Last week, I went to the Sonic Symphony World Tour, produced by SEGA and presented by MBP Live on Saturday, June 15, 2024. We went to the showing at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

I’ll be upfront: I did not grow up playing Sonic games, and because of that, I was hesitant to attend this concert. Would I appreciate hearing live performances of music to a franchise that I didn’t have any nostalgia or direct connection to? I ultimately decided to attend to see if I would like it. And despite my lack of knowledge of the series, I ultimately thought this was a solid way to be introduced to the Sonic franchise and its musical score. Overall, there was a lot to enjoy about this concert experience.

Establishing the scene

Located in Downtown Phoenix, the Phoenix Convention Center seats 1,200 guests with balcony seats. Despite its smaller size, the venue itself is beautiful, with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and art decorating the walls. The convention center is familiar for me, as well; we attended this venue for a previous Final Fantasy concert many years ago.

We were seated at the back of the balcony, almost in the center, giving us a perfect view of the stage and projector screen. We arrived within a few minutes of starting time, which we knew thanks to the countdown on the screen featuring lovely hand-drawn artwork of Sonic and his friends. The show was sold-out, so the venue rapidly filled up with fans, old and young alike. I saw lots of families with young kids, our friend group, included. There were, of course, lots of cosplayers and even Sonic plushies carried by fans.

The Sonic Symphony World Tour sets itself apart from other video game concerts in one key way: the first half features orchestral music, while the second half features rock. The Sonic Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Jose Delgado, accompanied by gameplay and cutscenes projected on the huge screen behind them. Interestingly, the orchestra for this performance was quite small. I’m not sure if this is because the Phoenix Convention Center has a relatively small stage, if it’s a smaller touring group, or if they needed extra space for the other performers later on.

The second half of the concert, fitting of its status as a rock concert, featured numerous guest vocalists and performers, including Ty Christian, Louis A. Ochoa, Shota Nakama, Derek Dupuis, and Blaize Collard. The genre ranges from rock to heavy metal, a testament to the great variety of music across the Sonic franchise.

I later learned that a few of the performers listed in the credits were not at our showing, one of them being Kellin Quinn. Quinn is the lead singer of Sleeping with Sirens, a band that I enjoy immensely. He recorded a few of the songs for the official Sonic Frontiers soundtrack that were performed at the concert. It would have been amazing to see him live and I was admittedly rather disappointed when I found that out. It didn’t impact my enjoyment of the concert at all, but talk about a missed opportunity!

The Setlist

The concert clocked in at approximately two and a half hours, making it one of the longest video game concerts I’ve attended. Not to say that it overstayed its welcome or was unenjoyable, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t begin to feel the length by the end of the second set due to a few false endings and encores.

The first half featured orchestral medleys from across the Sonic series. Much like the NieR concert, the screen included the titles for each track, this time in the bottom left, and even included credits for arrangements. As a newcomer to Sonic music, I greatly appreciate this inclusion and am thrilled to see this included in more and more video game concerts recently.

First Half

• “Green Hill Zone” (Sonic the Hedgehog)
• “Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Medley” (Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
• “Sky Sanctuary” (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
• “Sonic Mania Medley” (Sonic Mania)
• “Believe in Myself / It Doesn’t Matter” (Sonic Adventure 2)
• “Chao Medley” (Sonic Adventure 2)
• “Rooftop Run” (Sonic Unleashed)
• “Aquarium Park / Planet Wisp” (Sonic Colors Ultimate)
• “Sonic Frontiers Medley” (Sonic Frontiers)

The orchestra may have only featured a handful of violinists, brass players, percussionists, woodwind instruments, and a pianist, but you wouldn’t know that from how they played. The sound was crisp and lovely, carrying through the venue beautifully. The melodies didn’t get lost and we greatly enjoyed the orchestrations.

