Most bands who play at the Crafthouse in Pittsburgh include a guitarist, bassist, and drummer. Rarely does a classical string instrument join that lineup.
On March 13, violinist Mia Asano arrived with a bow twirl and a confident stance. Of course, there is nothing classical about her violin: the seven-stringed instrument produces sounds to the likeness of a heavy metal guitar.
Asano wore a custom black fitted outfit and full glam hair and makeup, the ensemble outdone only by her Viper instrument and its suspension system strapping around her upper body, allowing her to hold it hands-free.
“On this tour, I’m debuting a brand new model of Viper made by Wood Violins Cleveland. It’s their first prototype since they’ve moved to Cleveland, and it sounds amazing. I’m excited for everyone to get to hear it for the first time,” she commented in a concert preview interview.
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Asano, a Berklee College of Music graduate and a metal music fan, began playing the violin at age five. While in college, she began posting covers of her favorite songs to Instagram and TikTok.
“The third video that I posted went super viral on TikTok overnight. I woke up with 100,000 followers that next day, and that video has over a million views now,” she said. “It was this really cool moment of realizing that I need to be authentic to myself (and) the reason that I pursued violin in the first place.”
Asano’s signature move is twirling her bow with her wrist, a move she has done both online and in shows for years.
“I wanted something that was cool, engaging, and also was kind of a constant that you can always expect from my videos,” she said. “So the bow spin is the thing.”
She did the move several times during her show before launching into a distorted version of a crowd favorite song.
Asano explained that her repertoire for this tour consists of both original music from her album, as well as covers of video game and movie soundtracks and other popular music.
“I’m doing a mix of covers and originals. The covers are what put me on the map online. Of course, I’m going to do a nod towards some of my most viral covers, and also a lot of the songs that I have released, like the Power Rangers theme, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Wars,” she said.
At her show at The Crafthouse, she did the Power Rangers, Pirates of the Carribean, Halo, and X-Men themes, and “Last Resort” by Papa Roach.
She is anticipating a solo album of original music released later this year or at the beginning of 2027, entitled “Lore”. The topic of each song is a creature of folklore, from the Kraken and Mothman to the Japanese woman-spider Jorogumo.
Asano played eight songs from her album, explaining her songwriting process and the folklore behind each one.
She mentioned being apprehensive to play so many unreleased songs, but the audience was beyond receptive, head-banging and dancing to each song.
Asano and her band lineup in action at the Crafthouse in Pittsburgh. (Evelyn Esek)
Although Asano could have taken command of the stage on her own, she had an all-star lineup with her. Kyle Brian Abbott is a session musician and touring drummer from Los Angeles; bassist Alicia Vigil plays with DragonForce and Vigil of War, her solo project; and guitarist Sam Fairless plays guitar on behalf of Jason Becker, who contracted ALS.
“He’s been completely paralyzed since he was 20 which, especially as a musician, is the most devastating thing,” Asano said of Becker.
He chose several guitarists to continue to play his music and continue his legacy, including Fairless.
Before Asano and her band took the stage, DragonForce guitarist Billy Wilkins, a close friend of Asano, opened the show with his band.
“He’s (debuted) a lot of his original music because most people only know him as a DragonForce guitarist,” Asano said.
Wilkins played a number of his original songs and a rendition of DragonForce’s “Through the Fire and Flames,” a crowd favorite during his set.
He and the members of his band also stayed during Asano’s set to cheer her on, showing a deep appreciation and admiration between artists.
Asano and her band, wearing Billy Wilkins t-shirts, invited Wilkins and the rest of his band back on stage to play a rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” (Evelyn Esek)
Wilkins only played a select number of shows opening for Asano, and the Crafthouse was his final show on the tour. Asano’s band came back out for their encore wearing Billy Wilkins t-shirts and invited not only Wilkins, but the rest of his band back on stage to play.
The concert ended with an enthusiastic rendition of the Charlie Daniels Band classic “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which got the entire audience cheering and dancing along with the performers.
Asano was on vocals for the song. She ad-libbed several lines, putting the names of her and Wilkins’ band members into the song, which drew cheers from the crowd.
You can visit Asano on her Instagram and other social media, as well as her website, miaasano.com. Wilkins’ Instagram and website are also linked. Asano’s tour is set to end on March 25 in Indianapolis.