NYC Tour Stop Canceled / Performing in NYC St. Pat's Parade Tuesday

Hey everyone.

I was about to see my 20th CW show next Thursday, but there NYC show has been canceled. I believe it was due to low ticket sales, unfortunately. However, they did announce they are doing the TODAY Show on Monday here in NYC and performing at the St. Patricks Day Parade in Times Square on Tuesday at 10 AM!

That’s…actually kind of tragic…I’m sorry you won’t be able to go! Maybe there’s seats available for some other shows?

CW having low ticket sales in New York of all places isn’t a good sign…I’m kind of scared, but I do tend to worry a lot…

You seem to be new…how about introducing yourself in the new members section? It’s lovely to have a new poster here! 😄

I am also a big CW fan in NYC. I also had a ticket. (I've lurked here for years).  I noticed there was a 50% off sale for that show posted on Instagram from the venue. So I'm sad to say it looks like poor ticket sales and not "technical issues" as a text from the theater suggested.

I checked available seats earlier this week and it look as though there was around 45-50% of the seats unsold.

They have not done shows in NYC for years.  The last one I remember going to was at the Kings Theater (Brooklyn) in 2016.  They play New Jersey venues every tour.  I've been to those shows many times.

Welcome to Joes1860 and branjarob !

Hopefully, you guys can catch another show nearby.

Yeah, that is not surprising. That's why I asked Romds9 about the crowd size in Wilkes Barre. I noticed low ticket sales in a lot of venues. Without a PBS special, I'm not sure how to get the word out about the tour to the casual fans.

I think there was a lack of promotions in the past months, the Nollaig Tour + the album was not enough to promote the upcoming spring tour. Maybe they should have released some music videos or some new songs as an EP perhaps beforehand to showcase the new music. I don’t know what they could do to boost their ticket sales…
But I am also glad and look forward to watch their two appearances and performances next week!!

Hello everyone! Thanks for the replies and warm welcome!

Okay, I am gonna share some opinions that I've had for years, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Yes, there seems to have been a gradual decline in Celtic Woman popularity since the David Downes years onwards, and they have typically chosen to perform in cities with high-PBS and high-older, Irish heritage populations to keep up the ticket sales. New York City is notoriously difficult to fill a venue unless you're a very popular act (I got to a lot of shows, most of them are half-full or are in very small venues), and in my opinion, the newer era of CW has focused far too much on pop-type music and a pull away from the big, orchestral, "new-age", Riverdance type sound that existed from the first album up to Ancient Land.

I have always wondered if, since they don't have the ability to get back to the Downes era sound or have the ability to perform songs orchestrated by Downes, if they might lean in to the more trad Irish sound of a High Kings or something... but they don't seem to be moving in that direction either. And they very rarely add any new Celtic traditional songs to their repitoir, which I think contributes to losing some more of the base that has a very strong connection to Celtic Trad.

I think Celtic Woman has evolved from a group that has a distinct sound and show to more of clearing house for young, very talented Irish women to get the chance to perform on a still-massive stage around America, primarily. Don't get me wrong- I love it. I particularly loved the era we just left- it took me a minute, but I came to love Ancient Land through their 20th Anniversary albums. But if the show just becomes a variety show for new Irish talent every other year, it becomes very hard to develop a distinctive sound, a dedicated fan base etc.. And that makes me worry for the longevity of Celtic Woman over the next 20 years.

I will always be a fan. I will always support the show. And I know most of us here will as well. But the focus on cultivating new audiences will require, I believe, a return to something large, magical, and mystical in sound and spectacle, or a pivot into very traditional Celtic traditional music- and it seems that CW is not currently moving in either direction. Instead, in this show, we have a mix of American pop/country like Jolene, Italian songs, Modern Irish Rock/Folk, and the traditional songs they know Americans love that are not particularly Irish- Amazing Grace, Over the Rainbow etc. And that, in my opinion, is an interesting choice indeed.

This got me thinking, which can be dangerous!

