A multi-sensory candlelight concert bringing the music of Michael Jackson to the historic Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
The Sussex String Quartet are taking Michael Jackson's music to the Royal Pavilion on Friday 30 October, as part of the Candlelight concert series. It's a tribute night, not a production by the artist's estate, and the whole thing is played by a string quartet under candlelight. The Pavilion is the royal palace built as a seaside retreat for King George IV, known for its Indo-Saracenic exterior and Chinese-inspired interiors, and the concert takes place in one of its decorated rooms, like the Music Room or the Banqueting Room.
The setlist is a long run through Jackson's career, starting with the early Motown days and moving through the solo years. The tentative programme includes 'I Want You Back', 'Rock With You', 'Human Nature', 'Billie Jean', 'Say Say Say', 'We Are the World', 'Man in the Mirror', 'Smooth Criminal', 'Black or White', 'Heal the World', 'Remember the Time', 'Bad', 'Earth Song', 'They Don't Really Care About Us' and 'Thriller'. Hearing these as string arrangements changes the feel of them, and the candlelight adds to it.
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It's not just a one-off, either. This is one of several dates the quartet is playing at the Pavilion, with others on Friday 18 September, Saturday 21 November and Friday 29 January 2027. Each one starts at 9:00pm and runs for an hour, with doors opening 45 minutes before. Tickets start from £28, and seating is assigned on a first-come, first-served basis within each zone. Audiences aged 8 and over can attend, and under-16s need to be accompanied by an adult.
