LINDSEY STIRLING – LIVE @ THE AMP IN BRIDGEPORT
By Shannon Wilk
The performing artist who has garnered icon status through combining violin and dance, Lindsey Stirling, arrived at Bridgeport, CT’s Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater to begin the U.S. leg of her 2023 tour with Walk Off The Earth.
From Ontario, Canada, Walk Off The Earth joins Lindsey Stirling as direct support for this leg of the tour. The group features 5 core members who all play many different instruments throughout their live show. Playing both originals and covers, Walk Off The Earth creates a very unique performance with rare instruments paired with layered vocal harmonies as well as a captivating visual. There is no other concert one can attend and see AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” played brilliantly on a ukulele, an 18-song Beatles medley, a group of kids singing “My Stupid Heart”, a pop medley with all 5 band members playing different parts on one singular instrument and original music that matches the energy of the rest of the evening.
At 9:15PM, the headliner, Lindsey Stirling, takes the stage with her two backing band members and a group of dancers. Dressed in a purple rhinestoned bodysuit, Stirling dances around the stage performing “Beyond The Veil” from her second studio album. After a couple more songs having intermittent technical difficulties, Lindsey Stirling made sure to take a long enough pause for the issues to be permanently fixed.
As a professional does, she took it in stride, playing a game of charades with the audience. Unlike many concerts, the audience remained seated through the show; entranced by the performance unfolding before their eyes. Following the brief pause, the technical problems ceased and Stirling took to the mic, “This hasn’t happened to us this severely in about 12 years, but we make the most of it” she says and gestures at her bandmates.
The show resumes as planned with “The Arena”, the debut single from her 2016 studio album; Brave Enough. A pre-recorded track of Lindsey Stirling speaking comes on and an aerial hoop descends. The piano intro of her hit “Shatter Me” begins as she performs beautiful movements flying high above the stage. She is handed her violin and she begins playing her parts of the song, which originally featured Lzzy Hale of Halestorm on vocals.
“To all my young aspiring violinists out there, classical music is the foundation to everything else on violin and it can rock,” says Stirling before beginning a classical piece, “Toccata and Fugue” composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. With high kicks and jumps, Lindsey Stirling performs her eerie tune “Masquerade”. “This is the sassiest song of my set” she remarks, referring to “Hold My Heart”. She nails a few more of her tunes before inviting a guest onstage to play a duet with her on the kazoo.
Lindsey Stirling brings a touch of the holiday spirit to the August evening with her rendition of “Carol Of The Bells”. A pre-recorded speech made by Lindsey herself comes over the PA. She speaks about her struggles with anorexia and her mental health through the lens of crystallizing water; positive affirmations create beautiful symmetrical patterns while negative affirmations create chaotic unnatural designs. All of this acts as an introduction to her song “Crystallize”.
Following the emotional ride that “Crystallize” brought upon the audience, now we are transported to another continent with “Mirage”, a song which features lyrics in Hindi. This part of the set really showcases the diversity of Stirling’s music. “Don’t Let This Feeling Fade” brings out the pop and R&B influences in her songwriting.
Stirling takes the mic again, in real time, speaking about the passing of her father, saying that even though our loved ones may be gone she believes they’re never that far and they’re with us in the form of guardian angels. This speech led into her closing song, “Guardian”. Stirling and her band briefly leave the stage but return promptly for an encore featuring “Love Goes On and On” from her 2019 album and finally her latest single, “Kashmir”, a heartfelt cover of Led Zeppelin’s classic rock hit.
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