While attending Berklee College of Music, violinist Mia Asano trained in classical, jazz, and R&B. However, she realized that she was not being authentic to herself and her own style. 

Her style, you ask? She loves to shred heavy metal and rock sounds out of an otherwise unassuming instrument.

“I kind of realized one day that I’d only been playing music to try and impress other musicians…I realized quickly I needed to start playing music that I love again, and that I was inspired by when I was like 13 and saw an electric violin for the first time,” Asano said. 

She began to learn covers of her favorite rock and metal songs, and post them online. 

“I started secretly posting covers on TikTok of my favorite songs and pop stuff in attempts to get my love for music back and rekindle the reason that I started playing electric violin,” she said. 

And then, in that timeframe, Asano went viral. 

“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.”

Before every video on social media, Asano twirls her bow with her wrist, a unique signature she has developed and made apparent both online and in shows for years.

“It just developed because when I make my videos, I kind of see what people like or gravitate towards. Every musician on the internet has an intro they do in their videos,” she said. “I wanted something that was cool, engaging, and also was kind of a constant that you can always expect from my videos. So the bow spin is the thing.”

Asano recently announced her first ever headlining solo tour for this March. She has dates along the east coast and midwest, with a kickoff show in Los Angeles.

“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. 

She is also anticipating a solo album of original music released later this year or at the beginning of 2027. 

“This tour I will be debuting a bunch of songs from that new album, and I’m so excited to share that with everyone,” she said.  

Asano just finished a European tour with the Swedish heavy metal band Saboton at the end of 2025. She has also performed with other notable names in the metal world, as well as the string player community. 

“Even though this is my first headline show, I’ve been touring with lots of other bands for years…I’ve toured with bands like Two Steps from Hell, I have done shows with Dragonforce, Ministry, Lindsay Sterling, and lots of other fun people,” she said. 

Asano also stays true to her classical roots, even on tour. 

“I’m still playing classical music. Even the first song that I play on the tour is a Vivaldi piece of music called “Storm” from “The Four Seasons”, but I play a rock-metal arrangement of it,” Asano explained. 

She said this piece is particularly special to her, serving as an early inspiration.

“That’s a song I first heard when I was like 12 or 13 years old. I saw this electric violinist named Vanessa-Mae playing that piece on an electric violin,” she said. “The classical training really helped me a lot to see what I do now.” 

Now, more than twenty years into playing the instrument herself, she has amassed quite the collection of violins, with many of them accompanying her on tour or being seen throughout her social media. 

“I have maybe ten violins that I’ve collected over the years, and every single one is special to me for different reasons, she said. “My main violin is a seven-string fretted (Wood Violins) Viper that has a self supporting system, so I don’t need to use my chin to hold it down.”

She also owns a Viper with five strings, a Volta Violins instrument with a built-in speaker system for distortion and reverb, a red Yamaha violin, and a custom Stratton skull-and-eyeballs violin, among other electric and acoustic instruments. 

“There’s always a different violin for every scenario that you’re in, and I love that I can pick and choose what fits best,” she said. “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.” 

Asano has a special band accompanying her for her current tour: Kyle Abbott, a session musician and touring drummer from Los Angeles, bassist Alicia Vigil from DragonForce and Vigil of War, her solo project, and Asano’s partner, guitarist Sam Fairless.

“(Sam) is Jason Becker’s guitarist. Jason Becker was this incredible guitarist in the 80s…He would have been one of the most famous guitarists of all time, but when he was 20 years old, he contracted ALS,” Asano said. “He’s been completely paralyzed since he was 20, which especially as a musician, is the most devastating thing.” Becker chose several guitarists to continue to play his music and continue his legacy. 

“Sam is basically his body and does all of that shredding and plays all of Jason’s music for him in his honor,” Asano said. “I’m the honored one to have (Sam) share the stage with me…he is an incredible musician and person.

Her opener for the tour will be DragonForce guitarist Billy Wilkins, a close friend of Asano. 

“He’s going to be debuting a lot of his original music because most people only know him as a DragonForce guitarist,” she said. 

On March 13, Asano will play at The Crafthouse in Pittsburgh. Doors will open at 6:30 pm and the show will begin around 8:30 pm. Tickets can be found here, with packages available. 

“Support goes a long way because for an independent artist in this day and age, the support from the fans means everything,” Asano said. “So I’m just grateful to anyone that wants to come out to the show and wants to have a good night.”

You can visit Asano on her Instagram and other social media, and her website, miaasano.com.