Alex Sharpe

Alex Sharpe joined Celtic Woman in the Spring of 2008 to fill in for Lisa Kelly who was on maternity leave. She was a great addition. She is now taking the place of Orla Fallon for the Spring 2009 tour! I have not seen her in concert yet, so I am very excited to hear her for the very first time. I was sorta nervous at first but once I heard her on youtube, I realized that there wasn't anything to worry about. She fit perfectly with the group!

I had to laugh when CW Ltd put her as "Alex White" in their newsletter for November. I laughed. I figured that they meant Sharpe. It was quite funny. Some forum members of CWF were thoroughly confused. Thanks to one of the Admins of CWF, CW Ltd caught it and apologized for the confusion. Hey, mistakes happen. At least we were paying attention!

Well, Alex glad to have ya on this tour! Can't wait to hear about ya in the Spring!

Orla Fallon Leaves Celtic Woman

Orla Fallon of Celtic Woman has decided to take a full time break from touring to spend time with family and to work on her new album. I was sorta expecting this. At first she and Alex Sharpe were gonna rotate during the Isle of Hope Spring '09 tour. Then she made the decision to take a full time break from touring and I respect her decision deeply. It is not easy being on tour. You travel to the city in the early hours of the morning sometimes and sleep for a few hours. Rehearse for the show that day and the show starts that evening. Then you pack up and go onto the next city. It tends to get exhusting and with being away from family, it can be even harder trying to spend time with them.

I have the upmost respect for Orla wanting to spend time with her family. She had a wonderful time with Celtic Woman in the last few years. She got to sing at Carneige Hall, her life long dream. She sang to a sold out crowd at Radio City Hall. She sang for the President of the United States. She sang in Europe and Japan. What more could you ask for? To be able to travel thousands of miles away from your family, to pursuit your dreams, to put smiles on thousands of fans, to inspire children, and to see the world... that to me is what being a Celtic Woman is all about.

So, Orla, thanks for the smiles that you gave me. Thanks for the wonderful music you shared with your fans, and thank you for devoting your time and talent to the world. We will forever love you.

The Greatest Journey!

Wow, Celtic Woman has done it again! This time with their Greatest Journey CD and DVD. The CD has three new songs (The Call, Pie Jesu, and Somewhere). Although it does not include Hayley, it does include Alex Sharpe and Lynn Hilary! The song "You Raise Me Up" has the extra stanza and it definitely fits. The new song "The Call" is amazing! Chloe's voice has matured very nicely since the last time I heard her.

The DVD was very well done. It includes songs from all 3 of Celtic Woman's DVDs (The Helix, A New Journey and A Christmas Celebration) plus an hour documentary on Celtic Woman's Journey. All 9 girls are in it! The song Orinoco Flow has a nice twist to it! Also, between songs, there are pictures of Ireland which are very nice. This is an essential for any fan of Celtic Woman.

Celtic Woman is planning to do another DVD taping in the summer of 2009.

They start their 2009 Spring on February 11th!

Visit http://www.CelticWoman.com or http://www.CelticWomanForum.com for the latest news and info!

Lisa Kelly

Hey! You! Yes, I am talking to you! Have you heard? I want you to meet someone. Her name is Lisa Kelly and she is one of the soloists with the acclaimed Irish group Celtic Woman. I saw Lisa in March of 2005 as I was flipping through channels. I saw her singing May it Be from Lord of the Rings and instantly I liked her. She is no stranger to the stage. She is trained classically in singing and piano. She did theater and Riverdance for 5 years! She then did a self titled cd "Lisa". That is a cd worth buying! After she had her second child, David Downes asked if she wanted to be part of 'Celtic Woman'. Thinking that it was a one night thing deal, she agreed. (We know what happened to that 'one night thing')

I love all of the soloists (past and present) but it's Lisa who stands out for me. Her stage presence is utterly amazing. When she sings, she sings with passion and love. Just watch her! You can tell. There's no doubt she doesn't. When I see her smile, I end up smiling myself. You can't help it. This woman is addicting and in a good way! Her face expressions are priceless and ones that I will hold forever. I have never met Lisa but from the people I have talked too, she is the definitely the one who I would want to meet. I am not sure if I will ever meet her but seeing her in concert is good enough for now.

Visit her website http://www.lisakellyfan.com/or http://www.celticwoman.com/trellis/Lisa/

Celtic Woman Concerts

I have been to a few concerts in my life but none compare to Celtic Woman. I saw Celtic Woman in PBS in March of 2005. I was flipping through channels one night and I saw three woman singing. I was like "wow, these ladies can sing!". I really fell in love with the song Orinoco Flow. Later that month, I bought the cd at Target and put it in and was amazed! My little sister was hooked too! She wanted a copy. so the next day I go out and buy her one. It was in February of 2007, that I found out that they were coming to Charlotte, NC! I wanted tickets and bad! During Spring Break, while I was in Ft. Myers, FL, my aunt bought me the tickets! They ended up being last row in the Orchestra, but I didn't care cause I was going! I was so excited!

Hayley Westenra happened to be filling in for Meav at that time. The concert was amazing! The lights. fog, music, choir, and the Girls made it one of the most magical nights for me! I left Ovens Auditorium thinking "am I dreaming?"

