For his 67th birthday, Hans Zimmer had a long guest list: around 19,500 people came to his sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden on Thursday evening.

The legendary composer rocked the stage for nearly three hours, proving that film music can captivate audiences just as much as the setlists of other popular artists today, be it Chappell Roan, Linkin Park or Sabrina Carpenter (although Zimmer’s fans tended to be middle-aged – and left the glitter and eye shadow at home).

Alongside icons such as John Williams, Ennio Morricone and Danny Elfman, Zimmer’s film scores are among the most famous in all of film art. He won two Oscars out of twelve nominations for composing the music for the original “The Lion King” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” and four out of 22 Grammy nominations. Zimmer has worked with writers such as Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, Ron Howard, Patty Jenkins, Ridley Scott, Steve McQueen, Gore Verbinski, Zack Snyder and countless others. Most recently, his soundtrack to “Dune: Part 2” and the stunning, otherworldly vocals of singer Loire helped make this film one of the biggest films of 2024. It may have been Zimmer’s birthday, but he had plenty of gifts in store for audiences.

“Yeah, they told me it would be like that. Complete chaos! The best in the world! The best crowd you could ask for is in New York. Don’t tell the other places that,” Zimmer joked onstage as someone in the audience shouted “Happy Birthday.” “You know, it’s weird. People have been saying that to me all day. When you finally said it, it dawned on me. It’s me! It’s my birthday, yes!”

After the show began promptly at 8 p.m., Zimmer and his band, consisting of electric guitarists, violinists, cellists, singers, drummers, bassists and more, enjoyed the applause. Zimmer and his band began with songs from Jenkins’ DC superhero hit “Wonder Woman.” The stage lights flashed gold, red and blue – a nod to the colors of Gal Gadot’s famous costume – and the violinists’ bows sliced ​​through the air like Themyscirian swords.

After giving the show a hero’s welcome, Zimmer traveled thousands of years back to ancient Rome with songs from “Gladiator,” while singer Lisa Gerrard belted out the somber vocals of “Now We Are Free.” Although Zimmer isn’t working on this fall’s sequel, “Gladiator II,” it was a nice taste of being back in Ridley Scott’s world. Zimmer then set sail from the Colosseum to the seven seas with songs from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” After a medley of sea shanties and swashbuckling tunes, Zimmer received a standing ovation before the intermission.

The show got right back into the action with music from Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the first part of which launched the Oscar-winning director and composer’s collaboration. A giant screen above the band showed a flock of bats scurrying across the stage, and white floodlights swept over the audience like Gotham City’s bat signal searching for crooks. After a brief detour with songs from Last Samurai, it was finally time for Dune. Before the music began, three dancers appeared in the crowd dressed in the black robes of the magical, mysterious Bene Gesserit. Loire belted out her wild “Paul’s Dream” from the stage, while an electric guitar accompanied her lyrics.

“Sometimes you meet a musician who makes the impossible possible. You think she’s doing the impossible, but she’s just going a little bit further,” Zimmer said of Loire.

Zimmer then returned to Nolan once again with the emotional “Day One” and “Cornfield Chase” from Interstellar. After the electronic rock and roll, the music slowed down as Zimmer played the light piano theme from the film. Spotlights beamed onto the stage, mimicking the heartbreaking fourth-dimensional scene from Interstellar in which Matthew McConaughey’s astronaut is separated from his daughter. The light reflected off a giant disco ball hanging above the stage, drowning fans in stars darting past as if they were time travelers themselves. An aerial dancer descended from the ceiling and spun and twirled on a giant sheet as the band played on.

For the grand finale, Zimmer brought “Circle of Life” singer Lebo M. and a group of African singers onstage to perform a nostalgic, blaring “Lion King” medley. The stage was filled with colorful lights, dancers and singers as the packed audience grooved in their seats. Lebo M. then paid a touching tribute to James Earl Jones, the voice of “Lion King” Mufasa, who died four days earlier at the age of 93, and had the crowd sing “Happy Birthday” to Zimmer.

Just when it seemed the night was over, Zimmer returned for two encores: his explosive James
Bond theme song “Gun Barrel” from No Time to Die and “Time” from Inception. For the latter, he brought his daughter Annabel to sing the heavy theme from Nolan’s twisted thriller. In a first duet for father and daughter, the Zimmers sat side by side at the piano and Annabel laid her head on her father’s shoulder. She smiled as her famous father ended the concert with the song, then rose to her feet to thunderous standing ovations.

Not many people get the chance to share their birthday with Batman, Wonder Woman or Paul Atreides, but for Zimmer it will be an unforgettable birthday at Madison Square Garden.