Here's a new video from the Homecoming channel today:

https://youtu.be/JWYXLRmvoaw

This video has clips from their show in Atlanta last week. The new songs that they show sneak previews of look so fun!

I love the stage, the songs, the arrangements, ... and the performers of course. Less than a month until I get to see them live!

Welcome to the forum CelticPrincess!

Deirdre has such a pure voice! My two favorite Deirdre songs are Crucán Na Bpáiste and One More Day.

I might have seen Deirdre Shannon in Lord of the Dance a long time ago (long before Celtic Woman). It's unlikely, but possible. She was doing Lord of the Dance at the time I saw it, but whether she was in the cast of that particular show, I'm not sure. I don't have a program from then and so far, I haven't been able to prove or disprove she was performing in that show.

A New Journey is quite possibly the best concert DVD I have ever seen in my life! Songs from the Heart was extremely spectacular, but watching ANJ is like an unbelievable jolt of joy.

I hope you enjoy your time here celebrating this amazing group!

Those are some impressive counts, everyone!

I've had to make up for lost time.

I can't even imagine what my numbers would have been like had I started going to live shows earlier instead of just enjoying the DVDs. I didn't quite have the same budget when I was in university, so I probably would have spaced them out more.

My Chloë and Celtic Woman numbers are definitely going to go up this year (probably 3 Chloë shows and a hopefully 3 CW shows if I can get to one on the Home for Christmas tour ... might be 4 depending on what the highly speculative CW summer surprise turns out to be). Hopefully I get to see Amy again at least once this year and Lisa Kelly as well. I'm really hoping I can see CaraNua. I'm sensing another busy year, starting this weekend!

It's looking like Hayley might make me fly to Asia to see her. Lol. Probably not going to happen this year unless I have to go there for another reason and she just happens to be performing there in the same place at the same time.

P.S. Hilarious side-notes, Jim!

Part 2:

I honestly can't believe I never wrote a review / recap for this after the show, but if it exists, I can't find it. Like me finally seeing Chloë, it's better late than never.


The Theatre

Between the Meet and Greet and the time when the show started, I finally had a chance to look around. The theatre, The Strand, has been standing for a long time. The paint was worn and one could only imagine how many shows those walls had seen. It did show its age, but also its character. They had been renovating for a little while, but there was still quite a bit of work left to do in that process.

It was a small, intimate theatre, as Chloë prefers. I'd guess there was maybe 200 seats total between the main level and the balcony at the back. The sign in front said sold out. I'm not sure how many of those seats were sold on account of my promotional blitz on Twitter in the weeks leading up to the show, but the social media volunteers at the venue let me know they appreciated it and Chloë took note of the effort as well.

The Audience:

I actually knew at least two people at the show. One I had seen around online before the show. The other I actually met after the show on Instagram. Both very nice. There were also some folks sitting next to me that were impressed I had driven all the way from Canada. I'm normally not very socialble in person, but I actually wasn't bad at it on this particular evening. I was both worn out from the long drive and a insanely excited to see Chloë! The very reasonably priced Guiness may also have been a contributing factor.

I figured I had travelled the farthest of anyone there. While there were naturally quite a few locals in the audience, there was apparently someone who came from Antarctica via Scotland. :O  I'm guessing there were people with fond memories of Emerald (filmed in South Bend, Indiana) in the audience as well.

The audience was definitely more into it than any of the Celtic Woman shows I've been to. But I suspect that varies a lot with location. It wasn't a super-vocal crowd. The Nathan Carter show in Toronto (for which Chloë was a guest) and the Rocktopia show in Atlanta (in which Mairead Nesbitt performed) were probably the two most energetic Celtic Woman related audiences I've been a part of.


The Show:

Chloë came back out on stage and it was finally time! My first time seeing Chloë live after soooo long!

I had heard her sing online a few times since she had moved on from Celtic Woman, but to hear and see her live was overwhelmingly beautiful. She sings with so much feeling. I can feel her pouring her heart into everything she sang. Many of the songs I had heard her sing before. Some were songs I'd heard her sing during her online shows. Some were from her EP, Heatstrings. Well, the live Chloë experience was at a whole different level and she was tugging at my heartstrings for the whole performance.

I recall I was pleasantly surprised to hear Isle of Hope in the set list. My friend had heard that for the first time (from the Songs from the Heart album) on the way over, and I think it was his favourite Celtic Woman group number (it's in my top 5 as well and is sometimes my favourite of all their songs).

I already knew Chloë was a phenomenal singer, but never having seen her live on tour with Celtic Woman, I was surprised how funny she was too! Her stories in between songs were very entertaining and her impressions / accents were hilarious! She seemed like she was having such a great time on stage and her aura of joy seemed to fill the whole theatre.

She was also great at interacting with the audience and making them feel like part of her show. I got multiple shoutouts from Chloë during the show. She knows how to make her Chlovërs feel special. <3  As I alluded to earlier, I was unusually outgoing. I lip-sync'd to most of her songs, because my singing is truely aweful and the people around me were there to listen to her, not me. But I did sing along to the riotous song, The Rattlin' Bog. At the end of the show when she was teaching us the words to The Gathering, I had to remind her the words to her own song. It was a bit hilarious, but she was quite appreciative.

Chloë wore at least two dresses that night, a black one and a pink one. Both quite stunning. I was quite impressed at the time, although I have to say, I liked her dresses in the shows I saw subsequently even more!

Dermy, as he does in most of her shows, displayed his full array of talents. He played piano and guitar in accompaniment of Chloë, sang duets with her a few times, and even performed Danny Boy as a solo.

