Mairead at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England (July 12, 2019)

Mairead Nesbitt is performing at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England on Friday, July 12, 2019:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mairead-nesbitt-live-at-the-icc-tickets-60141816793

Mairead Nesbitt Live at the ICC
Friday, July 12, 2019
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDT

Irish Cultural Centre of New England
Canton, MA

General Admission is $30 (it looks like these are no longer available from the site above, so they may be sold out)
Ticket with Meet and Greet is $50

It seems like there's no assigned seating, at least not for the VIP tickets, so presumably it's first come first choice (like Chloë's shows or like the shows at Johnstown Castle).


P.S. Yes, I will be going.

I'm going too! It'll be my first show of a former Celtic Woman member. Super excited for the show and to hang out with Tom again!

Mairead announced some special guests for her show:

* Ryann Murray
* The Old Colony Highlanders Pipe Band
* The Kenny Academy Dance Studio

Mairead also hinted that the show will be outdoors!

What to do, what to do.

Do it!

BTW, this appears to be the 3,000th post on the forum

The forum counts edits as posts, so it's not quite 3,000 original posts yet. 

What to do, what to do.

Do it!

BTW, this appears to be the 3,000th post on the forum

The forum counts edits as posts, so it's not quite 3,000 original posts yet. 

No the forum doesn't count edits as a new post i just did a edit to one of my posts and the post count before the edit was 3004 and after the edit it was 3004 plus the forum is way over 3000 post as i have deleted all the old calendar posts

Before the Show

It was pretty hot and humid outside, though the rain in the forecast for most of the day had mercifully held off for the most part.

Traffic getting from the BnB to the show was fairly heavy, but Tracie and I got to the show with plenty of time to spare. We were one of the first ones there and there wasn't a line yet. We decided to get into the shade for a few minutes. That decision ended up being a costly one as within minutes, a bunch of the superfans arrived and started a line before we could get back in it. We still got pretty good seats in the second row though, but next time, I'll be starting the line instead of waiting to join an existing one.

We chatted a bit with some of the superfans (including Mike, Dee, the Scott's and a few others) as we waited to enter the venue.

There was an Irish pub a few steps away, right next to the Irish Arts Centre building, but it was packed.

The Venue

The show was at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England, in Canton, Massachusetts. There was a zipline park very close by, but we did not partake on this occasion. There was a boardwalk from the parking lot to the venne. The concert took place under a tent outdoors. The tent was partly open at the sides for the audience and performers to enter. There were translucent plastic windows along the sides. There were a few hundred plastic chairs set up under the tent.

Side-note: I never found out what "bring your picnics" meant.

At the front of the theatre, there was a fairly long stage with a large space in front of the stage for the pipe band and dancers. There was a backdrop with the Irish Cultural Centre logo on it, but aside from that the stage was nothing fancy.

There was a merch table at the back of the tent, operated by Mairead's good friend Tiffany. Available were signed copies of Mairead's CDs Hibernia and Devil's Bit Sessions. Kathleen Nesbitt's "Fidil" Irish Fiddle Tutorial book was also available. There were free copies of Travel and Culture magazine, featuring Mairead, as well as free promotional cards for Mairead's violin line.

The Show

The show opened with The Old Colony Higlander Pipe Band, which consisted of drummers and bagpipers. Then Mairead pranced onto the scene from stage left and began to dazzle us with her brilliance.

For the first act, Mairead was wearing a stunning gold sparkly dress.

Mairead was sometimes joined by the pipe band, Irish dancers of The Kenny Academy, and singer Ryann Murray. Ryann has a strong voice.

It didn't take long to realize this was one of the best audiences I've ever been part of. The place was practically filled. The audience clapped along enthusiastically to many of the songs. The applause was loud and there were a lot of well-deserved standing ovations.

Mairead asked us to sing Danny Boy with her and Ryann. There wasn't nearly as much participation as I thought there would have been, but other than that, the crowd was fantastic!

My favourite song of the first act was There Is No Night, which had me in tears. The first act ended with a thunderous rendition of The Dusk by Mairead, Ryann, the Pipe Band and the dancers.

For the second act, Mairead wore a white dress with a baby blue cloak. She started the act by walking across the back of the audience and then through the isle right where I was sitting. She gave me a smile and a little nudge with her shoulder as she approached the stage.

Mairead wore her white dress for the rest of the show but removed the blue cloak a few songs into the second act.

Mairead spent most of the show on the stage. She did several times venture out into the open area in front of the stage, where she engaged in a dizzying sequence of spins while playing her violin.

Ryann wore a gorgeous bright green sparkly dress in the second act. That is one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen and as a Celtic Woman fan, that's saying a lot.

