Lindsey Stirling brings her aerial violin acrobatics to Sterling Heights tonight, touching down at Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill for an 8 p.m. show that pairs her with Boston synth-rock act PVRIS. The stop is part of her Duality: Untamed Tour, a production built entirely around the two-sided 2024 album that Stirling has called her personal favorite and, in her words, the best music she has written.
According to The Oakland Press, the 39-year-old violinist, singer and songwriter told the outlet the Untamed Tour is designed to build on her original Duality album tour, using storytelling from start to finish and giving each song its own distinct arc. Stirling said she remains very happy with the record after living with it for more than two years, calling it simply the best show she has done. She has also said she understands the wide breadth of EDM and plans to lean into a straight-up electronic dance style on her next album, drawing on access to experienced producers in the genre, per the same report.
A California Native Who Skipped the Record Labels
Stirling built her career outside the traditional industry pipeline, launching her LindseyStomp YouTube channel in 2007 specifically to bypass record label gatekeeping. According to Hoodline's earlier coverage, that channel has since grown to more than 14.3 million subscribers and 4.4 billion total video views, with her 2012 track Crystallize once ranking as the eighth-most-watched video of that year on YouTube at over 177 million views.
The California native's national profile first spiked when she appeared on Season 5 of America's Got Talent, which led to a recording contract, notes The Oakland Press. She later placed as a runner-up on Dancing With the Stars in 2017. Her debut album went on to reach No. 1 on both Billboard's Dance chart and its Classical chart, and the same report states she has released six more albums since that debut, along with additional singles and albums that have topped the Classical chart.
Inside the Duality Album and Its Untamed Tour
Duality arrived June 14, 2024 through Concord Records and splits itself cleanly down the middle, according to Shore Fire Media: the first six songs lean into a grandiose Celtic and acoustic sound, while the remaining six push into left-of-center electronic pop, with production from Graham Muron and Lucky West and guest vocals from Sarah Blackwood. The Oakland Press reports Duality reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical chart and remains, in Stirling's own assessment, the favorite of her records.
The album's lead single, Eye of the Untold Her, found an unexpected global stage in July 2024 when U.S. Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee used it for her floor routine at the Paris Games, helping Team USA win gold while Lee took individual all-around bronze, per Hoodline's prior reporting. On this tour, Stirling is joined by PVRIS frontwoman Lynn Gunn, an opening pairing that grew out of the two musicians bonding on a hiking trip and co-writing music after an interview, according to Hoodline's coverage of the tour's earlier Wisconsin stop.
Nicknamed Instruments and a Grueling Physical Show
Stirling's live performances are known for constant motion between violin playing, dancing and aerial acrobatics, and that physicality has its costs. During rehearsals for this tour, Stirling reportedly cut a newly trained aerial silks routine in half after finding herself completely exhausted following a full run-through of the show, Hoodline previously reported.
Off stage, The Oakland Press notes Stirling owns multiple violins, including a first acoustic instrument she named Excalibur and another dubbed a crossbow violin David; fans have also nicknamed her One Violin Lady. Her broader résumé includes collaborations with artists such as Becky G, Lzzy Hale, ZZ Ward, Trombone Shorty, Andrew McMahon and Sabrina Carpenter, plus performances with symphonies across the country in 2025, appearances on Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Music list, a surprise visit to Mesquite High School in Gilbert, Arizona, where her music has been arranged for a high school-level orchestra, and even an asteroid named in her honor, according to the same report.
Beyond the Stage: The Upside Fund
Stirling's off-stage work extends to philanthropy. She founded the nonprofit Upside Fund in April 2020 after a family medical crisis exposed the crushing costs of healthcare, and the organization has since helped eliminate more than $15 million in patient medical debt through grants to groups like Undue Medical Debt and Dollar For, according to Shore Fire Media.
The Venue and the Road Ahead
Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, located at 14900 Metro Parkway in Sterling Heights, first opened on July 24, 1991, with performances by Motown legends The Four Tops and The Beach Boys, and went through $6 million in capital renovations in 2016. The venue seats roughly 7,200 to 7,300 guests across a covered pavilion and general admission lawn, and it operates under the same 313 Presents umbrella that runs Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park, the Fox Theatre, Pine Knob Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, a joint venture formed in October 2017 by Olympia Entertainment and Palace Sports & Entertainment.
Wednesday's stop follows PVRIS and Stirling's recent tour dates in West Allis, Wisconsin and Indianapolis, and comes as the pair continues a 32-city North American run that follows PVRIS's 2023 album EVERGREEN. Sterling Heights concertgoers can expect the show to open at 8 p.m., with the amphitheatre's usual rain-or-shine policy for outdoor summer performances applying regardless of weather.
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