Lindsey Stirling was Flying High at St. Louis Music Park

Sean Derrick August 20, 2023 0 Comments Lindsey Stirling, Saint Louis concert review and photos, Saint Louis Music Park, Walk Off The Earth

–by Laura Tucker

If I had only one word to describe the evening spent with violinist Lindsey Stirling and opening band, Walk Off the Earth, it would be entertaining! Their performances on Monday night at St. Louis Music Park was something truly special. If you were there, you know what I’m talking about. It was night filled with beautiful music, impressive acrobatics and variety show-styled antics of the opening band.

The seats were filling up fast and it seemed that everyone had a bit of Lindsey Stirling fever. The excitement was palpable as fans made up of mothers and daughters, sisters, couples, families and people of all ages filed into the venue. I noticed that the line for t-shirts was especially long before the show.

Walk Off the Earth came out a bit early to an eager crowd. They are mostly a cover band but you seem to forget that and start singing along. They came out geared up the moment they took the stage. Drumming and dancing around and not wasting a second of stage time. Lead singer, Sarah Blackwood was revving up the audience and swinging a ukulele around. The band uses a variety instruments to get the job done. They performed their original “My Stupid Heart” and many covers that included a Beatles medley and AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” where the famous guitar intro was substituted with a jammin’ little ukulele.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

At one point, the three offspring of Sarah and husband/bassist, Gianni Luminati came out and performed like mini adults with the enthusiasm they obviously inherited from their parents.

Each member of the band is a multi-instrumentalist and took back the stage to perform their skit, “five people, one guitar” where the couple shared the giant instrument with fellow band mates, Joel Cassidy, David “Tokyo” Spears, and Adam Michael. The crowd responded with a standing ovation. This is a band that not only performs, they engage. And their particular style was a great way to start the night.

Another thing about this night that was different was the temperature. My last few shows have been in sweltering heat but tonight, it was cool and breezy under the open Music Park dome and I couldn’t help but be glad for the performers.

Lindsey Stirling was incredibly charming. She somehow made the entire performance look effortless and exhausting at the same time. She is formally trained as both a dancer and violinist and has secured her place in mainstream music with her incredible talent and unique delivery. She mentioned that she has been touring for a decade even though she looks like she might not be old enough. But she was 23 when she appeared on America’s Got Talent and brought her magic to the masses.

And magic is a great way to describe her show. It was filled with all the theatrics of sparkling costumes, arial acrobatics and dancers. She came out with her violin and was accompanied by a drummer and keyboardist to fill in the gaps with a techno baseline. One thing about this music, it was loud! There was no straining to hear the amplified violin.

Throughout the evening, she performed eloquent dance moves and gymnastic feats on a hoop that spun around above the stage; all while playing the violin and not missing a note. Her violin was attached to a harness that allowed her to be hands free when she needed to.

The shear talent of her dancing, twirling and spinning while delivering outstanding musicianship was truly impressive. She took time in between songs to talk to the audience and tell a few stories. She also made several costume changes to suit the style of the music. At one point, a clown and a little dog came out to keep us company while she did just that. She followed it up with her dancers in clown costumes with pink tutus. If you love the ballet, hip hop and really any form to dance expression, you couldn’t help but love Lindsey.

The songs she performed were all instrumental of course but ranged in style from “Carol of the Bells” to “Crystalize.” She took a minute to play a voice-over that told a story about her discovery of Dr. Emoto’s water study which inspired the song. If you haven’t heard of this, it’s enlightening to say the least.

She also dabbled in a magic trick where a glass box was wheeled out onto the stage and spun around by her dancers before being covered for a brief moment and revealing Lindsey as she appeared in the box before our very eyes.

She performed different genres of music from classical to “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin for the encore adding a few flames to the already hot performance! It’s very easy to see why she has grown such a dedicated fan base over the years.

Be sure to check out all the shots from that night after the setlists below.

Lindsey Stirling Setlist:

Beyond the Veil

Artemis

The Arena

Shatter Me

Toccata and Fugue (Johan Sebastian Bach cover)

Masquerade

Hod My Heart (With Sarah Blackwood)

Moon Trance

Roundtable Rival

The Upside

Carol of the Bells (Mykola Leontovych cover)

Crystallize

Mirage

Don’t Let This Feeling Fade (With Gianni Luminati)

Guardian/Lose You Now

Encore:

Love Goes On and On

Kashmir (Led Zeppelin cover)

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Lindsey Stirling performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

Walk Off The Earth performing at Saint Louis Music Park Monday. Photo by Laura Tucker/ Laura Tucker Photography.

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