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Lindsey Stirling (Photo by F. Scott Schafer)
Lindsey Stirling remains fearless enough to always dream big. Since the release of her 2012 self-titled album, the electronic violinist, dancer and artist has quietly and humbly become one of the 21st Century’s most innovative stars. Her groundbreaking vision of cinematic violin-driven electronic music has gained her millions of adoring fans, Billboard chart-topping albums and billions of views on YouTube.
Stirling is set to perform in Houston on Saturday, July 24, for the “Artemis Tour” at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $49.50 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.
Her music speaks for itself. Stirling’s sophomore album, “Shatter Me” hit No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Albums Chart and held the top spot on the Classical Albums Chart for 21 consecutive weeks. Her third studio album, “Brave Enough,” featured guest appearances from Dan + Shay, Christina Perri, Rivers Cuomo, Andrew McMahon and others, earned Stirling her second Billboard Music Award for “Top Dance/Electronic
Album.”
She closed out 2020 with her all-new, live-streaming holiday special “Lindsey Stirling: Home for the Holidays,” which she independently created, produced, and financed. The hour-long ticketed special, which drew over 100,000 views from tens of thousands of fans and families
worldwide, featured performances to seasonal favorites off Stirling’s chart-topping holiday album “Warmer In the Winter” in addition to the breathtaking performance of her hit “Crystallize,” where Stirling hung by her hair for a captivating Cirque du Soleil-inspired aerial display.
Additionally, Stirling co-wrote “The New York Times” best-selling book “The Only Pirate at the Party” with her sister Brook S. Passey, was the runner-up on Season 25 of “Dancing With the Stars” and has appeared on “America’s Got Talent.” The multi-hyphenate star is also currently helping families in need through her nonprofit charity outreach program The Upside Fund.
“Not only am I over the moon about finally bringing my Artemis tour to the U.S. but I’m excited to be a part of the first wave of tours going out post lockdown,” said Stirling. “People are craving connection so, so badly, so as the world reopens, I know this is going to be a magical time we all remember for the rest of our lives. There is nowhere I’d rather experience it than on stage with my fans.”
Stirling told The Examiner in a phone interview that she “loved being able to entertain” and has been finding ways to entertain since she was a child. “It was really hard when it was all taken away,” said Stirling regarding the pandemic.
This tour will feature songs from Stirling’s fifth record, “Artemis,” which also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 15 combined weeks. Stirling also turned “Artemis” into a successful comic book series.
“We never got to bring the Artemis tour to the United States,” she said. “We did in Europe, so we just revamped it. Everyone has had a chance to get familiar with the album. The good thing about not being able to tour, I think it gives the album a chance to breath before taking it out on the road.”
According to Stirling, she was inspired to write her second album, “Shatter Me,” as she came out of a fight with anorexia. She used her third album, “Brave Enough,” as therapy to deal with grieving as she experienced a loss and decided to write a comic book with her
latest effort.
“The comic book took me four times as long to finish as the album,” she said. “The music videos of the album also follow the stories of all these characters. It feels completely different.”
The book tells the full story of the characters and the album shares the emotions and themes through music. As Stirling began to write the album, she searched for a name that meant “bringer of light” or “daughter of light,” and came upon “Artemis.”
Artemis the goddess of the hunt, the protector of fertility, and most importantly, goddess of the moon.
“Sometimes I look up at the moon and am overcome by her bravery,” she explained. “Every night she fights the darkness alone; and even when she is only a weak, tiny sliver, she still has the courage to shine. Something I too feel like a weak sliver covered in shadow – something I think we've all experienced in one form of another. Darkness is a part of life the same way it's a part of the lunar cycle. But, like the moon (and like Artemis) we all have the ability to shine in the midst of great darkness, and eventually become whole again.
“I loved these themes so much I wanted to tell my own story of Artemis.”
The 13-track album has amassed over 100 million total streams and includes the singles “Underground,” “Artemis,” “Sleepwalking,” “Between Twilight” and “The Upside” with vocalist Elle King along with “Love Goes On and On” that features Amy Lee of Evanescence.
“I started every song like it was going to be instrumental,” she said. “If the song needed more, I would then add lyrics. For ‘Love Goes On and On,’ I immediately thought of Amy Lee. We have toured together and I performed on one of her albums. I loved Amy since I
was 15. I think this it’s an epic and magical song.”
Elle King, two-time Grammy nominated vocalist of the hit song “Ex’s & Oh’s, was another perfect choice for “The Upside,” another one of Stirling’s masterpieces written about a personal friend and fellow musician Jason Gaviati’s sudden passing from lymphoma in 2016.
Stirling has recently released the single, “Lose You Now,” which is an emotive pop hit about loss and grief with artist, producer, and songwriter Mako. It stems from the instrumental-only track, “Guardian,” from “Artemis.” Since its release, the song has amassed over 6 million global streams, including over 3 million views on the song’s beautifully moving music video. The duo also recently issued an acoustic version of
the song, stripping it down to just piano and a full string accompaniment. Despite a pandemic slow down, Stirling’s music stream numbers have been steadily climbing.
“I think I have a great connection with my loyal fans,” she said. “It’s really comfortable to feel that during the pandemic. I was also able to do some Twitch and virtual performances as well as a Christmas special.”
What’s next for Stirling?
“I always thought the greatest gift was telling stories,” said Stirling. “I really want to lean into script writing and storytelling in other mediums other than music.”
– Chad Cooper is the Entertainment Editor. Email at cooper@theexaminer.com