The Journey of The Celtic Women’s Journey

The Celtic Women’s ticket to success was found in the unlikeliest of places, Public Broadcasting.

In the fall of 2004, the Celtic Women recorded a performance at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland.  That performance aired on PBS in the United States in the spring of 2005.  The concert was an instant hit.

Within weeks, the group’s self-titled debut album reached #1 on Billboard's World Music chart.  It stayed there 81 weeks, 68 of which were consecutive.

In 2006, the group premiered another PBS special called “A New Journey: Live At Slane Castle.”  It aired on more than 90% of PBS Stations during their December pledge period.

Celtic Women are currently comprised of vocalists Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, Alex Sharpe and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt.  Past members include Órla Fallon,
Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, Deirdre Shannon and Hayley Westenra.

The group was created in 2004 by composer and musical director David Downes and executive producer Dave Kavanagh.  Downes is known for his dance-inspired music and Kavanagh was the former manager of The Chieftains and Clannad.

The Celtic Women have released four albums, “Celtic Woman,” “Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration,” “Celtic Woman: A New Journey,” and “Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey.”  Apparently the women like the word “journey.”

The band has completed four successful U.S. tours and a number of world tours.  In 2009, the Celtic Women are embarking on their “Isle of Hope Tour” which will take them to several cities in North America.  

Some of the cities the Celtic Women will visit include Los Angeles, Mohegan Sun, Charlotte, Boston and Portland, Oregon.  Accompany the women on their tour is a 19-member ensemble and numerous costume changes.

As their name suggests, the Celtic Women sing traditional Irish folk music.  However, the majority of their set-list includes songs from the world of pop music.

The Celtic Women’s repertoire includes “Fields of Gold,” “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and “Orinoco Flow" (the Enya song mistakenly called “Sail Away”).

The band also sings several compositions by David Downes and Brendan Graham, most notably Graham’s big hit and the band’s favorite song, “You Raise Me Up.”   

In reference to other popular Irish acts, like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, the Celtic Women are often referred to as “Riverdance for the voice.”

Whether they are playing Irish folk music or pop music, the Celtic Women dazzle audiences the world over with their beautiful voices and their awe-inspiring live performances.  

And if they aren’t coming to a city near you, there’s always PBS.

 Two musical giants are reuniting again in '09. Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton are touring the U.S. this June after a very successful set of Madison Square Garden shows last year. Winwood and Clapton were in a band together back in 1969 called Blind Faith that combined blues and rock. The band didn't stay together for very long but the two musicians remained friends ever since. 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Blind Faith and 40 years since the two performed to over 100,000 people in Hyde Park, London.

Steve Winwood's Nine Lives and Eric Clapton's compilation album Complete Clapton were both released in 2008.

Below is the Clapton Winwood '09 Tour Itinerary

June 10 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
June 12 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
June 13 Washington, DC Verizon Center
June 15 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
June 17 Chicago, IL United Center
June 18 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
June 20 Omaha, NE QwestCenter
June 21 Denver, CO PepsiCenter
June 23 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
June 24 Houston, TX Toyota Center
June 26 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena
June 27 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Arena
June 29 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
June 30 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood (born 12 May 1948 in Handsworth, Birmingham) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In addition to his solo career, he was a member of the bands the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, and Go. His deep singing voice is frequently mistaken to be that of a black musician.

Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is "probably most famous for his mastery of the Stratocaster guitar." Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person to be inducted three times. Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Keith Urban, an Unlikely Country Music Star

As a country music artist, Keith Urban is dripping with irony.  Urban is a superstar in one of America’s few original music genres, but he was actually born in New Zealand and grew up in Australia. 

And of course the word “urban,” means exactly the opposite of the word “country.”

All ironies aside, Urban is a Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and guitarist.  Known for his unique take on country music, Urban is also one of the foremost guitar players in music today.  

Urban began playing guitar at the age of six and by age eight, Urban was winning talent awards.  Despite growing up about as far as one can from Nashville (Caboolture, Queensland, Australia), Urban found country music through his father.  Some of Urban early influences were Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, and Don Williams.

In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia.  He released one very successful self-titled album that produced four number one hits in Australia.  

In 1992, Urban moved to Nashville and became a sought-after session musician.  He played guitar for such country acts like Brooks and Dunn, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Charlie Daniels.

In 1997, Urban formed a band called The Ranch with Jerry Flowers on the bass guitar and Peter Clarke on drums.  In the same year, the group released one critically acclaimed self titled album.  

A song from that album, "Some Days You Gotta Dance," was covered in 1999 by the Dixie Chicks and it featured Urban on guitar.

Urban disbanded The Ranch in 1998 to pursue a solo career.  A year later, Urban released his second full length studio album, once again called Keith Urban.  This album put four singles in the top 20 of the country music charts, including “But for the Grace of God,” which reached number one.

Since then, Urban has released three more studio albums.  All three have won at least double platinum awards and 2004’s Be Here and 2006’s Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing reached number one on the country music charts.  

In total, Urban has released nine number one singles and sold over 12 million albums.

In February of 2009, Keith Urban played at the Grammy Awards Show after Rihanna was forced to cancel her appearance.  A few weeks later, Urban performed at NASCAR’s premiere event, the Daytona 500.

On March 31st, 2009 Urban is set to release his sixth studio album, Defying Gravity.  To support that album, Urban will embark on the Escape Together World Tour in May.  The tour will visit 58 cities across North America.

For this tour, Urban has ensured that inexpensive tickets will be available for his fans.  Each concert features several seats for only $20 and these tickets are free from transaction fees.

"It's easy to see that people out there are hurting," said Urban. "And if these ticket prices can help some of them to let loose, forget about their daily grind and enjoy a night of music, then that's what we intend to give them and everyone else that comes out to our shows."

Depending on the city, opening acts for Urban are Sugarland, Dierks Bentley, the Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean and Glen Campbell.

For nine shows, country princess Taylor Swift will open for Urban.  The cities featuring Urban and Swift are Cincinnati, Auburn Hills, Fort Wayne, Atlanta, Des Moines, Moline, Boston, Philadelphia, and Kansas City.  

Several dates for Urban’s tour have yet to be announced.

While Urban has lowered some of his ticket prices in a reaction to the down economy, Taylor Swift seems to defy our sluggish financial times with record setting album sales.

With combined sales of more than four million, Swift was the biggest selling artist in 2008 in America.  She’s the first artist in the history of Nielsen Soundscan to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart.  

Her 2008 release, Fearless, topped Billboard 200 in eight different weeks, a feat that hadn’t been done by a female artist since 1996 and by any artist since 2004.

Swift also dominates paid music downloads.  In 2009, she became the first country artist to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads with three different songs.  Swift’s single, "Love Story," is the most paid downloaded song in country music history.

Only 19-years old, Swift meteoric success can be explained by her accessible mix of pop and country music and the fact that she’s drop-dead gorgeous.  

Swift writes, or co-writes, all her own music.  She possesses wisdom well beyond her years that allows her to connect with both country and pop audiences.

When Swift isn’t opening for Urban, she headlining her own tour.  Her Fearless Tour, which features sets she’s designed herself, officially kicks off April 23 in Evansville, Indiana.  The tour will have Swift visiting 52 cities in 38 states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada.

Opening for Swift is "American Idol" finalist Kellie Pickler.  Swift and Pickler co-wrote a song together called “Best Days of Your Life.”  The single is featured on Pickler’s self-titled sophomore album.