The death of loud concerts? Why Gen Z is falling in love with candlelight concerts and softer live music experiences

Sitting under the stars, listening to live piano music as candlelight softly falls across your face. The music grows deeper with every note while the LED candles seem to enchant the melodies with their warm glow. Sitting beside someone you love, holding their hand every few moments, you begin to feel the music within yourself. The calmness and serenity of the heritage building seem to whisper stories of its past through the sound of the piano. For a brief moment in this fast-paced world, life feels paused, still, silent and beautiful.


In an era of booming concert culture, audiences are no longer seeking just music but experiences that come with it, and candlelight concerts are perfectly catering to those expectations. The first image that comes to mind when we hear the word ‘concert’ is gigantic stadiums and crowded grounds packed with thousands of people, deafening speakers, sweat and constant jostling among the audience. But candlelight concerts are different. They are quieter, more intimate and peaceful, with a limited number of people gathered inside vintage heritage spaces.

Candlelight concerts in India are fairly new. These concerts are a series of musical performances that blend classical arrangements with contemporary favourites. From AR Rahman and Arijit Singh to Taylor Swift and Coldplay, several contemporary artists have been celebrated through tribute performances at these concerts. What initially started as a niche concept has now become one of the most talked-about live music experiences across Indian cities because of its unique and soul touching magic.


These concerts not only cater to the emotional and aesthetic needs of Gen Z, but several other event organisers are also embracing this trend. Similar immersive musical experiences are being organised by Carvaan Live this year across cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. Artists like Rishabh Rikhiram Sharmaare also creating a similar sense of stillness and calmness through their soothing sitar performances. Earlier,Paresh Pahuja’s Voice Notes concert tour had also generated a comparable intimate and emotionally immersive atmosphere among audiences.

The venues play a huge role in making these concerts aesthetic and Instagram-worthy, which is one of the many reasons they are grabbing the attention of Gen Z audiences. These concerts are organised in heritage structures, opera houses, museums and luxury hotels, transforming quiet and historic spaces into immersive musical experiences.

In Delhi, the organisers have introduced a new concept with their recently launched Candlelight Open Air: Mehfil-e-Sufi. The event, organised in collaboration with Sabhyata Foundation, has been appearing across social media feeds almost every day. Hosted at historical locations like Safdarjung Tomb, these concerts are taking the live music experience to another level by blending heritage, music and ambience together.


Safdarjung Tomb opened its gates for a soulful ghazal evening in October last year to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Serendipity Arts Festival. Blending music with heritage, the event transformed the historic monument into an intimate cultural space where audiences gathered under the open sky to experience the timeless charm of ghazals in a serene and atmospheric setting.

In this low-attention-span, high-tech era, candlelight concerts are offering something rare to the younger generation that is stillness. A generation constantly surrounded by noise and fast-paced lifestyles sometimes simply wants to sit beneath the stars and lose itself in the soft melodies of a piano or the gentle strings of a guitar, with candlelight glowing beside their loved ones.