I've been to 6 shows at RCMH.  The last one was in 2012.  I was fortunate that my daughter wanted to go with me to all of them.  We had M&G's for 2 of them.  It was fun.  Got to see some Broadway shows, Statute of Liberty, etc.  One reason I'm only going to 1 show this year (or that's all I'm planning on) is it's local.  It's not about money -- I hate to think how much I have spent over the years!  Rather, I'm waiting to see if I still enjoy the show.  We all know the group has changed, and probably will continue to do so.  Change is not always bad. 

I initially went to 1 show each of the first 2 years after I saw CW on PBS.  The Isle of Hope tour was 9 shows, and it went up from there.  Why?  Obviously the music, but some of it was the performers and the way they connected with the audience. 

Best example goes back to 2023.  I went to Lisa Kelly's Masterclass in December.  Lisa remembered me from the various M&G's I attended.

I have tickets to see the show on March 25 in Clearwater, FL.  Been there several times to see CW and CT.   Even if I really, really like the new show, not sure if I can make anything else.  I used to try to go to two shows at a time because of travel.  Nothing against Canada, but they're doing some shows there, and travel (flying) has become a giant PITA.

Can I add with the cost of everything going up, people might not be able to travel farther for shows.

That and Ticketmaster, which a lot of venues use, has made going to shows less fun with their obnoxious fees.

Can I add with the cost of everything going up, people might not be able to travel farther for shows.

That and Ticketmaster, which a lot of venues use, has made going to shows less fun with their obnoxious fees.

Yeah, I thought that might be a factor, especially for the younger fans. It’s very hard to get by if you don’t already own property. Drew Gooden has a great video on this if you want to learn more about it, but I digress. I know Téir Abhaile Riú went semi-viral back in 2022-23, but the fans who discovered them through this might not be able to afford tickets when they can barely pay rent.

But hey, one man can be a trillionaire, so it’s worth it, right?

newer era of CW has focused far too much on pop-type music and a pull away from the big, orchestral, "new-age", Riverdance type sound that existed from the first album up to Ancient Land.

I recently was surprised when for example Celtic Woman Official uploaded a short from Emerald lineup doing Danny Boy to honor upcoming St. Patrick's Day, and first comment I've seen were comments like I could listen to Susan all day and Susan is the best! I know it's been years now but you would of expected something from Chloe, Lisa L and Mairead N but it makes me happy that Susan is seen as a legendary Celtic Woman.

I would think that Celtic Woman is doing the best with what they have, as long as Muirgen and Caitriona are able to present songs to us in their native language which those two are notable at which they both are like Eabha that not only they have a rich sound, knowledge of the language especially Caitriona's style of singing looks to be identical to Eabha that they knew that it's necessary to have her open the tour in an Irish song.
As for classical Italian operatic yeah it's because you have Mairead Carlin if it isn't Chloe which Mairead is gifted in that and knows to pull soprano highs, I mean they've always had an Italian classical number since the get go I say this because Cinema Paradiso has become one of my favorite performances from Mairead. I think when it comes down to choosing what songs is by the group's lineup sound together and which songs would benefit with that current sound.

A New Era to me is like Isle of Hope and I can't say what the next upcoming special will enfold and entail because another style special that Destiny and Ancient Land isn't impossible. A New Era means going beyond 20 Years but I hope like forum member stars at dawn mentioned that I hope they didn't go with New Era name because of Taylor Swift and trying to hype it. As for the Jolene song it's only one song and they've done that before whether it was Still haven't found what I was looking for, Water Under the Bridge, and Have I told you Lately that I love You so like a still surprise special thing that normally they don't do. When they said there was lots of surprises I expect alot more than just Jolene.

I still believe the four member sound is what was the unique aspect of Celtic Woman, but every lineup has been stellar so can't say a three lineup like HFC wasn't EPIC! The David Downes version of Celtic Woman is missed, even though I have happily become a fan of CW's evolving over the years! I really thought that Hannah would of brought in some Early Chloe Agnew and Meav vibes to Celtic Woman so it's kind of unfortunate and that lineup with Megan gone or not would really been a new era because when had a new lineup had all new singers at a start. In fact Megan got so much more joyful that I was ready to see Megan be the Mairead C veteran of the group! :/

Celtic Woman was a phenomenon because of young Chloe, because of Mairead Nesbitt, Lisa Kelly's connection to the audience, Eabha really brought back something like that from 2015-2018!

