On Nov. 17, the rock band, "Queen," had a rebirth in Macon. The group "One Night of Queen" performed at the Grand Opera House downtown with songs made famous by the internationally renowned British group.
The group performed with a lead singer, drummer and two guitarists. Lead singer Gary Mullen was entertaining and quite the crowd-pleaser, continually telling the audience to stand up and clap along to the beat of the songs.
Mullen played the role of Freddie Mercury masterfully; his vocals, outfit and on-stage dancing matched Mercury's eccentric stage performance that the audience recognized and loved.
The first song of the night was “One Vision.” Mullen captured the audience with his upbeat stage presence immediately, creating an entertaining and unexpectedly lively atmosphere.
Before “Somebody To Love” could start, Mullen made a call to the crowd to stand up and be active with him. His antics were soon rewarded, as everyone on both the orchestra and balcony levels were on their feet, clapping along when they were directed by the band onstage.
During “Seven Seas of Rhye" and “Radio Ga Ga,” Mullen exited the stage entirely and descended into the crowd. He handed out high-fives and took pictures with people, all while singing, exhibiting his showmanship and skill at making the most of the concert. At one point, he even accepted a hat from one of the audience members. Ever the performer, he sported it during most of the next song, endearing himself to the fan who gave him the hat.
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” an instantly-recognizable tune from the group, was one of the favorites of the audience that evening. The limits of the group were shown, however, in that they could not reproduce the famous middle verse. As a result, a recording was played instead, and they exited the stage until the recording finished. Nevertheless, every other song was recreated live, honing in on the group's attention to detail.
After “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the group exited the stage in a ruse that tricked a handful of audience members until the deep bass of “We Will Rock You” brought them back to watch the finale. “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” were a fitting end to the night. The curtain call re-excited the audience after a long night of cheering for the band.
Throughout the night, many of the songs played were instantly recognizable and unforgettable. The nostalgia of the moment was evident in the crowd, as many appeared to recall their childhood days spent jamming to the group on the radio. Queen’s staying power is clear from the success of this group that now spreads their work throughout the world, just as the original band did decades ago.
Gabriel Kopp '26 is majoring in Journalism and Law and Public Policy at Mercer University. He has written for The Cluster since he started at Mercer, and currently works as co-Editor-in-Chief. When he isn't studying, he enjoys going for runs and reading The New York Times or the AJC while sipping coffee.
