Cherish the Ladies.

Anyone ever given them a listen??
They've been around twice as long as Celtic Woman.
I've seen them twice in concert with a few differences in the lineup each time -- between the two the singer was definitely different.
The flautist/whistle player is HILARIOUS.

I got to see them live this week for the first time!

Apparently it's the first time they've toured in Ontario, Canada in their 39 year history. I didn't fact-check that, but if true, that's crazy!

2 of the original members (Joanie Madden and Mary Coogan) performed in the show. Joanie is funny and there was plenty of banter between the music. The show was pretty fun. They had a variety of instruments: tin whistle, flute, guitar, fiddle, piano, and an accordion. They also had not one, but TWO small groups of Irish dancers: one that tour with then, and one that was local.

There were plenty of fun tune sets, one of my favourites being one of their most popular originals, The Cat's Meow.

The credentials of the performers on that stage was astonishing. The violinist performed with Riverdance. Multiple dancers had won world championships.

Celtic Woman got a brief mention: before intermission, they pleaded with people to follow them on Facebook, or if they weren't liking the show, they could go follow the Celtic Woman instead. Lol. Sure, it was a light-hearted bit of shade, but hey, if it got just one person in that audience to follow Celtic Woman that didn't already love them, I'm ok with it.

Brendan Graham also got a shoutout as part of an introduction to introduction to Isle of Hope. That arrangement was incredible! I believe Kate Purcell was the singer / guitarist. It was refreshing hearing the songs performed with a strong, authentic Irish folksy style, very different than the way they're performed in Celtic Woman. It was really effective, especially with Joanie singing harmony.

I got a brief meet with Joanie after the show. I was about as chatty as usual. I might have gotten a sentence out before someone else butted in. Lol. It's fine, they've had fans there waiting 39 years to see them live (as well as a surprising number who travelled to see the show). I did get a signed CD for my efforts though.

They were also selling USB sticks with a ton of their music on it: Cherished Favorites, it was cleverly titled. I've got many hours of new music to listen to now.

I got to see them live this week for the first time!

Apparently it's the first time they've toured in Ontario, Canada in their 39 year history. I didn't fact-check that, but if true, that's crazy!

2 of the original members (Joanie Madden and Mary Coogan) performed in the show. Joanie is funny and there was plenty of banter between the music. The show was pretty fun. They had a variety of instruments: tin whistle, flute, guitar, fiddle, piano, and an accordion. They also had not one, but TWO small groups of Irish dancers: one that tour with then, and one that was local.

There were plenty of fun tune sets, one of my favourites being one of their most popular originals, The Cat's Meow.

The credentials of the performers on that stage was astonishing. The violinist performed with Riverdance. Multiple dancers had won world championships.

Celtic Woman got a brief mention: before intermission, they pleaded with people to follow them on Facebook, or if they weren't liking the show, they could go follow the Celtic Woman instead. Lol. Sure, it was a light-hearted bit of shade, but hey, if it got just one person in that audience to follow Celtic Woman that didn't already love them, I'm ok with it.

Brendan Graham also got a shoutout as part of an introduction to introduction to Isle of Hope. That arrangement was incredible! I believe Kate Purcell was the singer / guitarist. It was refreshing hearing the songs performed with a strong, authentic Irish folksy style, very different than the way they're performed in Celtic Woman. It was really effective, especially with Joanie singing harmony.

I got a brief meet with Joanie after the show. I was about as chatty as usual. I might have gotten a sentence out before someone else butted in. Lol. It's fine, they've had fans there waiting 39 years to see them live (as well as a surprising number who travelled to see the show). I did get a signed CD for my efforts though.

They were also selling USB sticks with a ton of their music on it: Cherished Favorites, it was cleverly titled. I've got many hours of new music to listen to now.

I have seen them twice. Joanie Madden is definitely hilarious.