There is something genuinely different about hearing a full orchestra play Kashmir. Not “covers night” different — different different. Brent Havens, the Berklee-trained conductor and arranger behind Windborne’s The Music of Led Zeppelin, has spent decades working out how to thread orchestral weight through the Zeppelin catalog without softening a note of it. On Friday, July 17, he brings that work to Kodak Center in Rochester — with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra alongside him. Curtain is at 7:30 PM.
About the Show
Windborne’s The Music of Led Zeppelin is the production that started everything for Windborne Productions, which has operated since 1990. The show debuted in Virginia in late 1995 and has been touring ever since — built around a single core idea: the orchestra is not decoration, it is part of the band. Havens transcribed and arranged the material himself, integrating the RPO as a unified force alongside the rock lineup rather than layering strings on top after the fact.
For Rochester, lead vocalist Randy Jackson handles the demanding Zeppelin vocal range, with George Cintron on lead guitar, Dan Clemens on bass, Powell Randolph on drums, and Allegra on electric violin. The setlist runs 18 songs — Good Times Bad Times, Ramble On, Kashmir, Black Dog, Thank You, The Ocean, and Rock and Roll among them. Dynamic lighting and a mirrorball round out what is, by design, a full arena-style rock experience with sixty-plus orchestral musicians in the room.
Heads up: This show was rescheduled from April. If you already have tickets, they are valid for July 17 — check your inbox if you are not sure.
About Kodak Center
Kodak Center is a 2,400-seat theater on West Ridge Road in Rochester — a room built for exactly this kind of production. Big enough for the RPO and a full rock band to share the stage without crowding each other, contained enough that you feel every decibel of it. Check out more upcoming Western NY shows ↗
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster. The show runs 7:30–9:30 PM and this is a one-night-only event — there is no second date if it fills up.