Concert: Lindsey Stirling

On March 12th 2013 the official video for ‘Radioactive’ by Pentatonix ft. Lindsey Stirling was released. Originally it’s a song by Imagine Dragons which I absolutely loved – I knew it from a Assassin’s Creed III commercial and as the theme song for Defiance, a television show and game which I used to watch and play. So when Pentatonix announced that they were taking on the song I was really happy I love their covers! At that point I was totally unaware of the phenomena that is called Lindsey Stirling, however that didn’t take long. As soon as I’d seen the video I needed to know more.

Who is Lindsey Stirling?

First and foremost she is a violin player, however that is not all she is not by a long shot/  She’s also an composer, dancer, performance artist, YouTube-star and she’s written a book. Just to name a few things. She is an incredibly funny and creative person. She’s an inspiration and I hope that she will forever remain the person she is today, she’s true to herself and believes in herself even when other people think that her ideas are strange and over the top. I admire that in the people around me, the fact that they – against all odds – believe in their own strength.

The jury on America’s Got Talent literally told her that her violin playing sounded like cat’s being strangled (the performance wasn’t her best – you can find it on YouTube – I admit that, but to come back from that and prove them wrong in every single way shows Lindsey’s strength) and to top it off they told her she would never sell out a show in in general but certainly not in Vegas. Which was the next step in the AGT show, Lindsey stranded as a quarter finalist in the 2010 run of the show. But in 2014’s run of the show Lindsey was standing on that very same stage, not as a contestant but as a performer asked by the show to fill in the time while the viewers could vote. And did she prove the jury wrong? You better believe it! That video of course can also be found online.

From there on out her fame grew and Lindsey Stirling is able to fill a concert hall where ever she goes. Even in the Netherlands – on the other side of the world, where you literally never hear Lindsey’s songs on the radio she’s able to sell out a venue! Simply by the fact that fans have found her on YouTube. This was the third time that Lindsey Stirling was in the Netherlands and the first time that I had a chance to see her. We were impatiently waiting in line before the concert started and the line was long … very long. Once we were inside it was an even longer waiting game till the concert actually started. But it was well worth the wait because the concert was top notch.

I was standing on the balcony which gave me a perfect overview of the whole venue as well as the stage. And what I saw made me so happy the group of people who had gathered to see Lindsey Stirling perform was so extremely diverse, there were kids as young as six or seven years old – obviously aspiring violin players – to an elderly lady with a walker – who seemed to be just as impatiently waiting as we all were. Finally the show started and what a show it was.  There was no opening act, so as soon as the first tones of the violin rung through the venue the crowd exploded and the energy coming off the stage was amazing.

Since this was the Brave Enough tour most of the songs played where from the Brave Enough album. The performance on the stage was strengthened by the video walls which covered most of the stage and let’s not forget about the dancers she had with her. Because Lindsey only plays the violin a show like this has to be set up differently than most other bands do. She needs more, and that is why the dancing strengthens her performance. Just imagine the kind of stamina you need to have to put down a show which lasts an hour and a half while you’re dancing and playing the violin all at the same time. Between songs she takes short breaks to tell about the song or her life. Or to talk about her experience on AGT, of course she jokes about the fact that 013 was sold out once again proving the jury wrong. Some of the talks were truly inspirational, or heartbreaking the one before Gavi’s Song was of course dedicated to her friend Gavi and her father who she recently lost. During Gavi’s Song the video walls were filled with video’s from Lindsey, Gavi and the rest of the crew.

I’m so glad that I was able to see Lindsey perform live, another artist I can strike off my list. Next time she’s in the Netherlands I want to see her again. That’s one thing that’s for certain.