When Lindsey Stirling’s second album Shatter Me was released back in 2014, I was in the middle of a film production that was especially trying on my nerves. I was not an especially big fan of hers yet – I enjoyed her music well enough, though my favorites of her work were not tracks on her self-titled album (i.e. the Phantom of the Opera and Lord of the Rings medleys, her Christmas covers and the orchestral remix of Crystallize, which is still one of my favorites).  I realize looking back that the pieces I gravitated towards – especially prior to Shatter Me – are ones in which her violin, her voice, is more pronounced.  Don’t get me wrong – I thoroughly enjoy her first album.  Those songs are especially amazing to see live.  But what really, well, shattered me about her sophomore album was how much more of Lindsey there was in the music.  The violin was louder than the thumping bass and backbeats.  When she debuted her music video for Beyond the Veil, it quite literally blew me away.  It was a whole new ball game and I will go ahead and say that that was the moment I became an honest fan, rather than a friend of a fan or as a casual listener of her music.  I respect her very much as an artist and appreciate what she does in encouraging others to be different, take risks and follow their passions, even if it’s scary and even if you are rejected and shot down in the most harshest of ways.  That speaks to me (and so many others, I’m sure) on a deep, personal level and I will keep listening, keep buying and sharing her music because she only continues to get better.

Cheers, Lindsey.  I can’t wait to read your book.
Now…can we get a Christmas album?

I’ll Have To Fly by UnusualSidekick