Lindsey Stirling is almost home.
The violin virtuoso, who grew up in Gilbert, brings her Music Box Tour to Tucson Wednesday. Next Thursday, she plays Phoenix. And both Arizona performances will be thick with family and friends, she says.
And with plenty of fans she doesn’t know. Stirling first got national attention when she was a semifinalist on “America’s Got Talent” in 2010. Her YouTube channel Lindseystomp helped catapult her into stardom, and she has almost 7 million subscribers. More than 126 million people have watched her music video “Crystallize” since it was uploaded in 2012, which was also clocked in as the eighth most-watched video on YouTube in 2012.
Her music is an exuberant blend of electronic, rock, celtic, classical and dubstep.
“It’s a fusion of everything I love,” she said in a phone interview.
The show
Stirling seamlessly plays the violin as she gracefully leaps, pirouettes and whirls across the stage during her performances. It isn’t surprising, then, that she describes the tour as “athletic.”
It is an energy-filled and interactive performance with screens, projections and lights accompanying her emotive dancing and playing.
In some songs, backup dancers join her to help bring the music to life.
“I wanted it to be a magical experience,” she said.
Getting ready for the tour took two weeks of daily practices to learn and perfect the routines.
“It’s pretty intense,” she said.
But all of that work has paid off.
“It’s my favorite show I’ve ever done,” she said. “It’s exciting to bring it home.”
How it started
Stirling started playing the violin when she was only five years old.
“I begged for lessons,” she said.
She first created her signature mix of dancing while playing the violin when she entered into talent competitions to get money for college.
“I wanted to make it different,” she said.
She had noticed that jazz dance routines received warm audience responses and she decided to incorporate dance — which she has long loved — in her act.
It was after her first performance with her new style that she knew that this is what she wanted to do.
“I love the stage,” she said.
“Sometimes I can’t believe I’m here.”
Coming home
Stirling has been on the road with the tour since May and she is more than ready to come home.
She’s looks forward to seeing familiar faces in the audience after being gone for so long.
“After going to Asia where even the food is different, coming home has a new meaning,” she said.
When the Music Box tour ends in October, Stirling is headed back into the studio to work on a new album.
She’s not quite sure yet which direction it will take.
“I gotta re-discover myself,” she said.
