TFNation 2026: Vince DiCola Live Musical Performance (2026)

Alain

TFNATION 2026: VINCE DiCOLA LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Music composed and performed by Vince DiCola
Vocals by Jadel (Javier Luis Delgado)
August 1, 2026
Hilton Birmingham Metropole
Birmingham, England

PART 1: FORTY YEARS AGO

I was only five years old when THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE was first released.

While I’m not exactly sure when I first saw it, it was definitely sometime during primary school because I remember having a Hot Rod toy which unfortunately got run over and destroyed by a car when it fell out of my back pocket on the way home from school one day.

In any case, I had always loved the songs from the film. “Dare” and “The Touch” defined the respective scenes they were written for and were always playing in my head when I played with my toy Hot Rod (“pre-accident” of course!)

While I was too young to be explicitly conscious of the genius of the film’s score and its composer, I knew it existed as background music but it wasn’t something that I had actively sought to buy or listen to – and besides, how could I? I was in primary school with no money and no concept of what a film score was.

And now, forty years after the release of THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE, I not only know what a film score is and does, but I have also become its composer’s biggest fan: I am of course talking about Vince DiCola, composer famed for his music for not only THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE, but also ROCKY IV, STAYING ALIVE and much, much more.

PART 2: A ONE-MAN BAND

It was at TFNation 2026, a celebrated annual Transformers event held in England, that I finally had the opportunity to see DiCola perform his music live in concert.

Performing as a one-man band with guest vocalist Jadel, this sold-out concert featured DiCola’s greatest hits from the movies, video games and more. It also marked his first-ever live performance in the UK.

DiCola at TFNation 2026

I had originally assumed that a small band would be providing accompaniment to DiCola during the concert, so I was surprised to find a lone keyboard setup on stage when I got to venue. However, as DiCola would later explain during the concert, he would be performing on keyboard live alongside pre-records of the music. Thanks to the incredible sound crew at the venue, it sounded fantastic – so much so that I cheekily suggested to DiCola after the concert that he should take his one-man show (plus vocalist) on the road someday!

PART 3: THE SETLIST

One look at the setlist below will tell you what a high-octane night of music it was:

  1. THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – “Unicron”
  2. THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – “Escape”
  3. ANGRY BIRDS TRANSFORMERS – “Angry Birds / TF Medley”
  4. PET MONSTERS – “City Streets”
  5. SATURDAY MORNING RPG – “No Risk No Glory”
  6. STAYING ALIVE – “Far From Over”
  7. THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – “Death of Optimus Prime”
  8. MIGHTY FIGHT FEDERATION – “Mighty Fight Federation Theme”
  9. SATURDAY MORNING RPG – “Saturday Morning RPG Extended Theme”
  10. ONLY TIME WILL TELL – “Miracles”
  11. MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE – “Theme”
  12. ROCKY IV – “War”
  13. ROCKY IV – “Training Montage”
  14. THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – “Dare”
  15. ROCKY IV – “Hearts on Fire”

The 90-minute program was performed without intermission and included short anecdotes from DiCola before each piece.

PART 4: THE CONCERT

“Bah Weep Graaagnah Wheep Ni Ni Bong!” exclaimed the MC.

“Bah Weep Graaagnah Wheep Ni Ni Bong!” replied the audience with the might of a small Autobot army.

Chuckling to my son sitting beside me, I knew we were in for a wild ride.

THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE
“Unicron”

The concert kicked off with the familiar strains of Julie Andrews singing “The hills are alive with the sound of music” playing through the auditorium speakers. Glitching on the word “music”, it then morphed into a deep rumble before the sounds of a villainous march filled the room. And with that, DiCola came out on stage to a hero’s welcome. When the applause finally died down, he perched himself behind the keyboard ready to deliver a sonic treat to our hearts and minds.

“Unicron” opened gloriously with its 80s synths and cool percussive beats before giving way to the iconic Unicron theme performed by electric organ. But oh that bass line running through the music – I had nothing but chills! Wailing electric guitar soon took over, leaving us nothing but to marvel about how cool this music was.

THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE
“Escape”

Similar to “Escape” from the original soundtrack album, this was another winning performance that featured a classic heroic theme for the Autobots as they frantically fight to protect their base in the film. Spirited, fun and deliriously catchy, I just didn’t want it to end. 

