Celtic Thunder
Celtic Thunder |
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Celtic Thunder is a singing group composed of six male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland.[1] They are accompanied by the Celtic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Phil Coulter, the musical director of the group.
Since the group's formation, Celtic Thunder has released six albums: Celtic Thunder, Act Two, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment, Christmas, Heritage as well as four live performances on DVD entitled Celtic Thunder: The Show , Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, and Christmas In December 2009, Billboard magazine named Celtic Thunder Top World Album Artist. Their first three albums also placed in the Top 10 for World Albums.
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 Thunder Band on their concert tours, 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 then Taoiseach, Brian Cowen at the White House.[3]
On Nov. 28, 2010, Celtic Thunder member Paul Byrom announced his resignation from the group as to begin a solo career. He will leave the group when the 2010 concert tour is over. Byrom will begin his solo career in the United States, where he has the strongest fan base. Byrom hopes his fan base from Celtic Thunder would carry on into his solo career.
Members
Current Members
The current members of Celtic Thunder are (in alphabetical order of family name):
- Neil Byrne, after playing guitar and singing backup on the previous albums, sang in ensemble pieces and had a solo performance of Noreen on Heritage.[4]
- Emmet Cahill auditioned for Celtic Thunder in June 2010 and was asked to join after Paul Byrom announced his resignation.
- George Donaldson (born February 1, 1969), is the oldest member of the group and is a well-known balladeer, guitarist and flautist from Glasgow, Scotland. At Scotland's Celtic Park, Donaldson played to 65,000 fans at the opening match of the 2000-2001 season.[4]
- Ryan Kelly (born November 6, 1978), is from The Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. 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. In the fall of 2010 Ryan released his solo album "In Time".[4]
- Keith Harkin (born June 10, 1986), is from Derry, Northern Ireland. He plays the guitar and has written one of the songs for Celtic Thunder: "Lauren and I". Keith has now recorded more original songs apart from Celtic Thunder, some titles include: How I Wish and All Day Long.[4]
- Damian 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 fourteen years old. Since then McGinty's voice has matured, and he has gone from a tenor, to a baritone/bass. His inspirations are Michael Buble, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.[4]
Past Members
The past members of Celtic Thunder are (in alphabetical order of family name):
- Paul 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. Paul resigned to pursue a solo career in the US and left the group after the 2010 Celtic Thunder tour was over. He was replaced by Emmet Cahill. [4]
Concerts and tours
On December 17, 2008, Celtic Thunder completed their 2008 US tour of fifty cities. They also toured the United States extensively in the fall of 2009, and plan to perform across the US in the fall of 2010. For spring 2009 they focused on touring Canada, while also playing some concerts in the north-eastern US.[6]
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.
Their second DVD and CD, both titled Take Me Home, was released July 14, 2009. The DVD was filmed at Casino Rama, Orillia (north of Toronto) while the group was on tour. It is considered a live concert DVD rather than a studio production.
Their fourth CD and third DVD titled It's Entertainment were released on February 9, 2010. Another DVD Storm is slated for release in 2011. Both DVDs were filmed during a live taping on Thursday October 1, 2009, and Friday October 2, 2009, at the Toronto International Centre Hall 5 (aka Arrow Hall).
Their fifth CD Christmas was released October 12, 2010 with the accompanying DVD (recorded at the Mid Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY) released on November 22, 2010.
Because of requests from fans for more Irish music after the release of It's Entertainment, an entirely Irish album and DVD (also filmed in Poughkeepsie, NY) titled Heritage was released on February 22, 2011.
Other bands by the same name
Before the appearance of the current commercial production called "Celtic Thunder" a traditional New World Irish band called Celtic Thunder first performed in 1977.
The original Celtic Thunder was able to retain rights to the name after submitting to a non-competition agreement with the Celtic Thunder Production.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ 21, WLIW (2008-06-30). "Celtic Thunder in Dublin". WLIW21. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
{{cite web}}:|last=has numeric name (help) - ^ Celtic Thunder (2008-06-30). "The Show in". Celtic Thunder. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ "Celtic Thunder Storms America". reuters.com. March 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ a b c d e f Celtic Thunder (2011-03-24). "Biographies". Celtic Thunder. Retrieved 2011-03-24. Cite error: The named reference "Celtic Thunder Biographies" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Celtic Thunder. "Celtic Thunder - Artists". Celtic Thunder. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
- ^ Celtic Thunder (2010-03-17). "Celtic Thunder Tour Dates in". Tour Dates. Retrieved 2010-03-17.