I wish I could recall the show in as much detail as the events that surrounded it, but the truth is that most of it is a blur of excitement, relief, and contentment. As we raised our glasses (empty by that point) at the end of The Gathering, I was sad that the show was over, but I was so, soooo happy that I had finally gone to see Chloë. It was worth every mile travelled and every calorie burned worrying over the details of the trip.


Post-Show:

I got a little side-tracked by some people after the show so I couldn't go wait for Chloë at the stage exit. I also forgot to grab a poster from the show on my way out. On the way back home, during one of my non-driving shifts, I contacted the venue administrator to thank him for hosting such a lovely show with one of my favourite singers in the world. He was appreciative I had traveled such a long way and gone through so much effort to help promote the show on Twitter. I asked if he could send me a poster from the show and asked that I write a letter to the Shelbyville News about The Strand, the theatre where I saw Chloë to help raise the profile of the venue in the community.

I did submit a letter to the editor. It didn't get published in the paper, so the theatre posted it in their archive instead:
http://www.strand-theatre-shelbyville.org/?s=canada

I got a mention in the venue's Newsletter
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/1440911/dbc3b3a894/ARCHIVE

In spite of a few follow-ups, I never did get my poster though. Lol.


The Road Ahead:

In less than a week, I get to see Chloë again for what will be my fifth time, the most times I have seen any performer. There are a few performers I love dearly (almost all of whom have performed in or with Celtic Woman). But there is a very special place in my heart for Chloë. She's the first Celtic Woman I met and there's nobody else like her. <3

Whatever obstacles lie before me on the road, I know Chloë awaits ahead of them. Wherever she travels, may the road rise always to meet her and may Chlovërs be always by her side.

Im surprised that they didn't put a mike on Tara and let her fill in for Susan. Im sure Tara would have said yes if asked. They must have really done some fast airline hunts to get Alex over here so fast much less how Alex just dropped everything on such short notice

With the amount of work that's required to keep one's voice in the kind of shape needed for Celtic Woman, I think asking Tara to sing would be putting too much on her plate.

Also, Tara's sings in a higher range than Susan or Alex. The harmony might be designed for a mid-range voice between Mairead and Eabha.

They've brought Alex in a bunch of times before (to fill in for Lisa, then Orla, then later for Lisa Lambe). She's like a super-sub!

Celtic Woman let us know that Susan is fine. She had to fly home to Ireland to attend the funeral of her Aunty Joanie.

Deepest condolences to Susan and her family.

On November 17, 2017, Jason Tonioli released an album called Favorite Hymns, featuring CaraNua!

Here's some information about the album and where you can get it:
https://tonioli.com/product/favorite-hymns-caranua-jason-tonioli/

Pre-Order:

There was a pre-order available through Jason's site offering signed copies. Jason and the girls sounded hopeful that Alex, Lynn, and Edel might be able to sign them too. In the end they ended up just being signed by Jason. I guess I'll have to get CaraNua to sign my copy in person when I finally, one day, get to meet them.


Album Cover:

I really like the album cover. I like the choice of colors and it has kind of a soothing quality to it.




I originally thought this was a picture from Utah, where the album was recorded. But it looks like it might actually be an image from New Hampshire:




Notes About the Album

The album features a full orchestra, with the involvement of Chuck E. Myers who has helped with music for Disney, Sony, Warner Brothers, on projects like Cars 3, Toy Story 2&3, Star Wars, etc. 

On Jason's site, it mentions:

This is the first time that former lead singers of Celtic Woman have come together to collaborate on a project since performing with Celtic Woman.

It's true that when lead performers leave Celtic Woman, they tend to go their separate ways. But they have collaborated on projects prior to this 
- Meav was one of Orla's special guests in "Orla Fallon's Celtic Christmas" DVD
- Side-note: If you look closely, I'm pretty sure Eabha's in the Anuna choir during Away In A Manger
- Lisa Kelly and Chloë have done a number of shows together (including several in Peachtree City, GA)


Track List

1. Amazing Grace (Featuring CaraNua) ................................... 5:59   
2. All Creatures of Our God and King (Featuring CaraNua) ..... 4:38   
3. How Great Thou Art (Featuring Lynn Hilary) ......................... 4:57   
4. Beautiful Savior (Featuring CaraNua) .................................. 3:08   
5. Be Thou My Vision (Featuring CaraNua) .............................. 4:06   
6. Come Follow Me (Featuring Alex Sharpe) ............................ 3:27   
7. Let the Lower Lights Be Burning (Featuring CaraNua) ........ 6:21   
8. Nearer My God To Thee (Featuring Edel Murphy) ............... 5:04   
9. Going Home (Featuring CaraNua) ....................................... 4:30   
10. Till We Meet Again (instrumental) ...................................... 3:53


My Thoughts

SPOILERS BELOW

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The album was beautifully arranged, deeply moving, and tremendously satisfying!

The songs are soft and soothing.

The harmony was crystal clear and quite frankly, breathtaking.

CaraNua or its members are featured on every track except the last one, which is a pleasant instrumental.

The instrumental backing, mostly piano with a touch of orchestration, really compliments their voices. There are some really nice instrumental bridges in some of the songs.

Lynn's solo 'How Great Thou Art' is one of the best Lynn Hilary solos I have ever heard. WOW!!!

Edel's solo is 'Nearer My God To Thee' and it is both lovely and haunting. I was kind of hoping for a three-part harmony with this one, but considering how gorgeous Edel sounded, I have no complaints whatsoever. I loved the little Titanic Easter egg near the end!

This album is really well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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SPOILERS ABOVE

Here's an excellent picture of Amy she recently posted on Instagram:

Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BftK5sllYEI/