On September 24, Evil Dead In Concert brings Sam Raimi’s iconic 1981 horror film to life in a format that combines film, music, and live performance. The Capitol Center for the Arts will host the one-night event, where a newly restored version of The Evil Dead will screen while a six-piece ensemble performs composer Joe LoDuca’s original score live on stage.
Presented by Black Ink Presents, in collaboration with Terrapin Station Entertainment and Sony Music, the concert event is part of a 50-city U.S. tour that opens September 22 in Buffalo and continues through Halloween, with a three-night run in Los Angeles to close the season.
The live-to-film format isn’t new for Black Ink Presents. The company has produced concert versions of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ghostbusters, La La Land, Rocketman, and Labyrinth, often performing in historic theaters or converted movie houses. But Evil Dead In Concert marks the company’s first venture into full-fledged horror.
Plan Ahead
What: Evil Dead In Concert
When: Tuesday, September 24
Where: Capitol Center for the Arts – Chubb Theatre, Concord, NH
More Info: evildeadinconcert.com
John Kinsner’s Vision
For John Kinsner, CEO of Black Ink and executive producer of the tour, The Evil Dead was the right film at the right time.
John Kinsner and his team help the audience experience films in a powerful new way.
“What’s unique about the music in horror cinema is the tension and psychological drama that the orchestra brings to the scenes,” Kinsner said. “Especially in horror, that score can make or break the moment. Experiencing that live, in sync with the film—it lands with a whole new intensity.”
Kinsner, a longtime fan of the film and personal friend of composer Joe LoDuca, said the idea came together in part to honor The Evil Dead legacy on its 45th anniversary.
“It’s a fan favorite for a reason,” he said. “People still remember where they were when they first saw it. This tour is a way to revisit that memory, but to experience it in a new way—and in some ways, an older way. In the earliest days of cinema, films were shown with live music. This brings that tradition back.”
A Performance Built for Screams
LoDuca’s score is a significant part of what made The Evil Dead stand out in 1981. Eerie, experimental, and often overwhelming, the music combined orchestral strings, pounding percussion, and abstract sound design to create an experience that matched director Sam Raimi’s chaotic visual storytelling.
The concert version of the score is performed by a touring ensemble of six musicians: a string quartet, bass player, and percussionist. Kinsner said the group worked closely with LoDuca to adapt the music for live performance while preserving its original intensity.
“Most people have never experienced this score at full volume,” he explained. “Viewers of the original film may have never experienced it with surround sound, and most home viewings never did it justice. When you hear those strings clash with a chainsaw or sync perfectly with a scream, it hits different. Watching the musicians pull that off in real time is part of the spectacle.”
Kinsner said watching the musicians perform in time with the film’s chaos is part of what makes the event so striking. Every note, every shift in tension, is timed down to the scream, creating an experience that’s both technically impressive and emotionally powerful.
“The mix of strings and screams, paired with the precision of the performance, creates this moment where people really hear the film for the first time,” Kinsner said. “You never had the chance to appreciate the score this way before—it’s a lightbulb moment.”
Joe LoDuca’s Horror Roots
For Joe LoDuca, The Evil Dead was more than a first film score. It launched a career that would include Emmy wins for Xena: Warrior Princess and Legend of the Seeker, as well as international recognition for his work on films like Brotherhood of the Wolf and Patagonia. But it’s The Evil Dead that has remained his most enduring legacy.
LoDuca recently revisited the original score for a project titled Evil Dead: A Nightmare Reimagined, in which he re-recorded and expanded the musical ideas he first composed in his Detroit studio over four decades ago.
More Than Nostalgia
Beyond the blood and the spectacle, Kinsner said the success of live-to-film events has a lot to do with connection—between generations, between fans, and between the audience and the art of filmmaking itself.
“There’s something special that happens when a parent brings their kid, or when longtime fans introduce someone new to a movie like this,” he said. “It’s that moment when someone turns to you and says, ‘I never even noticed the music before.’ You realize how vital the score really is.”
He added that the format also reaffirms the creative value of horror as a genre.
“Historically, horror didn’t always get the biggest budgets or the highest praise. But it takes serious skill to make someone feel afraid with sound. Think of John Williams and the two notes that made Jaws terrifying. The Halloween theme. It’s all in the music.”
Tour Info
Evil Dead In Concert will tour nearly 50 cities across the United States this fall, with many of the shows taking place in restored movie palaces or historic theaters.
Concord’s Capitol Center for the Arts will host the New Hampshire performance on Tuesday, September 24. Get your tickets today at evildeadinconcert.com.
Note: This film is rated NC-17 for substantial graphic horror violence and gore.
All photos credited to Evil Dead in Concert and Black Ink Presents, 2025.
