the company also released an award-winning feature-length DVD and Blu-ray.⁶

VIDEO GAMES LIVE PBS Promotional Trailer (2010)Tommy Tallarico