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Celtic Woman with The High Kings took the stage on Thursday April 10, 2008 at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Michigan

New Celtic Woman member Alex Sharpe can relate to those seeing the Irish singing group for the first time this weekend at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

With founding member Lisa Kelly on maternity leave, Sharpe, a Dublin native, temporarily has joined forces with the group, which will bring its high-energy showcase of Irish culture to The Palace on Saturday. And while Celtic Woman's harmonious vocal show is new territory for the singer, she didn't hesitate to help out.

"I'm just in for this tour," said Sharpe, who joined the group shortly before its current road trip kicked off in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Feb. 13. "It's a different style than I'm used to. But I've enjoyed learning the technique.

"My background is musical theater, so this is something very different for me," she said. "But my philosophy is, you're always growing as a performer. There's always so much to learn."

With the other members of Celtic Woman serving as teachers, Sharpe's transition into the group has been a smooth one, and the vocalist said the audiences greeting her night after night have accepted her into the ranks.

"The other members have been really encouraging," Sharpe said. "They have such a history together. I've never been in anything with such a high profile; usually you're much more anonymous."

A veteran of major theater productions overseas, including "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," the singer also appeared alongside Madonna on the pop diva's "Evita" soundtrack. But Sharpe was only vaguely familiar with Celtic Woman when David Downes, musical director and composer for the group, offered her a spot in the lineup.

"I was driving in for a show in London and I saw their poster," Sharpe said of her initial exposure to the group. "It was great to see them having that success. And then years later, I got a phone call asking if I'd be interested.

"I'd never seen any of their shows," she added. "David gave me a CD and some DVDs, and that was the first time I'd seen any of it."

Despite Sharpe's novice status, things happened quickly following that initial phone call earlier this year. Within a few weeks of speaking with Downes, Sharpe made her live debut with the collective, which has spent plenty of time atop of the Billboard World Music chart, thanks in part to exposure from a successful PBS special.

Once the show hit the road, Sharpe quickly immersed herself in the music, which mixes original cultural numbers alongside Celtic classics and standards such as "Over the Rainbow."

"I find a lot of the songs are connected by immigration and the history of Ireland," Sharpe said, "but it's a good mixture. There's not one major theme.

"We meet quite a few fans with Irish heritage," she added. "They're quite connected to it, so it makes it more personal. And then others might not have any heritage, but really appreciate the music.

"We do a lot of classics," she said. "Everybody's going to know something."

Fittingly, one of Sharpe's most enthusiastic fans made the trek over from Ireland to see the show. Sharpe said her 6-year-old son has enjoyed most of the performances he's seen -- when he can stay awake, that is.

"He was trying to get over jet lag, and he kept falling asleep before the second act," Sharpe said. "Eventually, he adjusted, and then he had to go back home and start all over again."

Sharpe joins longtime members Lynn Hilary, Órla Fallon, Máiréad Nesbitt and Chloë Agnew on the current tour, which ends May 17. Then it's likely back to the solo life for Sharpe, although she's not quite sure what the immediate future holds.

"I usually do a lot of concert work in the summer," she said, "but everything is kind of on hold right now. I'd love to come back to the States though; we'll see what happens."

by Timothy Flynn | The Flint Journal
Thursday April 10, 2008, 6:09 PM