Review of Celtic Woman's New Journey Tour

My husband and I happened to catch a performance of Celtic Woman during a PBS phone-a-thon several months back. Neither of us had ever heard of this group, but realized a mere couple of minutes into the show that these women had talent unlike anything we had heard.

We called in our PBS pledges and received tickets to the Celtic Woman New Journey Tour which played in Boise, Idaho on May 10, 2007 at the Velma Morrison Center for the Performing Arts.

Celtic Woman is made of 5 Irish women; 4 vocalists, Orla, Chloe, Lisa and Meav and a rather amazing fiddler, Mairead. I learned from their web site that all five woman had a rich, musical background with individual solo careers before becoming Celtic Woman. Most of them are veterans of the Riverdance and Lord of the Dance phenomenon, and winners of major Celtic musical competitions.

The Celtic Woman concert opened up to a packed house at the Morrison Center. The show began with dramatic lighting effects to the accompaniment of percussion instruments, piano, penny whistles, guitars and drums. Mist poured down the stage and in the background, we saw Mairead step out and began to play her fiddle. We were instantly captivated by the music.

The versatility of the 5 women who are Celtic Woman is impressive; they easily transition from traditional Irish songs to more contemporary pieces. The show is beautifully costumed and well staged, with the women stepping in and out of their performances with never a lag time. They performed exquisite solos, duets, and four part harmonies and in between songs, Mairead would leap across the stage to play that incredible fiddle.

We were treated to Irish harp by Orla and even one musical number with a pair of dueling hand held drums. The performance had all the glamour and pizazz of a Riverdance show, with music that had you either tapping your feet and clapping, or bringing you to tears with it's haunting beauty.