The crowd for this video game concert was, by far, the most vocal and engaged audience I’ve ever seen. I don’t mind when fans cheer for their favorite song or applaud the end of a song, but I will say the crowd was practically deafening, with some fans even screaming during softer parts of songs. I can forgive this more during the rock concert second half, but I thought it was borderline excessive during the orchestral portion of the concert. Maybe I’m just old.

As with other video game concerts, the screen behind the orchestra played gameplay and cutscenes from the numerous Sonic games. Some scenes even seamlessly transitioned between gorgeous, hand-drawn animation and gameplay, and it was very well done. Similar to the NieR concert, the music and scenes were synchronous. In this concert, it was utilized for great comedic timing in the first half, with quick cuts and zooming in on the characters at various points.

The visuals and music felt very fitting and appropriate to the tone of the early Sonic games: a bright and colorful world with playful and humorous characters.

Second Half

• “I Am…All of Me” (Shadow the Hedgehog)
• “What I’m Made Of” (Sonic Heroes)
• “Knight of the Wind” (Sonic and the Black Knight)
• “His World” (Sonic the Hedgehog)
• “Reach for the Stars” (Sonic Colors)
• “Fist Bump” (Sonic Forces)
• “Endless Possibility” (Sonic Unleashed)
• “A Ghost’s Pumpkin Soup” (Sonic Adventure 2)
• “Unknown from M.E.” (Sonic Adventure 2)
• “Break Through It All” (Sonic Frontiers)
• “Find Your Flame” (Sonic Frontiers)
• “I’m Here Revisited” (Sonic Frontiers)
• “Escape from the City” (Sonic Adventure 2)
• “Live and Learn” (Sonic Adventure 2)
• “One Way Dream” (Sonic Frontiers)

As a rock concert, the second half represents a very different side of the Sonic series: serious and edgy with high stakes. I was pleasantly surprised I recognized “Break Through It All,” and once I put it together that this is one of Kellin’s songs, this easily rose the ranks as one of my favorite tracks from the concert.

I wasn’t expecting the orchestra to still be present during the rock concert, but unfortunately, this is where their small size worked against them. With the exception of a couple of songs, the orchestra was completely eclipsed by the vocals and electric guitar. This is honestly a shame. With better audio balancing, I think both the orchestra and rock elements could have been blended beautifully to create a mesmerizing arrangement for live audiences.

Interestingly, “Break Through It All,” “Find Your Flame,” and “I’m Here Revisited” featured lyric videos with manipulated and edited footage from the games. This addition was a nice touch as it allowed the audience to sing along and also gave these heavy metal tracks a strong visual identity.

The last three tracks in the second half of the setlist were part of the encore. These tracks were nice overall, particularly “Escape the City.” But for me, three false endings and encores added significantly to the runtime and it was just a bit too much.

As the lights came on and we made our way out of the venue, the screen featured a credits scroll and music. They absolutely didn’t need to add this, but I think it’s a great touch to spotlight the incredible talent of the performers and team that put together this production. It’s something I wouldn’t mind seeing other video game concerts do in the future, too.

Final Thoughts

This concert revealed to me just how beloved the Sonic franchise is worldwide. I may not have the nostalgia for the series, but I absolutely have a newfound appreciation for its soundtracks. I was very impressed by how easily the series has dabbled in 8-bit and 16-bit tunes, symphonic melodies, and heavy metal rock compositions, and none of it feels out of place.

This wasn’t my favorite video game concert to date, but I also fully recognize I am not the target audience, either. For avid fans of the Sonic franchise, this concert experience is a celebration of a 30-year old franchise that isn’t going away anytime soon.

Final Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Sonic Symphony World Tour perfectly captures the series at its best—and wildly varying—moments. If you have a chance to check out this concert, I’d recommend it. Whether you’re a casual fan or newcomer, the Sonic Symphony World Tour’s wide range of music and genres makes it worth admission.

Featured image: Sonic Symphony World Tour

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