Pop Break Live: Lindsey Stirling at the New Jersey Performance Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, NJ
Acclaimed violinist/singer-songwriter Lindsey Stirling brought her popular Christmas themed “Warmer in the Winter Tour” to the stunningly beautiful New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark NJ on December 13. It’s been a busy year for Stirling. She released her fifth studio album Artemis in September(which was met with great reviews) and followed that up with a comic book which tells the story of that concept album.
Stirling is by no means an overnight success story. If you don’t know by now she started off with her YouTube channel back in 2007( which has 2.7 billion views) and by 2010 she had made the quarter finals of the TV show America’s Got Talent. In 2012 she released her self-titled album and the video for “Crystallize”(her first single). The video was a huge hit, so big that it was the 8th most watched video on YouTube that year.
By 2015 Forbes Magazine got it right when they named her on their 30 under 30 list of artists you need to know. Stirling released her album Brave Enough in 2017 and her classic holiday album Warmer in the Winter. Along the way she garnered two Billboard Awards. She topped that off with a near win (2nd place) on Dancing with the Stars, which no doubt garnered her a whole new set of fans. Staying true to herself, she is the perfect example that hope and hard work does pay off.
This is the third year Stirling has brought her holiday tour to the TriState area. Here are some things you can expect from a Lindsey Stirling Christmas show. Expect be be dazzled by her incredible dancers and expect to laugh a lot. You’ll also be blown away by her style of play with her violin. It runs the gamut of fierce to graceful and at times simply jaw dropping. Stirling is quite the dancer too! On the production end the visuals are stunning. There were many beautiful costumes, gorgeous images projected on a video screen and many colorful sets. If that isn’t enough, expect to be inspired by her many stories and her advise to the many young people in crowd.
The set was a mix of classic holiday tunes that included the songs: “Jingle Bell Rock,” “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “Deck the Halls,” and “It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas.” There were lots of laughs when Lindsey and her band mates, Kit and Drew, plopped themselves down front and center to perform on incredibly small children’s sized instruments which included a drum kit, piano and violin.They killed it with their versions of “Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Feliz Navidad.” It was topped off with Stirling playing “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
There were so many highlights for this show. Stirling, accompanied by Kit Nolan on an acoustic guitar, played a hauntingly beautiful version of “Hallelujah.” “Angels We have heard on High” was a beautiful tribute to her father who had passed away in 2017. Stirling’s performance on “Crystallize,” a song from her 2012 debut album, was simply fierce. She also treated the audience to a new song from her latest release Artemis, called “Between Twilight.” I can’t say enough about Lindsey’s dancers. They were mesmerizing to watch at times, especially on “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.”
Stirling saved the best for last and encored with the visual stunner “I Wonder as I Wander.” It was breathtaking. This was such an uplifting and inspirational show on so many levels. Here’s hoping this tour is a yearly thing. No doubt this would become a holiday tradition for many in the crowd. This was a fantastic show by a truly one of a kind artist.
