By L. Kent Wolgamott
Last Word Features

When Lindsey Stirling writes an album, she’s not just thinking about what she wants to play on her violin and how she’ll arrange the rest of the music around it.

She always keeps in mind how the song could be performed and how that will fit into her highly acclaimed show.

“I’ve always written music not so much because I love the writing process, but because I love performing,” she said. “That’s the whole reason I started getting into the style of music I do. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to do energetic, big performances.’ So it really is a thought when I’m writing.”

That was exactly the case when she started writing the 12 songs that became “Duality,” the album she released in June 2024.

That album spins together classically rooted, Celtic-influenced rock and electronic pop songs, a broad stylistic and emotional mix that feels perfectly suited to be transferred, in part, to the stage.

“It’s always kind of fun when there’s a lot of diversity in the music, to figure out how to tell that story on stage and how to make it flow,” Stirling said. “But I feel like that’s always been what I’ve done. I’ve always had quite diverse music that I’ve kind of moved between.”

Stirling will be on stage at 8 p.m. Saturday for her Duality Untamed Tour at Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs.

“Duality” is her sixth and, in Stirling’s view, best album.

“I feel like I’ve only gotten better and better as a writer at like, capturing emotion through sound,” she said. “I’m really proud of this most recent album, because I feel like people are listening to my heart when they hear this music. It’s really where I was in the last two years while I was writing it.”

As hands on as any artist can be, Stirling works on every aspect of her live show, from concept and flow to costumes, set design, aerial choreography and the set list that brings it all together.

The show is my baby, for sure,” she said. “I feel like that’s one of the things I’m best at. I don’t think my best gift is writing the music. I don’t think my best gift is even being a violinist. I think my best gift is actually being able to tell a story and being able to do it on stage in a long form and put on a show.”

IF YOU GO

What: Lindsey Stirling’s Duality Untamed Tour with special guests PVRIS and ARKAI

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Ford Amphitheater, 95 Spectrum Loop

Price: $40 and up; fordamphitheater.live, axs.com