When Eric Barone revealed the Stardew Valley live performance tour, identified formally as Stardew Valley: Competition of Seasons, late final 12 months, the Pocket Ways group chat exploded. Whereas we’re not all semi-permanent residents of Pelican City, round half the crew is, so we anxiously received in that digital queue and prayed to our Junimo overlords that we would have the ability to safe tickets. Spoiler: we did. I picked up a ticket for Birmingham, whereas PT workers author Holly scored a seat on the London present the subsequent evening.
The present at City Corridor in Birmingham, England, was the primary cease on the tour’s journey to the UK. It was nearly as good a spot as any for the subsequent a part of the live performance collection to start, with the distinguished venue completely complimenting the London Metropolitan Orchestra’s musical prowess. Unsurprisingly, it was a sell-out, with a protracted line of followers and cosplayers ready for an evening they wouldn’t overlook outdoors the venue effectively earlier than the doorways swung open. I noticed three Harveys, two Elliots, and an Emily, however I’m positive there have been loads extra I didn’t see.
After a lot anticipation and scrambling for merch, the LMO walked out on the stage, accompanied by conductor and host for the night Andy Brown. Relatively than simply going straight into the music, Brown first set the scene. The form of Competition of Seasons, as you’ll be able to most likely think about, finds its kind in your first 4 seasons within the valley: Spring, Summer time, Fall, and Winter, with a number of excursions to acquainted haunts just like the Stardrop Saloon and the key woods alongside the way in which.
Relatively than ceaselessly stopping and beginning, the arrangers and Barone selected seasonal medleys, bringing collectively the themes of every season in what the booklet – sure, I purchased the booklet – refers to as Season Suites. Brown launched every of those with a bit of context earlier than the orchestra started to play, going so far as to inform a cheeky little joke about how even in Winter, whereas work stops for a lot of Pelican City, nothing can maintain Pierre away from his checkout counter.
First on the setlist was the Stardew Valley Overture, that blissful little bit of music that welcomes you as you open the sport for the primary time and each time after. You already know, it’s the one you often hear round ten seconds off earlier than leaping into your save. The strings did many of the heavy lifting right here, with the violin good for recreating the synth swells of this acquainted piece.
Then, it was nearly straight into the Season Suite: Spring, with a vivid projection impressed by the colours of the season illuminating the gamers on stage. Admittedly, I’d gone into the live performance hoping for a projection of Stardew moments on a giant display, nevertheless it didn’t want it. If something, the dearth of something greater than the colourful projection and the performers made you assume again to your personal time within the Valley, providing a subjective expertise to everybody within the room.
The music of the mines, my favourite place to be in Stardew Valley, additionally acquired the medley remedy. As followers of Stardew needs to be effectively conscious, that is among the most blissfully ambient music within the sport, and the brand new orchestral association mixed with the beneficiant reverb of the City Corridor made for an much more serene listening expertise.
I didn’t point out it earlier, however on strolling into the venue, all in attendance acquired a duplicate of the sheet music for one in all Stardew’s most iconic items, Dance of the Moonlight Jellies. This tune acted as the ultimate music earlier than the interval, with the conductor revealing it to be one of many LMO’s favourite songs from the set. It’s comprehensible why they really feel that means, because it’s most likely one of many items most suited to an orchestral setting. I’d say they did it justice, however that’s one thing of an understatement. The band completely captured this delicate piece’s ethereal nature whereas bringing the present’s first half to a chilled shut.
The present’s second half additionally included the Season Suite: Fall medley, that includes among the extra playful themes from the sport like The Scent of Mushroom and Ghost Synth. The Fall medley ended with Raven’s Descent. This piece is distinctly extra melodramatic than its Fall counterparts, and the orchestra breathed new life into the wistful association, elevating the unique components with harmonizing strings and mild horns on a mattress of elaborate piano work.
Lastly, because it usually tends to do, winter arrived together with the Season Suite: Winter. This piece allowed the percussion participant to shine, with tracks from the medley resembling Nocturne of Ice and Historic inserting the tuned percussion devices entrance and middle. After the just about boss-fight cacophony of the music from Journey of the Prarie King, this introduced the viewers again all the way down to the snowy earth, with the mild melodies reflecting across the venue including to the ambiance.
The final observe on the official setlist was Within the Deep Woods, one of many extra brooding themes from the sport. Whereas it was already fairly obvious, this was a last reminder of simply how a lot the dynamic nature of an orchestra fits the themes of Stardew Valley. We within the viewers sat in awe, realizing it was the top however taking it in our stride because the strings swelled and the piano tickled the mysterious melodies which have made this observe a long-time fan favourite. With that, we thought it was over, however there was one last deal with in retailer.
After the conductor momentarily left the stage solely to return seconds later, the live performance drew to an in depth with a convincing encore efficiency of A Golden Star is Born, a observe acquainted solely to those that know the enjoyment of finishing the in-game neighborhood middle bundles. This was the true showstopper. I needed to maintain it collectively because the strings, guitar, and piano delivered these recognizable melodies, with the core theme first heard throughout the Stardew Valley Overture rising once more just like the solar in spring and rounding off the night in essentially the most satisfying method. Then we clapped, all of us stood and clapped because the conductor and orchestra took a last bow earlier than strolling off stage.
For extra highlights of the second half of the present as much as the encore, I’m handing over to Holly for a few paragraphs to element her favourite moments from the next evening at London’s Cadogan Corridor.
“After the interval, we received a small medley of character-specific songs together with Abigail, Haley, and Penny – not my private selection of partner or songs, however they had been pretty nonetheless. The band then struck up my favourite music on the Stardew soundtrack – Wedding ceremony Celebration. You possibly can see the performers having a ton of enjoyable throughout this and different quick songs, they usually performed it to perfection.”
“One other absolute spotlight was the Journey of the Prarie King soundtrack songs – one thing you’d by no means have the ability to think about is that fast-paced 16-bit music in a classical sense, however let me let you know it was unimaginable. My favourite part, although, was the Season Suite: Summer time. All of the songs from that season are bops and listening to it dwell was beautiful.”
All-in-all, as each Holly and I can attest, the Stardew Valley: Competition of Seasons expertise was as magical as we thought it is likely to be. I’m not a spiritual man, however one thing felt actually transcendent in City Corridor as simply over a thousand of us sat in silence listening to the music that has soundtracked numerous hours of sport time.
In fact, for those who’re a fellow gamer, you realize that in-game time is a giant a part of your life, so this isn’t simply the music of Stardew. That is the music of my early maturity, from being a bleary-eyed college pupil taking part in at 2 AM as a substitute of finishing coursework to thriving on a co-op farm six years later with my loving associate and an in-game canine named after my very own candy fluffy boy. We modify, the seasons change, however the music stays the identical.
To be in that corridor was to really feel such as you had been a part of one thing. It was a present courtesy of Eric Barone and his drive to create a rating so various and dynamic that it doesn’t even want the sport in entrance of you to pluck your heartstrings just like the London Metropolitan Orchestra’s rendition of Dance of the Moonlight Jellies. That could be a reward we’ll proceed to treasure.
There you’ve it, our ideas on the Stardew Valley: Competition of Seasons live performance. For extra of me rambling about my favourite sport, take a look at our retrospective Stardew Valley evaluate, or see what’s coming to Swap quickly with the arrival of the 1.6 replace with our information on the place to seek out the Stardew Valley bookseller.
