★★★★★
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Avatar: The Last Airbender is back and bigger than ever. A new movie release, a teaser for a new series, and now, a concert celebrating all things Avatar. 2026 really is a great year for the fanbase!
Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert is a 2-hour spectacle, transporting audiences through all three seasons (or “books”) of the animation, amplified by enthralling live music, intuitive lighting, and cinematic projections. It’s a show that truly makes you appreciate the intricacies of the animation style and the depth of Jeremy Zuckerman’s inspired scores.
Entering the Bridgewater Hall, fans young and old were buzzing with excitement, a select few stylishly dressed for the occasion with Appa bucket hats, plushies, and jumpers! I’ve genuinely not seen a community so hyped since comic con! They screamed excitedly for certain arcs and gave one of the biggest concert standing ovations I’ve ever seen!
Inside the hall, I was taken aback by the ambience of the lighting. On stage, the four nations’ flags and projection screen stood proud above orchestra, all swathed in a splendid golden bath of light. Warm rays shone from every angle, filling the roof with glorious splashes of colour, being particularly effective during the show’s creepiest moments and biggest battles.
After a jumpscare from a Magic the Gathering x Avatar collab advert, the show kicked off with an introductory video from the creators sharing original behind the scene footage and their passion for Avatar. They return again with the voice actors in act 2, discussing what makes the characters and music so endearing after all these years.
Original series editor Jeff Adams returns with thrilling cinematic editing that splices together key moments from the show, including poignant snippets of original voice acting and sound effects, as well as silent clips that allow the music to breathe.
Zuckerman’s expanded compositions really shine in this concert. Each piece is filled with personality, reflective of the emotions, characters, and elements seen on-screen, while taking inspiration from music from across the globe. The fire nation’s sound is particularly thrilling with heavy brass and thudding percussion that contrasts the softer elements of the other tribes. The choir heightens these performances with a range of sounds, from soaring angelic melodies to percussive non-lexical vocables.
ATLA’s music is large and orchestral with a thrilling feeling of adventurousness and playfulness, yet it also has an underlying solemnity apt for the emotional turmoil of the Gaang. It also combines a range of unique instruments like the duduk, guzheng, kalimba, taiko, and pipa that make up some of the show’s most iconic soundscapes and motifs, showcasing their emotional journeys.
It all merges and unites, layering into beautifully complex, quirky, moving, or haunting symphonies.
Highlights include: ‘The Boy in the Iceberg’, ‘Agni Kai’, ‘The Blue Spirit’, a thrilling introduction to Ba Sing Se, a climatic crescendo with the fall of the Earth nation, the theatre trip, Zuko seeking forgiveness, and the final battle, among many more. Their only sin was putting the gentle kalimba melodies of ‘Appa’s Lost Days’ next to heart-breaking pippa strums of ‘Iroh/Leaves on the Vine’… what an emotional rollercoaster! I was going to say how sad I was to see ‘Secret Tunnel’ skipped, but that was quickly resolved by a surprise encore sing-along of the fan favourite.
Of course, none of it would be possible without the orchestra, an incredible choir, and their enigmatic conductor, hopping and swinging through each score.
While newcomers might struggle to follow the condensed 2-hour celebration, fans are sure to love this fun-filled musical extravaganza.
Never mind air-bending, Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert is mind-bending! Between the carefully curated selection of cinematically edited stories, breathtaking orchestral performances, and the endearing snippets of original voice acting, Avatar: TLA In Concert is a masterclass of nostalgic musical entertainment. What other concert could get an audience screaming a five-word chorus so enthusiastically?