ANGRY BIRDS TRANSFORMERS
“Angry Birds / TF Medley”

Co-composed with DiCola’s writing partner Kenny Meredith, this was a heroic and adventurous piece written in a similar idiom to his TRANSFORMERS score. Luckily, an excellent recording of the 2016 BotCon performance of this medley can be found on the CD release of DiCola’s OF TWO MINDS. 

PET MONSTERS
“City Streets”

Written for an action role-playing game (RPG), “City Streets” was a pulsating piece full of badass attitude and drive. Featuring some killer virtuosic keyboard runs by DiCola, this was another “DiCola earwormTM”. 

SATURDAY MORNING RPG
“No Risk No Glory”
– vocal by Jadel

It’s hard to believe that this upbeat power ballad was written for an RPG inspired by Saturday morning cartoons and 80s pop culture. 

To give it that Phil Collin’s vibe, Spanish vocalist Jadel was brought to the stage to impress with his tremendous vocal talents – it was certainly one of his many home runs for the night.

STAYING ALIVE
“Far From Over”
– vocal by Jadel

Originally performed by Frank Stallone on the original soundtrack album, Jadel put his own spin on this catchy pop rock piece. It was a sensational performance full of drive and passion that again showed off Jadel’s incredible range.

THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE
“Death of Optimus Prime”

It goes without saying that this was the night’s most emotional piece.

Opening with a touching solo piano performance of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”, it soon gave way to the sounds of a steady ticktock beat to signify the dwindling life force of Optimus Prime.

The “Death Theme” then made its appearance with a beautiful classical piano arrangement of DiCola’s iconic theme. It next segued into a truly epic and powerful lament featuring synth choir and a pulsating bass line. If the tears weren’t already flowing, they most definitely were now.

The effervescent Matrix of Power theme came next followed by a return to the “Death Theme” as the ticktocking beat slowed to a crawl. DiCola then concluded the piece with one last sensitive performance of the theme on the piano as the audience sat in stunned silence… 

What I love most about this new arrangement* and performance is its tone and evolution from the original recording. While the original recording sounded bare and raw, this new arrangement was on another level – it was mature, elegant, and a reflection of our growth as individuals since the first time we saw the death of Optimus Prime and were utterly devastated by it.

DiCola himself has grown since that time, so it’s almost as if we have grown together through his music.

* minus the “The Sound of Silence” intro, this concert arrangement is largely identical to the one on the recently released album, THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – THE REFORMATTED EDITION (see above pic)

MIGHTY FIGHT FEDERATION
“Mighty Fight Federation Theme”

To lighten the mood, the theme from MIGHTY FIGHT FEDERATION came next. This heroic and adventurous theme was written for an arena fighting video game and featured a catchy throbbing beat.

SATURDAY MORNING RPG 
“Saturday Morning RPG Extended Theme”

Music from SATURDAY MORNING RPG made another appearance in the program with a menacing and pulsating piece that ended with a great buildup from the percussion section.

ONLY TIME WILL TELL
“Miracles”
– vocal by Jadel

Jadel returned to the stage to perform this beautiful and slow ballad. As the song progressed, many in the audience switched on their phone lights and waved them in the air in sync with the song.

Vocalist Jadel (photo credit: my son!)

The piece also featured a lovely piano interlude, which was in fact a Burt Bacharach composition called “I’ve Got My Mind Made Up.”

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
“Theme”

Before this piece was performed, DiCola explained that this was an arrangement that he and Kenny Meredith had worked on. In addition to the iconic “More than meets the eye” melody, the piece also featured some wicked keyboard improv by DiCola.

ROCKY IV
“War”

Obtained via Notefornote Music a few years ago

Truth be told, despite this being a Transformers event attended by predominantly Transformers fans, DiCola’s music for ROCKY IV is what I most wanted to hear.

And what a piece to perform first: “War”, a piece of music that has played in the hearts and minds of many a person bent on battling adversity and overcoming their challenges.

Endlessly heroic, inspiring, and full of sweat and tears, this is most definitely DiCola’s magnum opus. And when it built up to that iconic Bill Conti finale from the original ROCKY score, I was riding high in a state of pure ecstasy – it really doesn’t get better than that!

