Dynamic violinist Lindsey Stirling gets high-strung at Starlight on Monday

Courtesy the artist

From blending different sounds using her electric violin to performing gravity-defying dance moves on stage, Lindsey Stirling has always proven to be an artist who creatively blends genres, and her most recent studio album, Duality, is no different. On August 10, Stirling will perform at Starlight as part of her Duality Untamed Tour 2026 with special guests PVRIS and ARKAI. 

This is not the first time Stirling and her team have toured “Duality,” with the first being right after the album came out in 2024. The violinist and aerialist decided to switch up themes with the current tour, which is now focused around “the hero’s journey.”

Stirling explains people have used the new theme to really lean into fantasy elements, and the performer and her dancers use the costumes, props, and storytelling to reflect that as well. 

“I was so proud of the show, my team, all the effort, just everything it took to put that show on,” says Stirling. “Now, coming back for a round two with the Duality Untamed Tour, I was thinking, how do I live up to what we created last time? So, it’s been really fun to give it a second life; this show is actually quite different from the last one, and it’s been nice to play with other themes.”

Since this is not a direct album tour, Stirling was able to play around more with the set list, adding some of her other songs from different albums, as well as deep cuts that fans enjoy. According to Stirling, part of the joy of performing the same album on a different tour is learning what the fan-favorite songs are.

“One that I didn’t necessarily expect to be a fan favorite was ‘Firefly Alley,’ and it’s funny because not only have the fans gravitated towards it, but when you know the fans love it, you think: how can I make it a little extra special in the show? So the creative we do in the show for that one is my favorite as well as the dancers’ favorite,” says Stirling. “It’s definitely a moment of the show that came from listening to the fans.”

Matching the difference in genre that Stirling brings, she also has a very diverse group of fans. Before shows, Stirling enjoys doing meet-and-greets with her fans.

“My meet-and-greets are so fun because I’ll see a little girl dressed as a ballerina, and then there’s a metal raver, and teenage girls who are having a girls’ night out, or an older couple who love the violin,” says Stirling. “If I’m ever feeling unmotivated, I’ll go on social media and see people’s posts about coming to the show and how excited they are.  I feel really grateful to have such a unique crowd, because I have learned that it isn’t always like that for other performers. ”

A focal part of Stirling’s career as a performer is the dynamic way she dances and does acrobatic aerials on stage, which takes a lot of work and training prior to shows. 

“I’m always in the best shape of my life when I’m on tour, but it takes a lot of work, and I trained for months with the new aerial work. You have to make sure the right muscles are strong so you can perform night after night and not get injured,” says Stirling.

“It has been fun to get strong in my late 30s, and I’ve enjoyed using my body as an instrument, not just an ornament to be looked at. It’s been a really healthy mindset shift for me because I’ve struggled with my body relationship since I was a child, so this has been a further step in healing.”

Not only is there a lot of prep for Stirling to do, but her dancers and crew put in a lot of work to make sure each show runs smoothly. There are many safety protocols for the aerial apparatuses, so each performance is fine-tuned and very choreographed both on and behind the stage.

“One of my favorite things that anyone has ever said to me was that, as an artist, if you get bored, that’s your fault,” says Stirling. “We have to do these same shows and play our songs repeatedly, so do something creative, switch up, or make the show more challenging. That’s kind of the model of life.”

This is not the first time Stirling has performed at Starlight, visiting four times in the past ten years and playing at various venues around Kansas City. 

“Hometown energy is always the best; you just can’t beat it,” says Stirling. “Kansas City is always really fun because I do have family that comes out, so it does have a little bit of that hometown energy that’s like I’m going to kill it tonight because my nieces are in the audience and I need to keep my status as the coolest aunt.”

“I love it when people come to the show for the first time, because they always say I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that,” says Stirling. “I think people are really charmed by the show and are also blown away by the energy my dancers and I give. I love surprising people, so I guarantee that if people come out, they will be surprised and whimsied.”

Lindsey Stirling will be performing at Starlight on August 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through Starlight Theatre.