Hello everyone! Thanks for the replies and warm welcome!

Okay, I am gonna share some opinions that I've had for years, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Yes, there seems to have been a gradual decline in Celtic Woman popularity since the David Downes years onwards, and they have typically chosen to perform in cities with high-PBS and high-older, Irish heritage populations to keep up the ticket sales. New York City is notoriously difficult to fill a venue unless you're a very popular act (I got to a lot of shows, most of them are half-full or are in very small venues), and in my opinion, the newer era of CW has focused far too much on pop-type music and a pull away from the big, orchestral, "new-age", Riverdance type sound that existed from the first album up to Ancient Land.

I have always wondered if, since they don't have the ability to get back to the Downes era sound or have the ability to perform songs orchestrated by Downes, if they might lean in to the more trad Irish sound of a High Kings or something... but they don't seem to be moving in that direction either. And they very rarely add any new Celtic traditional songs to their repitoir, which I think contributes to losing some more of the base that has a very strong connection to Celtic Trad.

I think Celtic Woman has evolved from a group that has a distinct sound and show to more of clearing house for young, very talented Irish women to get the chance to perform on a still-massive stage around America, primarily. Don't get me wrong- I love it. I particularly loved the era we just left- it took me a minute, but I came to love Ancient Land through their 20th Anniversary albums. But if the show just becomes a variety show for new Irish talent every other year, it becomes very hard to develop a distinctive sound, a dedicated fan base etc.. And that makes me worry for the longevity of Celtic Woman over the next 20 years.

I will always be a fan. I will always support the show. And I know most of us here will as well. But the focus on cultivating new audiences will require, I believe, a return to something large, magical, and mystical in sound and spectacle, or a pivot into very traditional Celtic traditional music- and it seems that CW is not currently moving in either direction. Instead, in this show, we have a mix of American pop/country like Jolene, Italian songs, Modern Irish Rock/Folk, and the traditional songs they know Americans love that are not particularly Irish- Amazing Grace, Over the Rainbow etc. And that, in my opinion, is an interesting choice indeed.

I’m not entirely sure if they were ever wholly committed to traditional Irish material, though. The very first song from the original CW DVD was a cover of Walking In The Air…and although there was a lot of traditional Celtic-style material in the David Downes era, there were plenty of more pop/classical songs as well, like When You Believe or Over The Rainbow. It was actually one of the main things that disillusioned me about them that they didn’t commit entirely to traditional Irish folk, and it wasn’t really until I came to this forum that I saw some of the value in them also covering classical and contemporary music.

I think like @rfcw mentioned, the five-member lineup and Downes’s grand orchestrations helped to sort of have this image of what CW was, and there were some aspects such as Chloë being this young, angelic classical singer or Máiréad’s dancing while fiddling, and Órla’s harp playing that helped to imprint the character of CW in people’s minds, but CW has always been a collective and ever since they switched to four members, they’ve been more focused on the group as a whole than individual members.

Also, Destiny is arguably one of their best-received albums, and that was full of more pop-style material, from the Skyrim theme to a cover of an Ed Sheeran song. Songs From The Heart also had more pop-style songs and I’m pretty sure that was their best-performing album.

Gavin Murphy then brought a different, slightly less grand but also well-received style to CW, one that was arguably more committed to Irish folk (and I’m saying this as someone whose favourite director is David Downes), but he also brought a somewhat different style of pop music to the pop covers. I don’t know how exactly to describe it, as I’m not very well-versed in pop that isn’t Chappell Roan, but kind of less orchestral than Downes’s style. We also didn’t get much classical material under Murphy’s direction, with the 2016 version of Ave Maria being the only one I can really recall.

O’Toole and Byrne are sort of an odd area, but both kind of brought a mix of the traditional material and some more of the pop/classical, and more orchestral like with Downes. I don’t know exactly how to describe it. But I think like @rfcw said, with Muirgen and Caitríona being very committed to traditional Irish material, we’ll be seeing more traditional music moving forward. Oftentimes with solos, there’s sort of a split between the classical/pop singers and the traditional Irish singers. Chloë, for instance, was introduced as a classical singer and also had many pop solos. Órla, meanwhile, had very Celtic songs. Sometimes the lines are more blurred (i.e., Lisa Lambe), and it can change between different lineups and album styles. I think we’ll see a lot more classical/pop style material from Mairéad while Muirgen and Caitríona especially sing the more trad songs.

