A recording studio opens its doors to an audience
Eason Chan will stage 26 public recording sessions at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts between December 12, 2026, and February 20, 2027, revisiting albums from different stages of his career for a new record. Fans will watch the music being recorded, with phones switched off and sealed away and applause reserved for designated moments.
Contents
The project, titled McDonald's Presents: Recording Sessions with Mr. Eason Chan, turns the usual concert arrangement into something closer to a working recording session. Chan will sing earlier material again, discuss the making of his albums and share memories behind the songs. The performances will become the basis of a new album after the series ends.
Each session is scheduled to run for about 100 minutes, with two parts and a 15 minute interval. Across the series, Chan will return to Cantonese and Mandarin recordings, exploring how his voice and his understanding of familiar songs have changed with age and experience.
Tickets will be allocated through an online registration and ballot process on Cityline. Registration opens at 11 a.m. on October 28, 2026, and closes at 11:59 p.m. on October 29. Successful applicants in the first round can purchase tickets on November 5, followed by a second round on November 9.
Why Chan is returning to his earlier records
Chan's first album under his own name was released in 1996. The sessions arrive as he marks 30 years in the music industry and follow his Fear and Dreams world tour in 2025. Instead of another conventional concert programme, he is making the act of recording the central event.
Chan has described sharing music in this format with so many people as a first for him, and suggested that the opportunity might happen only once. In a message announcing the project, the singer said, translated from Chinese:
I like sharing music with everyone, which many people probably know. But sharing it with so many people at once in this way really is a first... and probably the only time.
His stated aim is to explore what happens when the same singer returns to the same work after years of living. A lyric recorded early in a career can carry a different feeling later. Changes in the voice, phrasing and emotional perspective are part of what Chan wants to hear through these new performances.
For listeners who have carried these songs through their own lives, the sessions offer a direct comparison between a familiar recording and a present interpretation. Chan's stories about the original albums will also place those performances alongside memories of how the music first came together.
Which albums will return?
The announced selection reaches across several periods of Chan's catalogue. It includes the Cantonese albums Yu Wo Chang Zai, My Happy Times, God Bless Lover, Shall We Dance? Shall We Talk!, The Easy Ride, U87, What's Going On...?, Listen to Eason Chan and H3M.
Mandarin releases are also part of the project, including Special Thanks To..., Black, White & Gray and Shang Wu Lou De Kuai Huo. Eason Chan's Happy Days has also been named among the albums to be revisited.
The programme is organised around albums rather than simply a single list of popular songs repeated throughout the run. The announcement describes each evening as a session devoted to designated album material, with a different arrangement of songs at every performance. Some sessions will combine material from more than one album.
That structure gives the choice of date a musical consequence. Someone hoping to hear a particular period of Chan's work will need to pay attention to the programme attached to that session. The 26 performances are intended to offer different musical experiences, even though they belong to one recording project.
What makes this different from a concert?
Chan will be performing for people in the theatre while also making recordings intended for later release. Those two purposes shape the evening. The audience gets to see the process behind a record, while the performance must produce sound suitable for an album.
A recording captures more than the singer's voice. Microphones can also pick up talking, applause, phone alerts and other sounds from the room. Keeping the audience quiet during recording gives the production team more control over what is captured alongside the music.
Chan will also talk about the creative work behind the albums, including recording memories and the stories attached to individual songs. Those conversations make the sessions more than a sequence of performances: they connect the new versions to the circumstances in which the earlier records were made.
The venue is the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The English announcement names the Lyric Theatre, while Chinese descriptions refer to the academy's opera theatre. The series places this recording project in a theatre setting, with the audience present for the work as it happens.
When fans can applaud, and what happens to phones
Audience members must switch off their mobile phones before entering and place them in a sealing device provided for the event. Photography, audio recording and video recording are prohibited inside the venue.
During recording, fans must remain quiet. Applause and cheering are allowed only at designated times, and talking is also restricted while the music is being captured. The practical change for concertgoers is straightforward: their response has to wait until the permitted moment.
Late arrivals will enter according to staff instructions. With recording taking place, the timing of movement into the auditorium becomes part of managing the session. Ticket holders should plan to arrive early enough to complete the phone arrangements and take their seats before the performance starts.
The quiet audience requirement has drawn both support and criticism online. Some listeners welcome the chance to take part in making a record and are comfortable staying silent during songs. Others feel that spontaneous applause and cheering are central to the pleasure of attending a live performance. That difference in expectations is especially relevant here because the event combines a public performance with a recording process.
How the ticket ballot will work
Cityline will handle registration and ticket purchases through an online ballot. Fans must first register during the announced window, then successful applicants will receive an opportunity to buy tickets in the relevant purchase round.
A ballot separates registration from purchasing. Entering the draw is the step that puts an applicant into consideration; the purchase stage comes later for those selected. Fans therefore need to keep track of both the registration deadline and the sale dates.
The schedule stretches from the ticket process in October and November to the final recording session in February. The main dates are:
- October 28, 2026, at 11 a.m.: Cityline ballot registration opens.
- October 29, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.: registration closes.
- November 5, 2026: successful applicants in the first round can buy tickets.
- November 9, 2026: successful applicants in the second round can buy tickets.
- December 12, 2026: the recording series begins.
- February 20, 2027: the final session takes place.
Ticket prices, purchase limits and the complete programme for individual dates have not been specified in the details announced here. A release date and full track list for the resulting album have also not been given.
What the new recordings will offer listeners
The performances are intended to be compiled into a new record after the series, with a physical release also described in the project details. Fans who do not attend will therefore have a later opportunity to hear music recorded during the sessions.
For Chan, revisiting a catalogue that spans Cantonese and Mandarin means returning to different kinds of expression as well as different periods of his career. Words, rhythms and phrasing all contribute to how a song feels. Hearing him approach those recordings again will make the changes audible rather than leaving them as an idea discussed on stage.
The album format also matters to the project. Bringing back material associated with particular records can reconnect songs that listeners may now encounter separately. When several songs from one period are heard together, the audience can follow the musical choices and memories Chan associates with that part of his career.
The 26 sessions will combine three experiences: hearing familiar work performed again, listening to Chan explain its history, and being present while a new recording is made. The audience rules follow from that final purpose. Fans are being invited into the making of a record, with their participation organised around the needs of the recording.
Key Points
- Eason Chan plans 26 public recording sessions at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from December 12, 2026, to February 20, 2027.
- The programme revisits albums from different periods of his career, including U87, H3M and My Happy Times, with some evenings combining albums.
- Each session lasts about 100 minutes, with two parts and a 15 minute interval.
- Phones must be switched off and sealed away. Photography and recording are prohibited, and applause and cheering are limited to designated times.
- Cityline ballot registration runs from 11 a.m. on October 28 to 11:59 p.m. on October 29, 2026. Purchase rounds follow on November 5 and November 9.
- The recordings are intended for a new album after the series ends.
