Music. According to Kim.

I don't usually write reviews of shows, but it seemed only fitting to share my thoughts of the touring production of The Phantom of the Opera . After all, I have spent this past week talking about my favorite Phantom covers in celebration of the tour coming to Nashville for the first time in 14 years. I dubbed it Phantom week and what a week it has been. We've had Nick Pitera's  One Man Phantom medley . Two instrumental medleys, one from Lindsey Stirling that rocked. The other a lovely classical duet by performed by Taylor Davis and Lara de Wit. We've had husband and wife dynamic duo, Peter and Evynne Hollens, with their Phantom medley . Finally, my favorite, VoicePlay's interpretation of "The Phantom of the Opera" featuring Rachel Potter. They were all wonderful and just a small sampling of all the Phantom covers in existence. On Thursday, the 10th, I went to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, known simply as the TPAC, to see The Phantom of the ...

Saved my favorite Phantom cover for last. As some of you know, the first solely VoicePlay video I ever saw was their ACA-Top 10 Broadway countdown. That solidified my love for this group. Like countless others, that little snippet of Tony Wakim singing "The Phantom of the Opera" wasn't enough. We wanted more. Well. Well! The people spoke and VoicePlay listened. Bless their a cappella, musical loving hearts. There's just something about these guys singing Broadway that does something to me. Something silly. It's like I go from a grown woman to a 14 year old at a One Direction concert. I have absolutely no chill when it comes to VoicePlay performing songs from musicals. I am sans chill. What's great about this is that I know I'm not alone. Others reading this will undoubtedly have the same problem. Now these guys deciding to do more from Phantom themselves would've been enough. More than enough. But they decided to take this one step further and invi...

Time to go back to the roots, so to speak, for a classical cover. This video features a Phantom medley performed by Taylor Davis on violin and Lara de Wit on piano. Hard to go wrong when you pair a violin and a piano. These instruments complement each other so incredibly well. Especially when used to perform music like this. This medley showcases a gentler, more emotional side of Phantom of the Opera . With the exception of "Masquerade", which is used to open and close the piece, all of the songs are love songs. "The Phantom and the Opera" and "The Point of No Return" are sung by Christine and the Phantom; "All I Ask of You", which starts at 1:48, is the sweet duet between Christine and Raoul. These songs are about romance and passion and when combined like this are just exquisite. Enjoy.

For the third day of Phantom of the Opera  week, I bring you a video from Peter Hollens that features his wife Evynne. I have to say that as much as I enjoy both of their solo works, I especially love when they join forces for a project. Their voices are perfectly suited for each other and their collaborations are usually pretty special. Now Evynne usually sings with a pianist, but Peter is an a cappella artist. This video is completely a cappella and it's truly a lovely medley. Watch.

In the few years I've had this blog, I've written mostly about music that included both singers and musicians. Lately I've written a lot about a cappella music, which of course is music without instruments. But I don't know if I've ever written about instrumental music. This is largely because up until last year, I only wrote about country artists. As I've branched out into the magical world of a cappella music, it only seems fair to talk about some instrumental music. Because sometimes you don't need words. Because sometimes the music itself speaks loudly enough. That is certainly the case with the music from The Phantom of the Opera . If you've never heard of Lindsey Stirling, she is a very talented violinist with incredible stage presence. It's so much fun watching her perform. I have yet to watch all of her music videos, but that said, I feel like this is a pretty spectacular introduction. She arranged this medley herself and did an absolutel...

It's here. The Phantom of the Opera ...week. This is the first of what may become a fairly regular occurance around here. Theme weeks where everything I write will be related to a theme of some sort. This week it's all about The Phantom of the Opera . Why? Because this week - the 9th, to be exact - the Phantom of the Opera tour is coming to Nashville for the first time in 14 years. That's right. It's been over a decade since this fabulous show came to Nashville. It is the longest running show on Broadway and the second longest running show in West End (London). It has been performed on Broadway over 11,000 times. It premiered in London in 1986 and made its Broadway debut in 1988. Now it's 2016 and the Phantom has apparently undergone a bit of a facelift. This is a brand new production of the show with new staging, new choreography and new scenery. Hey, I guess when you've been around for well over 20 years, you need to change things up a bit. My love for Th...