Well played: Growing up, Lindsey Stirling could not decide between dancing and playing the violin, so she chose both and developed a unique act mixing hip-hop, pop, and classical music. At 23, she landed a slot on the fifth season of “America’s Got Talent,” competing as a hip-hop violinist. The competition was tough—Jackie Evancho and Fighting Gravity were semifinalists—but the judges were tougher. Sharon Osbourne told Stirling: “You need to be in a group. …What you’re doing is not enough to fill a theater in Vegas.” The comment caused Stirling to dig in and stay true to herself. Today she is the second-most successful performer to come out of “AGT”; her savvy YouTube vids have earned her over 12 million subscribers, and she plays to sold-out audiences around the world, including Las Vegas. Her Warmer in the Winter tour is her third all-holiday outing.
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