Heartstrings hit the right notes

Malta native Kristen (Engebretson) Estelle made her triumphant return to her hometown last Monday night as she and her band, the Heartstrings, played a concert at the Malta High School Gymnasium as this year's opening act of the North Eastern Arts Network Concert Series.

A nearly packed house greeted Estelle and the Heartstrings and though many people in attendance talked of the pride of seeing Estelle, MHS Class of 2006, back in town, maybe no one was as proud as the gentleman who introduced the act on the night.

"Tonight, Kristen is back," Erik Engebretson, Kristen's father, and Malta School Music teacher said. "What can I say. Jeanne (wife and Kristen's mother) and I remember sitting right about there (pointing to seats close to the stage) for quite a bit of her career here at Malta High School and now (Kristen) will be standing right here."

The Heartstrings - comprised of Patrick James Roberts on bass, Sam Quiggins on cello, Molly Aronson on cello, Trevor New on viola, and Ally Jenkins on violin - took the stage ahead of Kristen and played an acoustic version of Sweet Child of Mine by Guns and Roses.

"This is the most amazing experience I have had to date," Kristen said as she took to her home stage. "It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces and so many new ones too."

The group opened with the song Don't Wanna Fall from their 2018 album entitled Home. Kristen and the Heartstrings blazed through several songs on the night before taking an intermission where she met with members of the audience. After the show, Kristen told the PCN about coming home to perform.

"It was so surreal to be in my hometown, in the auditorium I grew up in, with all of the people who have raised me ...influenced me in one way or another," she said. "I was so incredibly moved by all of the familiar faces. I couldn't believe that I was experiencing a reality!"

As for the night's performance, and how she thought it went, Kristen said she was nervous and somewhat afraid ahead of taking the stage.

"To be in front of the people you love and the people you know, there is a certain unspoken expectation that one has for themselves to not let anyone down," she said. "I suppose I also was a bit afraid to show everyone what I had been working on in New York City because the music I play now is much different from what I had been doing when I was in Montana. The clarinet was not in the picture, and there were only hints and quotes of jazz and-not the traditional music that I used to do."

Estelle and the Heartstrings hail from New York City, New York, and have played many venues and compared those types of music scenes to the Malta High School auditorium.

"I felt like I had time and space up there to drink in everyone and to see faces in the crowd that I haven't seen for years," she said. "That's the funny thing about auditoriums and listening spaces versus the raucous venues of New York City, you can see all of the people all of the time. So, it felt very intimate but also far away somehow. Usually in New York, people sit right up to the stage's edge, so people are close to you all of the time. In one way, I wish that could have been the case in Malta. I would have liked to be close to everyone and to let them know they meant the world to me! Everyone always says, 'remember where you came from'. It's quite an interesting twist to also remind "where you came from" where "you" came from."

During the performance, pre-intermission, Kristen joked with the audience about the songs being bittersweet love songs and promised the second set of tunes would be more upbeat. The band kept Kristen's word for the second half of the concert, but Kristen said one song in particular in the "upbeat" portion of the concert made her emotional.

I couldn't keep from getting emotional on the last song, Home, which is about being homesick for Montana," Kristen said. "I dedicated the song to everyone in the community and to my parents. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I tried to keep my voice from shaking, but thoughts of my family and memories came rushing in and just seeing all of these people who were so important to me. I couldn't express my gratitude enough for my family, especially my Dad and my Mom. It was so touching to have my family there. It was the first time that many of them heard me play my music live. This was the most incredible performance experience I have ever had, and I know it is a feeling that I will never have again. So, thank you Malta, for your love and for your support. You are my heart!"

Kristen told the PCN she will leave some CD with her father if anyone is interested in purchasing some and added that the album will be released online in January, 2019.

"The albums that are in Malta, are exclusive because it is not available anywhere else yet," she said. "We rushed the pressing specifically for this tour."

To keep up with the band, go to their website at http://www.kristenestellemusic.com and sign up for the emailing list and get all of the updates of where they are playing, new videos, etc. and follow them on Instagram under the handle @kristenestellemusic or Facebook: Kristen Estelle and the Heartstrings.