I first discovered Lindsey Stirling back in April of 2014 and it's really a crime that I haven't blogged about this amazing artist until now.
Lindsey is a violinist, but one that doesn't quite conform to the conventional sense of the word. Back in 2010 she entered America's Got Talent and was described as a "hip hop violinist," which was pretty accurate at the time, but Lindsey has since explored a wide variety of genres with her music. Over the years she has done beautiful covers/medleys of music from various media such as The Lord of the Rings movies, The Phantom of the Opera musical, and games such as Skyrim and Zelda, to name a few. She's also collaborated with a bunch of artists (each with their own unique sound), experimented with dubstep, dabbled in electric music, and many other themes and styles that I cannot begin to name. And of course, she has created many original works as well, which in my opinion are in an entire genre of their own. Nothing that I have listed on here seem to have much to do with a violinist, but Lindsey has not only managed to blend all these sounds with violin music and making it work, she actually excels at it. Oh, and did I mention she does it all while dancing? Though she's never gone through any formal training, Lindsey's dancing alternates between a ballet-esque form to hip-hop depending on the song being played.
Given that she's a violinist at heart, it should be no surprise that most of her pieces are purely instrumental, with only a hint of a chorus in a select few. Now normally I'm not much for listening to pure instrumental music, because I feel like I can identity with a song more if it had lyrics to it. Just something to provide some context as to what the song is about, how it should feel, etc. And also because I love singing along to my favorite songs (I mean, who doesn't?). But with Lindsey I find myself making a big exception. Somehow, it feels natural that her songs remain predominantly instrumental, as if adding too many lyrics would actually ruin them. And while I'm unable to sing along to these songs, I find myself tapping my feet or bobbing my head whenever I play them in the car, and just generally making a fool of myself by dancing to them in the house.
Now even though Lindsey's music is quite enjoyable by itself, I believe that to get the full effect you have to watch the visual accompaniments as well. A lot of work goes into every single one of her music videos to make them unique and to compliment each of their respective songs. The scenic beauty in each are breathtaking, and of course her dancing is ever a delight to see.
Besides being an insanely talented musician, Lindsey is also an all around amazing person. If you were to check out some of her YouTube videos, and I absolutely recommend that you do so, I think you'll agree with me that this lovely young lady is happiness personified. Every time you see her she is all smiles, not to mention she has this wide-eyed wonder quality about her (not unlike a Disney princess). It's rather hard to describe in words, but you can feel that she is genuinely happy and passionate about her craft, and it really shows. I mean just look at that smile! You can't fake a smile like that. In a sense, her music is very much an extension of her spirit, and it just radiates with infectious joy and positive energy when you listen to it.
As you may have noticed, I have no shortage of praise for this remarkable mistress of music, and I can literally go on and on about how great she is. But no matter what I say, it'll always pale in comparison to the actual experience, so I'll just let her works speak for themselves. Enjoy.
