Friday, May 30, 2008

Celtic Thunder

I fell in love with Celtic Thunder this week. If you haven't seen them on PBS, it's a group of five guys, all solo singers, who were brought together like the Il Divo group. It's an interesting group as they range in age from 14 to 39. The oldest guy, George Donaldson, is a Scot, Paul Byrom of the classically trained tenor voice is from Dublin, and the other 3, Ryan Kelly, Keith Harkin and young Damian McGinty are from Northern Ireland. Ryan Kelly (love that name, so Irish) comes across as a sexy, bad boy. He describes his on-stage persona as "evil" as you can see in his solo Heartbreaker and in the duet of That's A Woman. Damian's version of Puppy Love brought the house to its feet. What a big voice he has for a fourteen-year-old.

I made a pledge to my local PBS station so I'll be getting a CD eventually. (Probably could have bought it cheaper, but I like to support PBS.) I enjoyed the concert so much, I watched it twice, recorded it the second time, and watched part of it again while I was working on author information forms for my latest story. If you like Celtic music, check your local listings for the concert.

I've long been a lover of Irish and Scottish music. I adore the pipes and nothing beats a raucus pub song. Back in the 1960's, when my friends were caught up in Beatlemania, I was more into The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and the Irish Rovers. Not that I didn't like the Beatles, I just loved folk music more. I come from a long line of Scot Irish Presbyterians (the orange part of the country), but the stories of rebellion always appealed to the romantic in me.

I'm embedding this video of Ireland's Call from YouTube. This was one of my favorites; in fact, the first time I heard it, I was ready to sign on to the rebellion, lol. Guess I don't have Celtic blood for nothing. I love the way they lit up the stage in green and orange. I wonder if Ireland will ever be re-united.

Does anyone else like Celtic music?

Linda


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Linda!! They're fantastic! Does anyone like Celtic music??? Well, I do now. Thanks so much for sharing those videos. I'm hooked.
~Debbie

Linda McLaughlin said...

Debbie, lol, aren't they great? I love the group's energy.

Linda

Anonymous said...

PBS, what terrific offerings. Celtic Thunder sounds magnificent. Thank you for sharing, Linda. Kathleen

Anonymous said...

They're on PBS NOW!! Even Daughter is hooked...
~Debbie

Linda McLaughlin said...

Glad you enjoyed it, Debbie. Does your daughter have a crush on young Damian now, by any chance? ;)

Linda

Lyzzydee said...

Great uplifting and energetic!!!

Linda McLaughlin said...

Lyzzydee, uplifting and energetic is a great way to describe the show.

Linda

Mark Regan said...

I liked their DVD, and their show was even better.

Check out my site for more info and links to Celtic Thunder: http://knol.google.com/k/mark-regan/celtic-thunder/3oo5lhklxb3l0/2#

Linda McLaughlin said...

Bounty Hunter, thanks for the links to more Celtic Thunder. I wish I could have gone to the show when they were in town last month, but I knew my back wasn't up to sitting in a theater for a couple of hours. Maybe next time.

Linda