From left to right: Mairead Nesbitt, Lisa Lambe, Lisa Kelly and Chloë Agnew are Celtic Woman. / Photo courtesy of Lili Forberg,
Singer Lisa Kelly remembers the original "Celtic Woman" show being just a one-time production, on stage in Dublin.
Seven years later, she's still on tour, singing in the show popular show fronted by her and her three main castmates. They've since sold millions of CDs and released successful music videos, too.
The internationally touring show makes a stop at the Washington Pavilion on Wednesday.
"When it started, I was just leaving 'Riverdance,' pregnant with my second child. David Downes, 'Riverdance' music director, asked if I'd be willing to do this one-night show for PBS," Kelly said by phone during a recent tour stop in Grand Rapids, Mich.
"He called it 'Celtic Woman,' and the name has stayed the same ever since," Kelly says.
Classically trained in both singing and piano, Kelly previously had performed in concerts including, "The Magic of Gershwin," "The Music of Cole Porter,""From Romberg to Rodgers" and others.
She toured with "Riverdance" for five years, recorded a solo album and then joined "Celtic Woman" in 2003 as one of the founding members.
Kelly has managed to juggle musical success and touring with her growing family - during the 2008 tour, she performed up to her eighth month of pregnancy with her third child.
"In the beginning, the sudden success was just amazing, and I remember being delighted to travel to New York City to perform it," Kelly says. "The recording went straight to No. 1 on the world charts, and it has been an amazing seven years since."
There have been several CD and video releases, and PBS broadcasts in the style the group started with. But a new project is "Lullaby," a collection of familiar songs from popular shows and movies, such as "Baby Mine" from the classic Disney movie "Dumbo." The project, released in mid-February, marks the group's seventh straight No. 1 debut on Billboard World Chart.
The most recent recording in the style of their shows, "Songs from the Heart," is ranked in the top 12 of the main charts in Germany. It's the namesake of the current tour that makes stops at 75 cities across United States through May 22.
"All the hard work is worth it when we get such positive feedback from everyone," Kelly says. Watch for their next project: the "Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration."
The "Songs from the Heart" tour arrives in Sioux Falls with a semi truck and several tour buses that carry the 50-member cast and crew.
Kelly's co-stars are Máiréad Nesbitt, Chloë Agnew and newest member Lisa Lambe. The show also includes a seven-member live band and a six-member vocal choir.
"We used to just go with our first names in publicity, but now that there's another 'Lisa,' we've added our last names," Kelly says. "It's better than 'old Lisa' and 'new Lisa,' since I've been here longer."
The singers recently appeared on TV's "The Today Show," which meant getting up before dawn and doing sound checks in the New York City studio. Kelly said they were afraid they might be tired later that night during their full performance at Radio City Music Hall.
"But your adrenaline just kicks in and the show just flows - we did just fine," she says. A few weeks later, they performed on TV's "Dancing With the Stars."
"That was amazing, different again because it was a huge room with pre-show sound checks forever," she says. "But the show was a joy. We had so much fun doing that. It's like 'Dancing With The Stars UK,' so we were very familiar with it."
While the word "celtic" is in the show name, Kelly says it doesn't mean it's all one style of music. They are the celtic women, performing a show.
"There's a huge mix of styles, so the show name is more about a feeling," she says. "I don't think you can say that a song is 'celtic' really, although the instruments used and the sentiment behind us perhaps make it 'celtic.' "
Written by Jay Kirschenmann
Argus Leader
Sioux Falls, SD
Apr. 14, 2011
