At this point, I’d label myself a Swiftie. Taylor Swift definitely has my heart. Not only are her melodies catchy little earworms, but she’s also such a phenomenal lyricist. I’m constantly in awe of the way she puts her thoughts and feelings into words.
Here are a handful of my favorites:
“And you call me up again, just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest,” from All Too Well. How many times has someone just been straight-up mean to you under the guise of honestly? She captures that sentiment perfectly.
“I’ve never been a natural. All I do is try, try, try,” from Mirrorball. Words to live by. We’re all striving for progress every single day.
“I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man,” from The Man. Preach, queen…I feel this in my bones.
“Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer,” from Red. We’ve all had this fight.
We’re happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time. It’s miserable and magical,” from 22. I think we can all relate to this complicated mix of emotions, no matter how old you are.
“Nothing safe is worth the drive,” from Treacherous, may be referring to a potential affair — But, you can’t argue that it isn’t also rock solid life advice.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine,” from Ours. Stop worrying about what everybody else thinks, they want to drag you down because you’re above them. Ignore them and enjoy the view.
And at the risk of stating the obvious, the entire song Welcome to New York speaks to me on all the levels. “Everybody here wanted something more.” Yes, yes we did.
So when I saw there was a candlelight concert of Taylor Swift songs performed by a string quartet in a gorgeous Brooklyn church, how could I miss it? Now I have to confess that losing the lyrics was certainly sad, but there was something so special and beautiful about the strings taking over the part of her vocals.
I can honestly say, the night exceeded my expectations on every front. The church was absolutely stunning — from the architecture to the stained glass and the hundreds of candles laid out for the occasion. And the Highline String Quartet were incredibly talented and personable performers. If I’d known this was a viable career option, I would’ve been a lot more committed to my high school orchestra viola.
The quartet started off with Shake It Off, which took me longer to recognize than I’d like to admit. Luckily from there, the performers took turns introducing the songs and providing some additional personality to the show. We heard a mix of songs from Taylor’s many albums, including Cardigan, Love Story, Blank Space, Invisible String, All Too Well, You Belong With Me, and my personal favorite Wildest Dreams. Let me tell you, you haven’t lived until you’ve heard Blank Space performed by a string quartet.
If Taylor isn’t your cup of tea, I may not understand your life choices, but I respect them. And luckily for you, Candlelight Concerts and the Highline String Quarter put on events paying tribute to artists like ABBA (Mamma Mia, I must hit this one next!), Adele, Amy Winehouse, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Fleetwood Mac and Lady Gaga. For the purists in the crowd, you may want to check out their Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and More, Baroque Through The Ages or Beethoven’s Best Works concerts.
More good news, you don’t have to be in NYC to get in on this unique experience. Candlelight Concerts stages shows in cities across the globe, obviously in partnership with local performers.
