String Light Symphony comes to life at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville
If the famed Bluebird Café in Nashville was a venue for only intimate, symphonic, acoustic performances of popular songs, that would be the personification of classical musician Charles Dixon's brainchild: String Light Symphony.
"The idea behind String Light is to inspire artists to collaborate with symphonic musicians in a meaningful and totally acoustic way," Dixon told The Tennessean. "I want to have a collective of Nashville's preeminent symphonic musicians performing with popular artists. We rearrange and reimagine their songs to live in an acoustic, symphonic space."
Dixon, who plays viola with the Nashville Symphony and produces Cheekwood's annual "Songwriters Under the Stars" series, said he envisions String Light evolving from recording symphonic arrangements with the original artists into a concert series and ultimately the project having its own venue.
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"My ultimate vision and dream is to have a venue called #STFU. String the F up. Or Shut the F up. I want to inspire people to have acoustic experiences while seeing their favorite artists perform songs in a totally different way," Dixon said. "The symphony is not meant to back a band with electric guitars and 108-decibel vocals. We are an acoustic instrument. I’d love for the String Light Symphony to become a full orchestra where pop intersects with symphony — acoustically."
Bringing String Light to life at Ocean Way in Nashville
The first live recording of a String Light rearrangement happened in early December at Ocean Way Studios on Music Row. Musicians Brandon Ratliff, Alex Hall and duo Tigirlily Gold each recorded a song, backed by live symphonic musicians.
When Monument Records' Associate Director of Marketing, Joel Beaver, was approached by Dixon with the idea, he knew it could be an opportunity for his artists.
"I realized there aren't a lot of country artists that have done symphonic rearrangements of their songs," Beaver said. "I got a rough demo of the arrangements the day before we recorded and I was amazed at how they were able to turn these songs into what they turned them into."
Alex Hall recorded his version of "Please Come Home for Christmas," and the video for this particular rearrangement released Friday, Dec. 15.
Tigirlily Gold sisters Krista and Kendra Slaubaugh recorded their song, "I Tried a Ring On," at the Ocean Way session and the duo is expected to release this version in 2024.
“Hearing our song ‘I Tried a Ring On’ backed by the symphony was beyond special!” Kendra Slaubaugh said.
“These players brought new life to the song in a hauntingly, beautiful, wedding-that-never-happened, kind of way. This was a really big dream come true for us," Krista Slaubaugh added.
Melonee Hurt covers music and music business at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Reach Melonee at mhurt@tennessean.com or on X @HurtMelonee.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: String Light Symphony records first symphonic versions of country songs
