Celtic Woman, the multi-platinum international music sensation, is returning with a brand new live show for an extensive North American tour. The much-anticipated concert, ‘Homecoming,’ will play in more than 90 U.S. and Canadian cities from coast-to-coast, starting their tour in Lakeland, FL. Celebrating Ireland’s rich musical and cultural heritage, Celtic Woman combines the finest musical talent with epic stage productions to present a unique, inspiring live experience.
From their debut, Celtic Woman has touched the hearts of a huge global audience. Now, with Homecoming, Celtic Woman brings the next chapter of an extraordinary musical journey. It’s a universal celebration of life. It’s traditional, it’s contemporary. It’s yesterday, today and tomorrow. Continuing its remarkable legacy of introducing some of Ireland’s most talented singers and musicians onto the world stage, the Grammy winning group Celtic Woman –featuring the angelic voices of Susan McFadden, Mairéad Carlin, Éabha McMahon and the breathtaking Celtic violinist Tara McNeill, accompanied by a full ensemble of musicians and dancers — will embark on a four month tour.
I had the chance to speak with Mairéad Carlin about the new tour starting in Florida, their latest live album, and the group’s success.
“We absolutely love Florida – the weather, the people, the way of life.. so it’s always a treat beginning our tour here. The humidity in Florida is actually a dream for singers – we bask in that while we are here, believe me!,” She states.
Some people consider Celtic Woman as the Riverdance for the voice. So we asked Mairéad how she would describe the sound of Celtic Woman. She replied, “Riverdance was a phenomenon, and so is Celtic Woman. Both grew out of taking chances and believing that anything is possible if you really want it to. Our sound would be described as world music with elements of Classical, Traditional, Folk, Pop and Musical Theatre. It’s all these elements together that make that unique sound of Celtic Woman. We are all about the harmonies!”
Their upcoming tour, Homecoming World Tour, is in support of their first-ever full live album, which was just released in January. Mairéad states, “It’s something we’ve never done before. We are always trying new things and want to push boundaries; that’s what music is all about. If we stayed in the same place then music would never progress; it’s what keep it exciting. We wanted to record our live show in Ireland as we rarely get a chance to come home and perform for our families and we wanted to capture the sheer love of that evening. It was a very special night.”
It seems that each Celtic Woman album typically has a unique and different sound between each of their albums. I asked Mairéad what influences their sound on each of their albums. She replies, “I think because individually we all come from such different musical backgrounds. I’m from a classical/folk background, Susan from Musical Theatre, Eabha from Irish Traditional and Tara from a Classical and Irish background. With each album we focus on a different sound that highlights the beauty of each and every one of us, because we are different. That’s something we in Celtic Woman really focus on; showing people that it’s good to be unique, it’s what makes you, you.”
Celtic Woman have received a tremendous amount of accolades throughout their career, including being named Billboard World Album Artist of the Year six times, and they were nominated for a Grammy Award in 2017. I asked Mairéad about all their accolades and success. Mairéad states, “Yes! You can never get used to that. It’s so important to remember to not take anything for granted. These accolades are overwhelming because it’s a stamp of approval from our fans who are the most important part of Celtic Woman. We wouldn’t be here without them. The Grammy was incredible! We never thought in a million years that we would be nominated for a Grammy, but it was an extra little nod from our fellow musicians at the academy saying ‘we get you guys, we like what you are doing’ That was pretty amazing.”
We asked Mairéad about which song is her favorite song to perform live and she responded, “My favorite song of all is ‘Danny Boy’, that songs cuts deep, Never fails to move me. The song was first discovered in a small town very close to where I grew up and so I always feel a very spiritual connection to it and makes me feel close to home.”
Having performed many times in America, we were curious to know what is different about performing in America vs. performing overseas. “America was the first breakthrough market for Celtic Woman and a lot of the fans that come to see us have been there from the very beginning. The excitement that we feel coming from the audiences here are like nowhere else in the world for us, says Mairéad.” She continues, “This is my fifth year touring with Celtic Woman and it still feels like my first. I love every minute of it. Some favorite places around the world include Australia, the sunshine, the outdoor healthy lifestyle there. I love Los Angeles and just generally travelling to all the different places we get to go in the US. My favorite places to perform are Red Rocks in Colorado and Radio City in New York.”
I wanted to know what she considered as some of Celtic Woman’s biggest accomplishments. She states, “There have been a few, such as, performing in Radio City Music Hall in New York, Red Rocks in Colorado and getting nominated for our Grammy. But personally my greatest accomplishment was just getting into Celtic Woman in the first place. I count my blessings every single day that i’m here.”
Celtic Woman is launching their 90 city North American tour right here in Florida, beginning in Lakeland at RP Funding Center on March 1st. Then they stop at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on March 2nd and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota on March 4th. Tickets are still available for each of these shows, be sure to go check them out!
