Live from the
Arles Amphitheatre
“They said it could not be done. Twenty thousand souls beneath the open sky of medieval Gaul, a lute, a drum, and two bards with absolutely nothing to lose.”
A Proclamation Most Bardic
Hear ye, hear ye — in the year of our Mead Hall’s most reckless ambition, Bard & Briar ventured beyond the familiar warmth of inn fires and torchlit taverns to claim the grandest open-air stage in all of medieval Gaul: the Arles Amphitheatre.
Built by Romans, weathered by centuries, and never once expecting a hurdy-gurdy — the ancient stone arena of Arles had hosted gladiators, chariot races, and the occasional dragon (the historical record is, admittedly, unclear on that last point). What it had never hosted, until now, was an evening of fantasy folk, mead-soaked ballads, and at least one extremely memorable goblin impression.
Twenty thousand souls filled those ancient tiers. Torches blazed along the upper walls. The bards took the stage at dusk, and by the final chord of The Arles Farewell, the stones themselves were said to be humming.
— The Bards, speaking to a particularly skeptical innkeeper the morning after
Souls in Attendance
Tracks Performed Live
When the Stones Were Laid
| # | Title | The Lore | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Act I — Heroes | |||
| 1 | The Gates of Arles | The opening invocation. No epic concert begins without properly addressing the gates. | 3:39 |
| 2 | Raise Your Tankards High | Twenty thousand voices joined in. The amphitheatre ran out of mead within the first chorus. | 3:24 |
| 3 | The Troll Beneath Blackstone Bridge | A cautionary tale. Several audience members now think twice before crossing bridges. | 1:23 |
| 4 | The Last Knight of Emberfall | A ballad of doomed glory. Three knights in the crowd were seen wiping tears through their visors. | — |
| Act II — Adventure | |||
| 5 | Across the King’s Road | A wanderer’s anthem performed as the moon crested the ancient stone walls. | — |
| 6 | The Goblin King’s Purse | The crowd favourite. Three separate audience members checked their own pockets mid-song. | — |
| 7 | Riders Through the Storm | A thunderous gallop of a song. The torches along the upper walls flickered on cue. Probably a coincidence. | — |
| 8 | Beneath the Crystal Caverns | Hushed and luminous. The crowd fell so quiet you could hear the bats in the upper arches. | — |
| Act III — Monsters | |||
| 9 | The Dragon of Iron Peak | The bards advised the audience to check the sky during this one. Several did. We are not saying anything happened. | — |
| 10 | Dance of the Wyvern Riders | Impossible to sit still for. The standing section became a spontaneous mosh pit of armoured revellers. | — |
| 11 | The Witch of Hollowmere | Eerie, beautiful, and unsettling in equal measure. Two audience members asked if she was real. We said probably not. | — |
| 12 | Giants Fall at Arles | Written for this very venue. The song about giants felt considerably more apt than expected. | — |
| 13 | The Kraken of Blackwater Bay | A nautical horror ballad performed in a Roman arena, 60 miles from the sea. The bards do not care about context. | — |
| Act IV — Legends | |||
| 14 | Song of the Wanderer | The quiet before the storm. A lone lute, twenty thousand souls, and the stars coming out above Arles. | — |
| 15 | Heroes Never Die | The crowd sang every word back. The bards didn’t need microphones for this one. | — |
| 16 | Live Forever in Story | The penultimate anthem. There were tears. There was no shame in those tears. | — |
| 17 | The Arles Farewell (Encore) | The stones were humming. No one left early. The torches burned until dawn. | — |
Arles Amphitheatre
Two stone tiers rise from the sun-baked earth of Provence, ancient arches stacked upon ancient arches, built to hold the roar of 20,000 Romans and now — rather unexpectedly — the roar of 20,000 fantasy folk fans. The arena’s medieval towers cast long shadows across the stage as the bards tuned their instruments, the setting sun painting everything a shade of gold not unlike a particularly well-poured mead.
Wandering merchants set up stalls in the outer corridors. A troupe of acrobatic jesters performed between sets. At least one very confused knight attempted to enter in full plate armour and was politely redirected to the standing section. This was not a night for sitting still anyway.
The Songs Await
Stream the full concert, catch us on the road, or send a raven if you'd like to book us for your fortress's next feast night. We bring our own lutes.