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)

The first few Meet and Greets I did, I tried memorizing things to say to each of the ladies. It was only a couple of sentences each, but it did take a bit of time to deliver them. I got the "hurry-it-along" treatment all but once (Éabha's last show).

The last time I pursued that strategy though was the Magic of Christmas tour. These days, in the rare event I have something emotionally meaningful to relay to the girls that benefits from careful wording, I just message them. It's a lot easier and less stressful than rolling the dice on the available time at a Meet and Greet.

Lindsey's new album Duality releases June 14th!

The first single Eye of the Untold Her is out now. Wow!!! The piece and the music video transcend her entire journey as a professional performer:

https://youtu.be/rWwfyzX2OeM?si=hK0GKMXcyMjBGhuT

The album and related merch are available to pre-order now:
https://lindseystirlingmerch.com/
https://lindseystirlingmerch.com/products/lindsey-stirling-duality-cd-1

So fun fact: Gavin Murphy produced and performed on Lisa's "Hiding Away" album.

Éabha announced on social media that Celtic World is releasing 2 singles. In the sprit of the Celtic World Forum, the tracks will feature a collection of Irish musicians coming together.

The first track, "I Left My Heart," releases March 15.

Some clips from the first song were released on Social Media.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4Qloj_sPPK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I love the way it sounds!

The second track, "Ireland," releases March 29th.

Vocalists include Éabha, Megan, Caitriona Sherlock and Fergus Cahillane. Tara Howley is on pipes and whistles and there are other familiar names from Celtic World Forum that played instruments on the first track.

DVD can be pre-ordered from the Celtic Thunder site now.

I finally had a chance to watch the on-demand production.

Oh ... my ... goodness! It was incredible!

I've often enjoyed the beauty of Lisa's voice, but have rarely experienced its full power. She is unleashed in this production!

There is a pretty heavy dose of British comedy, especially in the first half, complete with slapstick, but I found it fun. The second half is phenomenal! The actress who portrayed Queenie is an absolute powerhouse! The story, a twist on the classic fairy tale, is surprisingly compelling and it packs an emotional punch, especially in the second half.

There were some really pretty lighting effects as well.

I don't think this is on DVD / Blu-Ray (if it is, someone please send me a link) because I want to watch it over and over!

For some reason I can't currently find the song on any digital platform (at least not from here). I can only see the YouTube video posted by a fan.