ROCKY IV
“Training Montage”

With little time to recover from the previous piece, I was once again knocked out by the stupendous “Training Montage.” As scenes from the film were projected on screen, DiCola took us through this musical journey of grit and accomplishment – I truly doubt there was anyone that felt they could NOT slap a few logs on their shoulders while trudging through heavy snow after hearing this piece!

THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE
“Dare”
– vocal by Jadel

Next came what every Transformers fan had been waiting for: the iconic “Dare”.

Jadel absolutely stole the show here not only with his pitch perfect vocals, but also with his ability to involve the audience and get them to cheer and sing along during key moments. It truly was a sight and moment to behold!

Not to be outdone, DiCola provided a killer keyboard solo during the song’s famous interlude.

As the song progressed and the excitement level jumped to eleven, DiCola once again ripped through a stunning keyboard solo as Jadel continued to vocalize while asking the crowd to give it up for DiCola. It was such an amazing moment and a perfect way to end the piece.

ROCKY IV
“Hearts on Fire”
– vocal by Jadel

As Jadel and DiCola walked off stage in what was seemingly the end of the concert, the four opening notes of “Hearts on Fire” blared from the speakers, beckoning them both back to the stage for one final song for the evening.

Again, it seemed that many in the audience knew and loved the song as they joyously joined in during the chorus.

On a personal level, hearing this piece live meant a great deal to me as my 8-year-old son, who had flown from Japan with me for the concert, absolutely adores this song – and for him to hear it live performed by its original composer is something he will never forget.

In any case, it was the perfect end to an even more perfect concert.

Take your bows boys!

The next day saw a panel discussion being held with DiCola discussing his career and work – unfortunately, we could not attend as we had to return home to Japan. By all accounts, it was a huge success!

Below I will briefly describe the activities related to DiCola’s visit to TFNation 2026, as well as another personal anecdote.

PART 5: A PRE-CONCERT MEET-AND-GREET

TFNation attendees were able to purchase a “Legend Pass”, which was basically a meet-and-greet behind closed doors at a specified time. Pass holders were entitled to a professional photo with DiCola, a few moments to sit and chat with him, the opportunity to have something signed, a limited edition print featuring a picture of DiCola on stage, and a specially designed “Legend Pass” ticket to commemorate the event.

Among other things, my son spent most of the time explaining to “Mr. DiCola” how he loved “Hearts on Fire.” Huge props to DiCola for his patience and kindness!

DiCola also graciously signed a poster of the film that I had picked up in the Trader Hall earlier in the day:

This will look mighty fine on the wall at home!

PART 6: DiCOLA BOOTH AND MERCH

On each day of TFNation 2026, DiCola spent a few hours signing at a dedicated booth at the event’s “Trader Hall.” 

Run by DiCola’s manager Peter Hackman, we were also able to get a few things signed as well as buy some DiCola CDs, sheet music, and photos.

To the right of the booth was a display case showing some of DiCola’s original scores for THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE.

How’s that for history!

PART 7: FROM DISAPPOINTMENT TO DELIGHT

It would be remiss for me not to mention why seeing DiCola this time was such a rewarding experience.

See, I had originally planned to see DiCola and Stan Bush perform at The Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles in March this year. I had my concert ticket, my VIP meet-and-greet pass, and my hotel booked, but for some unknown reason I was bumped off my flight and could not make it to LA in time.

To say that I was disappointed would be a major understatement.

When Peter Hackman, who is DiCola’s manager, heard about this, he kindly arranged a special gift for me to take away the pain. I almost cried when he presented me with some personalized sheet music from DiCola as well as the Whisky concert poster signed by both DiCola and Bush.

I will never ever forget their tremendous act of kindness!

PART 8: THANK YOU

A huge thank you again to Peter Hackman who is not only DiCola’s fabulous manager, but also founder and president of Different Direction Management.

Thanks to him, my son and I were able to have a very special close-up experience of DiCola’s concert that we will cherish always.

With DiCola and Jadel after the concert!

The problem of course is that my son will expect every concert he attends to be this way! 😊

PART 9: OVER TO YOU

Did you go to this concert too? How did you like it?

And what did you think of my report?  Feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly in the “Contact Me” section.

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