It was fun to clap along to Granuaile's Dance as I imagined myself in the audience at Slane Castle.

It rained quite a bit during the show, but we were fortunately sheltered from the elements by the tent.

For the penultimate number of the second act, Mairead performed the theme from Game of Thrones, which was pretty awesome tribute (in spite of how disappointing the final season of the show was).

The finale of the night was, ironically, the Dawn (my favourite song from Hibernia). With the full cast on stage, it was a absolutely epic and it was the perfect way to end the show!

Set List

Act 1:

The Old Colony Higlander Pipe Band number
The First Sheaf (Invasion 2)
Becoming (Invasion 3) (Mairead with dancers for 2nd tune)
There is No Night
The Old Colony Higlander Pipe Band number
Ballydesmond Polkas (Hibernia 2) (Mairead with dancers)
Celtic Butterfly
My Heart Will Go On (singer Ryann Murray)
The Dusk (Mairead, then joined by dancers, then Highlander Pipe Band and Ryann)

Act 2:

Séan Ó Duibhir (Hibernia 1)
Belles of Tipperary (Hibernia 3) (with dancers second tune)
The Dark
The Old Colony Higlander Pipe Band number
Merrily Kiss the Quaker (Hibernia 3) (Mairead then joined by dancers)
Granuaile's Dance
Danny Boy (Mairead and Ryann and audiance)
Game of Thrones (start with Mairead, then all)
The Dawn (all)


Post Show

After the show, Mairead, the dancers, and Ryann returned to the stage for some group photos.

Then, those of us with Meet and Greet tickets proceeded into the main Irish Cultural Centre building. I found some show flyers outside the hall where the Meet and Greet was held and grabbed some to get signed.

Tracie and I got some photos with Ryann in her stunning green dress. Then, after a short wait, Mairead came to meet us. There were a LOT of people there to meet her so we waited for most of the crowd to dissipate before getting in line.

Mairead signed our posters and took some photos with us. Mairead is always on the move and I usually don't get to say much to her. This time, I got out most if what I wanted to tell her. I told her I appreciated all the energy and heart with which she performed and thanked her for all the joy she brings into my life. I told her that her performance of There Is No Night was beautiful. I also told her I loved The Hidden Forest from Tim Janis's Celtic Heart and the she and Lynn were amazing together.

We stuck around for a little while longer and took a group photo with Mairead and the superfans before saying goodbye to Mairead and heading back to the BnB.

Wrap Up

So ends this epic concert season which started with Mairead Nesbitt in Ohio in early March. It was an epic series of 12 shows that included Lisa Lambe, Lisa Kelly, Chloë, Lynn, and 4 Celtic Woman Ancient shows (including the one at Red Rocks). My next scheduled show is currently to see Mairead and Lynn in December, although I hope to see Chloë and maybe even CaraNua between now and then.

Some people wonder why I travel so much to concerts. Those of us here on the forum know the answer: because Mairead Nesbitt and all the other Celtic Woman performers, past and present, are worth every hour of planning, every penny spent, and every mile of the journey. <3

So your season began with a Máiréad Nesbitt concert on a rainy day... and it also ended that way.   💚☂️
 
The Dawn is an amazing way to end an album or a show! It seems like she is ending all her shows with it these days.

Excellent write-up Tom! I had such a great time at Mairead's show. It was so much fun and filled with energy. Mairead was incredible of course, as were Ryann, the dancers and the pipe band. I loved hearing so much from Hibernia, which is a terrific album. It was a really fun audience to be in, with lots of clapping along, loud cheering and standing ovations. An excellent show!

This was my first time meeting Mairead, and she was really nice. She told me I looked amazing, which was so sweet of her. It was hot and humid and the humidity ruined my hair and had me flushed, so I'm sure I didn't look amazing, but thanks Mairead! Lol. I told her that she had given me the perfect reason to take my first trip to Boston. I also told her how much I enjoyed the show and that everybody was wonderful. She took a picture with me individually and with me and Tom together. When all the superfans gathered for a group picture with her, I hung back a bit, thinking I'd stay out of the picture since they had all known her for many years. But Mairead looked at me and waved me up, so I joined. It was a great first meet and greet with her.

I have to echo what Tom said about how much these ladies are worth our time, effort, and money to travel to see. Their shows are so special and they're such wonderful people. I'm so glad I decided to go to this one. I wouldn't have gone by myself, but when Tom told me he wanted to go, I wanted to go too. Gregg couldn't make it to this one because of jury duty, which many of the other fans there who we had met over the past few months told me to scold him for. What's more important, reporting for jury duty or going to Mairead's concert......I had such a great time spending the weekend with Tom in Boston. Can't wait to plan more travels and shows together!