Long Beach is home to one of the most talked-about “haunted” landmarks in California, and this summer, it’s trading ghost stories for something a lot more soothing.
The RMS Queen Mary, a 1,019-foot ocean liner that completed over 1,000 transatlantic voyages before permanently docking in Long Beach, is hosting a candlelit tribute to composer Joe Hisaishi inside its grand Queen’s Salon.
Here’s why this rare musical event is worth the short drive down the 710.
A ship with a wild past
Before it became a floating hotel and museum, the Queen Mary spent WWII transporting hundreds of thousands of troops and once held the title of the most luxurious ocean liner in the world.
It’s also earned a reputation as one of the most haunted vessels anywhere, with paranormal investigators logging as many as 150 reported sightings over the decades.
That contrast, old-world glamour meeting ghost-ship lore, makes the Queen’s Salon an unusually striking backdrop for a classical concert.
Long before it became a haunted hotel, the Queen Mary was one of the fastest and most feared ships on the planet.
Launched in 1936, it held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing, and during WWII it was painted battleship gray and nicknamed the “Grey Ghost” because it could outrun torpedoes and vanish before German U-boats ever got a shot off.
By the time the war ended, the ship had ferried roughly 810,000 troops across the Atlantic and once carried a record-breaking 16,683 people in a single voyage, a record that still stands today.
After retiring from service in 1967, Long Beach bought the ship for $3.45 million and sank another $30 million-plus into converting it into the hotel and museum still docked there now.
It’s also picked up a reputation as one of the most haunted vessels in the country, with paranormal investigators logging as many as 150 reported sightings over the decades.
Meet the composer behind the music
Joe Hisaishi has earned the nickname “the Japanese John Williams,” and the résumé backs it up.
Born Mamoru Fujisawa in Nagano in 1950, he took his stage name as a nod to jazz legend Quincy Jones and went on to become the primary composer behind nearly every major Studio Ghibli film since Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984.
Across his career he’s racked up 73 award nominations and 43 wins, including multiple Japan Academy Prizes, a 2024 Golden Globe nomination for The Boy and the Heron, and Japan’s prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, an honor reserved for major contributions to the arts.
Despite scoring some of the most beloved film music of the last 40 years, he’s never landed an Oscar nomination, a snub many critics chalk up to the Academy historically overlooking Japanese animation.
His fanbase has long outgrown the anime crowd anyway.
In 2024, he sold out four straight debut shows with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and he’s conducted his own scores with orchestras like the London Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic.
What you’ll actually hear
The tribute leans on Hisaishi’s most beloved scores, with a tentative setlist pulling from Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and The Wind Rises.
It’s performed live by the Orchid Quartet, a Los Angeles-based, women-owned string group whose members have toured with acts like Adele and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
The whole set runs 60 minutes, with doors opening 45 minutes early so guests can settle in under the candlelight before the music starts.
Why this series keeps selling out everywhere it goes
Candlelight has quietly become the largest classical concert series in the world, now running in over 100 cities globally and drawing more than three million attendees since it first launched in Madrid back in 2019.
The Long Beach edition already holds a 4.7-star rating from 74 reviews, and with only a few weeks of dates left on the calendar, seats are moving fast.
Good to know before you go
- Shows run July 24 through August 16, 2026, with multiple dates and times available
- Tickets range from about $48 to $99.50 depending on the date
- The venue sits about 30 minutes from downtown LA, making it an easy evening trip
- Doors open 45 minutes before showtime, so plan to arrive early for good seating
🕯️ Grab tickets through Fever before this run wraps, since Candlelight shows have a habit of selling out fast wherever they land.
