Stirling tries to make music magic for all

Classically trained violinist Lindsey Stirling will bring her Summer Tour 2016 to the Palace Theatre in Albany Monday night. (Photo provided)

Share on Facebook

Save

Lindsey Stirling believes in high-powered dance and music in her videos.

She uses the same formula for her live performances.

“Being able to bring music to life in a live setting, there’s nothing like it,” said Stirling, who will bring her high-powered violin skills to Albany’s Palace Theatre on Monday .

Lindsey Stirling: Summer tour 2016

WHEN: 8 p.m. Monday

WHERE: Palace Theatre,

19 Clinton Ave., Albany

HOW MUCH: $69.50-$29.50

MORE INFO: 465-3334,

www.palacealbany.com

“I try to make my show very theatrical. We have fun effects on stage, we create new lighting and lots and lots and lots of dancing and choreography as well as costume changes. It’s a very family-friendly show. I want it to be something that sparks the imagination of a child and makes an adult feel like a child. I want it to feel magical.”

Videos starring the classically trained violinist from Gilbert, Arizona have topped more than 1 billion views on her YouTube “Lindseystomp” channel. Her fans love the mix of Celtic folk, modern classical, lively dance and electronica.

People have been listening and watching since Stirling dropped her self-titled debut album in 2012, which included the hit “Crystallize.” The second album, “Shatter Me,” arrived in 2014. The title cut, a collaboration with Halestorm lead singer Lzzy Hale, racked up more than 50 million views on YouTube.

The videos give Stirling a chance to act, as well as play the strings.

“I love storytelling,” she said. “I went to film school [at Brigham Young University] and I love editing all my own videos, from beginning to end, from the conception of the idea, to the execution of the idea, learning all the choreography and really thinking, ‘How am I going to portray this character?’ and kind of putting on my tiny little acting hat. I really enjoy the whole process . . . I just feel so blessed I get to tell stories.”

Stirling released her autobiography, “The Only Pirate at the Party,” in January and the book hit number 10 on the New York Times hardcover non-fiction best-seller list. Her new record album, “Brave Enough,” will come out Aug. 19.

“It’s really different in that half of the album is instrumental and the other half has featured vocalists,” Stirling said. “I know my fans were very surprised when they saw the announcement.

“I really did want to make half the album instrumental because I wanted it to be the Lindsey my current fans know and love,” she added, “but I also wanted to stretch myself. I think it’s important to try new things.”

Stirling promises a collection of songs that will mix old and new.

“I made sure I spent even more time making sure the instrumental tracks were solid because I wanted them to be just as strong as the vocal tracks on the album,” she said. “I cannot wait for people to hear it because I genuinely love every single song on the album. There is no sleeper track.”

Stirling has made the violin sexy. She hopes she is also making the instrument accessible.

“When I was a teenager, I started to see people do some fun things with the violin and it just sparked my imagination,” Stirling said in a telephone interview. “Now, to think my music can help do that for kids the same way other people did for me is awesome. I love it when little girls come to the show and bring their violins.”

Sometimes, Stirling wonders about labels. She has been described as a “hip hop” violinist, something that started during her days on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”

“It’s funny, because I do not do hip hop,” Stirling said. “Not that I have any problem with hip hop, I just feel that’s so misleading. If people are saying, ‘Oh, check out this video, this hip hop violinist.’ If they love hip hop, they would be thoroughly disappointed.”

Reach Gazette reporter Jeff Wilkin at

395-3124 or at [email protected]

or @jeffwilkin1 on Twitter. His blog is at www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/wilkin.