Hitting the high notes has opened some doors for Jefferson County’s Anastasia Hamilton.
The singer credits her ability to reach the higher end of the musical scale with landing her a role in the Mr. Blue Sky, a tribute band that plays the music of the Electric Light Orchestra, better known as ELO, a popular band in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr. Blue Sky has an upcoming performance on Friday, Sept. 23, at the Chesterfield Amphitheater, and the show is being promoted as the biggest light show and multimedia production in the band’s history – a fitting tribute to ELO, which was known for its larger-than-life stadium shows.
Hamilton, 35, of Barnhart said she’s looking forward to being part of such an elaborate show.
“It’s fun to be up on stage when all that’s going on around you,” she said. “I know the audience loves it. Sometimes you get smacked in the eye with a light, but the show goes on.”
Visit mrblueskymusic.com for ticket information.
Catching the music bug
Hamilton said she was bitten by the performing bug during her days at Windsor High School.
“I was a big choir nerd in high school. I made all-district and all-state as a soprano,” said the 2004 graduate. “I also was a theater nerd.”
Hamilton credits her time at Windsor with giving her the confidence to take the stage.
“Being in choir and theater really helped me out,” she said. “Of course, now, I’m playing in front of much bigger audiences than I ever would have imagined.”
Hamilton is a founding member of Mr. Blue Sky, a 10-member group that has played before audiences around St. Louis and in Chicago.
“The last couple of concerts have been sold out, and what’s great is that people stay after and talk with us, about how much they liked the show and how much they love ELO,” she said. “They tell us how much they love it and that they love that we’re keeping the music alive.”
ELO’s hit-making years spanned from 1973 to 1986.
The group was known for blending classical and orchestral music with modern rock music. However, the group – which had a varying roster of members – wasn’t known for being a co-ed outfit.
Not so with Mr. Blue Sky, which features Hamilton on vocals along with violinists Abby Stahlschmidt and Jessie Youngblood.
“I think the three of us bring a lot to the band,” she said. “We don’t hear anything but good things from the audience.”
Hamilton said she didn’t have a lot of knowledge about ELO when she was asked to audition by Stephen Winter, a keyboardist and vocalist she knew from the local music scene.
“I guess I’m one of the younger members of the group, and about all I had known about ELO was a couple of songs, ‘Fire on High’ and ‘Telephone Line’ that they play a lot on KSHE (Radio),” she said. “When they asked me to sing the choral part to ‘Fire on High’ and I could reach the high soprano notes – I was in.”
Hamilton said she previously sang with a Trans-Siberian Orchestra tribute band.
“We played all around the U.S., and I gained a lot of experience with being in a rock band,” she said.
While she’s now much more familiar with the ELO catalog, she said “Fire on High” is still her favorite, even though it’s largely an instrumental.
“I get to hit some really high notes (on choral parts), and I just love to do that,” Hamilton said. “I think my second favorite is ‘Roll Over Beethoven,’ which is also a fan favorite.”
“Roll Over Beethoven” is a Chuck Berry song that ELO covered, embellishing it with classical music touches for its first hit in 1973.
More musical connections
After graduating from Windsor, Hamilton attended classes at Jefferson College.
“I won the Jeffco Idol contest in 2005, and the winner got a recording contract, but I didn’t end up doing anything with it,” she said.
Instead, she joined the choirs at two churches, Living Word (in St. Louis County) and Church in Action (in Arnold), perhaps giving her some experience with choral music.
Hamilton said she still sings at other churches.
While she’s a member in good standing with Mr. Blue Sky, Hamilton also leads her own group, GypsySoul, a five-piece cover band that performs around the St. Louis area.
“We play a lot of rock ’n’ roll, classic rock and funk, which I really love,” she said.
Hamilton also sings with another popular tribute band, Freebird USA, which performs tunes popularized by Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd.
In addition, she occasionally performs in an acoustic duo called Sean and Annabelle.
Between performing with three active bands (and sitting in with others), Hamilton has been working a demanding job as a medical assistant for 14 years.
She and her husband, Andy, have been married for five years.
“We don’t have any kids yet, but we have four Labradors that rule our house,” she said.
Hamilton said she’s thankful that most of her life has revolved around music.
“It’s my passion for music and my love for entertaining that keeps me going,” she said. “I believe that music has such a healing quality. It truly is there for any emotion you struggle with. Lyrics or not, music speaks to your soul.”