The Celtic Tenors tour

I got to see one of The Celtic Tenors shows last week.

For those who may not be aware, The Celtic Tenors used to open for Celtic Woman on tour and Matt is Deirdre Shannon's brother. Brian McGrane, their musical director and multi-instrumentalist, toured with Celtic Woman and currently forms the duo The Brave Collide with Chloë Agnew.

The Celtic Tenors have toured together for 25 years, I believe with the same 3 members. It was apparently their first time in 9 years visiting this area.

One of the lads played tin whistle / low whistle at times during the show, as well as guitar.

In the first act, the lads came out dressed casually in jeans. In the second act, the wore the suits.

Most of the song were group songs with great harmony. The solos were excellent too though! Some of my favourites were:
- Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
- Song for Ireland
- Remember Me
- Nella Fantasia
- The Prayer
- Perfect
- Galileo

The harmonies on Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears, Song for Ireland, and Nella Fantasia (among others) were gorgeous!

Matthew's solo (Galileo) was really good, possibly my favourite version of the song!

Brian's keyboard solo 21-15 (available from his forthcoming album "Engraned" which was available to purchase at the show prior to its official release) sounded really pretty.

There were plenty of fun songs and the crowd got into it and clapped / sang along.

The lads were pretty funny.

There was a Derry Girls shoutout during the show.

There were a lot of superfans in the audience and the tenors called out quite a few of them from the stage throughout the show. One of the people sitting next to me had seen them 60 times. There were fans that flew in from out of town to see the show.

Sadly (thought not unsurprisingly), Deirdre didn't make an appearance. In spite of that, I really enjoyed the show and plan to see them the next time they come to the area.

I got to meet the 3 tenors as well as their musical directory / pianist / guitarist / singer Brian McGrane after the show.

Full Set List

I'll Tell Me Ma
Isle of Hope
Red Is the Rose
Finnghuala
Nella Fantasia / Funiculi
The Dutchman
Perfect (Ed Sheeran) (James solo, along with Brian McGrane)
Carrickfergus
Rocky Road to Dublin
The Prayer

21-15 (Brian McGrane keyboard solo)
Feels Like Home
The Boxer
Gallileo (Matthew solo)
From Here to Moon and Back
Brown-eyed girl (Daryl solo)
Can't Help Falling In Love (With You)
Whiskey In the Jar
Remember Me

The Parting Glass (encore)