Chancy Johnson
Chancy Johnson
Brings Artists
out of
The Woodwork
We parked, picked up our tickets, and made our way to some great seats Malece had picked out for us.
An unexpected special guest opened for the concert, the band Echosmith! I suppose if I had actually spent more time reading up on the tour I would have known that. As it was, however, I was pleasantly surprised to see them.
When the lights dimmed, I could feel just how invested this audience was in Lindsey’s success. Everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats.
Every conversation came to an abrupt end as thousands of eyes were fixed on the stage. The second she emerged, everyone stood to welcome her.
Smiles were everywhere and the people around me seemed to lean in toward the stage, trying to get as close to her as possible. It was 8pm when the concert started, but it was still sweltering. I could see the heat getting to Lindsey and her crew as they moved, but they didn’t let it stop them.
For the next few hours it was like I was riding a roller coaster. There was never a dull moment, never a time when I wanted it to be over. I didn’t even want to leave for the restroom because I’d miss a few minutes of the performance.
We met up with Malece after the show for a few minutes, and she had nothing but praise for her employer.
I mentioned how Stirling seemed like she’d be a great person to work for because she was so relatable, to which Malece responded “Yeah definitely! She’s just… normal, ya know?” On the long drive home, Malece’s words replayed over and over in my head. Normal. She’s just… normal.
What did it mean for Stirling to be normal?
Why did that have such a positive connotation?
Then it clicked. I figured out why Lindsey was able to tour the country without the backing of a major label.
I finally understood what it was that made her so wildly popular. She spoke our language. Most of the audience around me had looked to be between 15 and 30 years old, people raised in internet culture.
Stirling’s performance had been stuffed full of spectacle, a Great Gatsby of a concert. She danced around giant water drops, fought dragons and sailed pirate ships.
She fought duels and stopped everything to tell us all that we were important. We love that stuff. Our age group is that which runs the video game industry.
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