| Celtic Thunder | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Folk, Adult contemporary, world music, Soft rock, Broadway, classical crossover |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Decca Records |
| Website | Official website, |
| Members | |
| Neil Byrne George Donaldson Keith Harkin Emmet Cahill Ryan Kelly Daniel Furlong |
|
| Past members | |
| Paul Byrom Damian McGinty |
|
Celtic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Though commonly confused with one, they are not a boyband; they're not even a band at all, they're a group of unique singers. 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 seven albums: Celtic Thunder, Act Two, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment, Christmas, Heritage, Storm as well as six live performances on DVD entitled Celtic Thunder: The Show, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, Christmas, Heritage and Storm.
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 the then Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, at the White House.[3]
On November 28, 2010, Celtic Thunder member Paul Byrom announced his resignation from the group to begin a solo career. He left the group when the 2010 concert tour was over. Byrom released his album "This is the Moment" in November 2011 which went to number one on the World music charts and embarked on a solo tour of the United States and Toronto, Canada which spanned the continent from Portland, Oregon to BB King's in New York City. He has also appeared as a singer of the National Anthem at Boston Celtics' games.
On May 12, 2011, Celtic Thunder member Ryan Kelly announced that he "decided to take a step back from Celtic Thunder and the public life that goes along with being part of it." On August 22, 2011, Sharon Brown announced that Ryan Kelly will be rejoining Celtic Thunder on tour.[4]
On August 21, 2011, Damian McGinty announced on The Glee Project's Live Viewing Party, that he would be stepping down due to his new role on Glee.[5]
Contents |
The current members of Celtic Thunder are (in alphabetical order of family name):
The past members of Celtic Thunder are (in alphabetical order of family name):
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.[9]
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's first studio album and first concert special DVD were released on March 18, 2008. The album was titled Celtic Thunder and the concert special was titled The Show. It was filmed at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland, on August 2007.
The second studio album was released on September 16, 2008, titled Act Two. It included the rest of the songs from The Show.
The third studio album and second concert special DVD, both titled Take Me Home, were released July 14, 2009. Take Me Home was filmed at Casino Rama, Orillia (north of Toronto) while the group was on tour in 2009. It is considered a live concert DVD rather than a studio production.
The fourth studio album and third concert special DVD, both titled It's Entertainment!, were released on February 9, 2010. It was filmed alongside Storm at the Toronto International Centre Hall 5 (aka Arrow Hall), Toronto, Ontario, on October 1, 2009, and October 2, 2009.
After It's Entertainment!, Celtic Thunder fans sent many requests to Sharon Browne for a Christmas-themed album and an album containing more Irish music. Through these efforts, Christmas and Heritage came to be, postponing the release of Storm.
The fifth studio album, titled Christmas, was released on October 12, 2010, and the concert special DVD, also titled Christmas, was released on November 22, 2010. Christmas was filmed alongside Heritage at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, on September 17, 2010.
The sixth studio album and fifth concert special DVD titled Heritage was released on February 22, 2011. Heritage was filmed alongside Christmas at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, on September 17, 2010.
The seventh studio album and sixth DVD, titled Storm, was released on September 20, 2011(originally recorded in 2009). Storm, unlike Celtic Thunder's other DVDs, is not just a filmed concert but has a storyline, an elaborate set establishing a location, and costumes which help to define the singers' and dancers' characters within the story. It makes use of the It's Entertainment cast which is Celtic Thunder's largest to date (25) and adds singer Dierdre Shannon.
The eight studio album and seventh concert special DVD are currently titled Voyage, and will be released on February 21, 2012. It was originally set to be filmed on September 27, 2011, but due to changes, this filming was cancelled. Searching for a new venue began on October 3, 2011, and resulted in a filming date of October 18th, 2011, in Kansas City, Missouri at the Midland Theater.
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.