Very good points. I think my gut impulse is that 'The Celtic Woman Show" (and that's how I understood Downes, Browne and others to have started the group) was meant to take audiences on a journey into a mythic idea of Ireland/the Celtic world. It's very similar to what Enya did in her music, and it's what Riverdance embodies as well. I think many of us fell in love with Celtic Woman the show- castles, grand orchestrations, heavenly music. And I don't think pop or non-Irish music is a problem- I love so much of it, and Downe's arrangements of many classic Irish songs sound anything but traditional Irish...yet were stunning.

I just think now, Celtic Woman is going through a change from a "show" to a rotating lineup of talented Irish women singing songs that suit their voices and showcasing modern Irish talent. That's not a bad thing at all- but it is different from the origins of Celtic Woman. Destiny, in my opinion, leaned heavily into Irish music, modern and classic, and while it wasn't my favorite album, it's more popular appeal helped it a lot...and it also leaned in to the "mythic" idea of Ireland that the original Celtic Woman specials did... I mean, look at the music video for Tir Na Nog. Now, I have many Irish friends who don't like that mythical idea of Ireland common in America, so I can understand a pull away from it. But, in my opinion, the direction should then be to traditional Irish and Gaelic music. Instead, it seems that new singers are encouraged to sing whatever they like, regardless of theme, and that makes the shows feel more like a variety show of Irish talent than "a show about Irish culture".

Does that make sense? Thanks for letting me share. I love having a community to discuss these thoughts that have mostly lived within my head! haha.

Very good points. I think my gut impulse is that 'The Celtic Woman Show" (and that's how I understood Downes, Browne and others to have started the group) was meant to take audiences on a journey into a mythic idea of Ireland/the Celtic world. It's very similar to what Enya did in her music, and it's what Riverdance embodies as well. I think many of us fell in love with Celtic Woman the show- castles, grand orchestrations, heavenly music. And I don't think pop or non-Irish music is a problem- I love so much of it, and Downe's arrangements of many classic Irish songs sound anything but traditional Irish...yet were stunning.

I just think now, Celtic Woman is going through a change from a "show" to a rotating lineup of talented Irish women singing songs that suit their voices and showcasing modern Irish talent. That's not a bad thing at all- but it is different from the origins of Celtic Woman. Destiny, in my opinion, leaned heavily into Irish music, modern and classic, and while it wasn't my favorite album, it's more popular appeal helped it a lot...and it also leaned in to the "mythic" idea of Ireland that the original Celtic Woman specials did... I mean, look at the music video for Tir Na Nog. Now, I have many Irish friends who don't like that mythical idea of Ireland common in America, so I can understand a pull away from it. But, in my opinion, the direction should then be to traditional Irish and Gaelic music. Instead, it seems that new singers are encouraged to sing whatever they like, regardless of theme, and that makes the shows feel more like a variety show of Irish talent than "a show about Irish culture".

Does that make sense? Thanks for letting me share. I love having a community to discuss these thoughts that have mostly lived within my head! haha.

I understand fully entirely your analysis, I just wanted to throw in my two cents! I must say though the duet of Siuil a ruin Muirgen and Caitriona is mind blown epic to me. I feel there's a beautiful duet potential with Mairead and Muirgen I just wish they let both do an operatic riff together but you know they are supposed made to be giving contrasting voice and range. So Mairead by now is considered a legacy member. What would make Celtic Woman strong is the opportunities of having members that never was together when members come and do songs together and when they switch roles like Alex being soprano again because it would prove just more the gift of when coming together how it could be which is why the 10th Anniversary to me had a missed opportunity of an album or filming when Meav, Lynn and Alex were involved. Had Lynn and Alex were made Guests on Destiny alongside Meav would that show been even more iconic! Caranua was such a dream project.