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Celtic Thunder

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Celtic Thunder

Celtic Thunder is a Celtic music group, composed of five Celtic male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at the Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland. [1]

Since the group's formation, Celtic Thunder has released two albums: Celtic Thunder and Act Two and a live performance DVD entitled Celtic Thunder: The Show, with a new album titled "Take Me Home" to be released on July 14, 2009.

Celtic Thunder is known for its eclectic style with songs ranging from a soloist to an ensemble focus. The group is backed by the Celtic Concert Orchestra, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic effects via lighting and choreography as well as a stage set resembling an ancient stone pathway suggestive of those referenced in Celtic lore.[2]

In March 2009, Celtic Thunder opened the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, and later that day performed for President Obama, Mrs. Obama and Taoiseach Brian Cowen (or Irish Prime Minister) at the White House.[3]

Members

The members of Celtic Thunder are (in order of youngest to oldest):

Damian Joseph McGinty, Jr. (born September 9, 1992) is the youngest member of the group and is from Derry, Northern Ireland. He recorded the first Celtic Thunder album when he was only fourteen years old.

Keith R. Harkin, (born June 10, 1986) is also, like Damian, from Derry, Northern Ireland. He plays the guitar and has written one of the songs for Celtic Thunder: "Lauren and I". [4] In 2008, a new solo album by Keith was rumoured to be in the working stages but has not yet been released as of early 2009. Keith enjoys surfing and has written a song called Chasing Dreams that articulates his love for it. Keith has now recorded more original songs apart from Celtic Thunder, some titles include: Vanity, Don't Lose the Feeling, and What I Like.

Paul Michael Byrom (born April 11, 1979) is from Dublin, Ireland.[5] In addition to Celtic Thunder, he has also performed at major sporting events in Ireland and abroad, including singing at the All Ireland Finals in Dublin's Croke Park and at Heinz Field for a Pittsburgh Steelers game in the USA. He has also performed for Ireland's President, Mary McAleese, and for Emperor Akihito of Japan. Paul has released two albums: Velvet and I'll Be Home For Christmas.[6]

Ryan John Kelly (born November 6, 1978) is from The Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.[5] He holds two degrees from the Queen's University Belfast, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and also a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Accounting, qualifying Ryan to be a chartered accountant.[6]

George Donaldson (born February 1, 1968) is the oldest member of the group and is a well-known balladeer, guitarist and flutist from Glasgow, Scotland. At Scotland's Celtic Park, Donaldson played to 65,000 fans at the opening match of the 2000-2001 season. [6]

Television Appearances

Beginning in March 2008, the group has been featured throughout the US on the PBS television network more than 1200 times, and during May and June 2008, members of the group were interviewed on dozens of local PBS stations during performances of their show.[7] Following is a list of songs performed on Celtic Thunder: The Show and the member(s) of the group performing them:

The tracks on their newest concert "Take Me Home" are as follows:

Concerts and Tours

On December 17, 2008, Celtic Thunder completed their 2008 US tour of fifty cities to rave reviews, standing ovations and sell-out crowds.[8] Celtic Thunder is currently on its Spring 2009 tour, and is planning Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 tours. Their main focus will be Canada for Spring 2009, but they will do some tour dates in the Northeast in the United States also. They are planning a fifty-date concert tour of the US as part of their Fall 2009 tour. During their 2008 fall tour, Celtic Thunder sold over 125,000 tickets in forty-nine shows and placed twentieth in the poll Star Tour Poll. Celtic Thunder have announced song changes for March 2009 and fall 2009, to keep the concerts fresh.

A new DVD and CD, both called "Take Me Home", were released July 14, 2009. The DVD is currently being aired on PBS as of early June and will be released for retail sale in July along with the CD.

Notes

  1. ^ 21, WLIW (2008-06-30). "Celtic Thunder in Dublin". WLIW21. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite web}}: |last= has numeric name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Celtic Thunder (2008-06-30). "The Show in". Celtic Thunder. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Celtic Thunder Storms America". reuters.com. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  4. ^ Celtic Thunder (2008-09-05). "Celtic Thunder - Keith's Responses". Celtic Thunder. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b Celtic Thunder. "Celtic Thunder - Biographies". Celtic Thunder. Retrieved 2008-09-05. Cite error: The named reference "Celtic Thunder - Biographies" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Celtic Thunder (2008-06-30). "Biographies". Celtic Thunder. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Celtic Thunder (2008-06-30). "Celtic Thunder On TV in". On TV. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Celtic Thunder (2008-06-30). "Celtic Thunder Tour Dates in". Tour Dates. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "http://www.celticthunder.ie/tourdates.php" ignored (help)

References

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