Then in October, they came back! This time for 3 nights instead of 2! Meav had left in August to pursue her solo career. Her replacement would be Lynn Hilary. Well, let me tell ya she didn't disappoint! I got 3 tickets. One for me, my best friend and my dad.! My dad and friend had an awesome time! My dad fell in love with Mairead, the fiddler! He couldn't stop talking about her the whole time and even when we got home he was still talking. Here is the concert review I wrote:

Charlotte Review 10/25
I couldn’t believe CW came back to Charlotte and for 3 nights in a row! I saw ANJ on in July and knew that CW was coming back! I saw the dates and ran here to post them. Then I started planning my concert. I wanted to go with someone but didn’t know who to take. Then it occurred to me “why not my best friend?” Then my dad said he would go with me. I was so excited! I also got invited to go to West Palm Beach but convincing my parents to let me go was harder than I thought and I declined the offer. I remember when Chris told me that he and James were going to attend WPB and Charlotte and not to tell James. So I waited until the day finally came! I was in the chat room with them. Lol Chris asked if I could be the one to tell James about him coming to Charlotte and I said I would love too. So when James was told that he was going to WPB, he freaked out! LOL! He was screaming according to Chris. He was so excited! Man, I wish I could have seen his face! Then it was my turn. I said “James… (pause) YOU’RE COMING TO CHARLOTTE TOO!” He was confused at first and I said “You and Chris are seeing CW in Charlotte with me!” He freaked out again! I thought he was going to pass out from all of the excitement! I thought I was going to pass out! Haha! My heart was racing and I was so excited for him and Chris. I couldn’t wait to finally met them! As the months went, James and I joked about how we were going to be kicked out of Ovens for misbehaving (smiles) and how we were going to superglue glue ourselves to the seats! Lol We joked about how long we would last until we would get escorted out! We said not passed the Orinoco Flow song! LOL! Unfortunately, they could not be here due to recent events but I thought about them during the concert. So today I woke up and I didn’t think of the concert until breakfast and then I started thinking about it and I got so excited! So after school my friend came by and we hung out and waited forever it seemed to leave! My dad was coming from Winston Salem because of a work conference. He came home around 5pm, we ate dinner and we left around 6:30pm. Since it was raining, the traffic was slower than normal but good thing we left early! When we arrived at Ovens, my friend says “look the buses”! I say “yes those are the buses that they travel in”. She and my dad were amazed already and we hadn’t even gotten into the parking lot yet! LOL! So we park and go in and find our seats. Row L (12) and we are in awe at how close we were. My friend asked me how many seconds it would take me to get to the stage and I said “under 3 secs”. LOL! So when we decide to go back out and wander around outside. We look at the merchandise and then I spot some people hanging out with name tags on. I remembered I was suppose to get my Celt Belt tag. So I wandered over and say that I am from the CWF and I say who I am. I find out that JByrd and Sharon are there along with Hannah and MrPeabody. We talk for a bit and I show them my tshirt, which they loved! Then we head inside and wait for the concert to begin. The show was not a sell out because there were seats that were empty on the sides and in front of us. But I am not disappointed at all with the attendance. It was a good crowd. So then the lights dim and it begins!
THE SKY AND THE DAWN AND THE SUN-this song never ceases to amaze me! Mairead was all over the place, smiling, dancing, and shrugging her shoulders! LOL! When Lynn began to sing, I was in shock! I mean she is perfect! I could not be any happier. She did seem a little nervous, which is expected. But she hit every note and didn’t miss a thing! Lynn you rocked! After the song was over, my dad goes “WOW!” and my friend says “Now I know why you like them so much!”CALEDONIA-this song just melts my heart every time I hear it and tonight Lisa stole my heart away!
THE BUTTERFLY- okay so Mairead comes flying on stage and Lisa is still standing there and Mairead starts playing and Lisa starts to leave and stops, looks back at Mairead. Mairead gives a look back and keeps playing; Lisa starts to leave again, stops, turns around again. Mairead shoos her off stage! Lol it was so cute. This song was so funny! The looks that Mairead gave were hysterical! I mean I laughed through the whole song!
DANNY BOY- Lynn did an amazing job at this! I mean she was fantastic!
THE PRAYER-Chloe sang this song with such passion tonight! My dad asked how old Chloe was and I said “she is 18”. He couldn’t believe it!
SIUIL A RUN-Orla did a wonderful job at this song and I forgot it was in the playlist (hehe oops). Her smile made my night!
ORINOCO FLOW- This song was so fun and being next to my best friend was even better! LoL! I didn’t get to do the OF wave cause my dad was sitting next to me and well i wasn’t going to hit him lol
GRANUAILE’S DANCE- okay so this song just took my breath away! My friend has fallen in love with Mairead! Mairead was smiling and I was just hoping she wouldn’t slip but she was flawless!
BEYOND THE SEA- CW’s rendition of this song just puts me at ease! When I listen to this song, I forget all about my worries and it was so good to hear this song again live. Lynn did an amazing job and I am absolutely in love with her!
THE BLESSING- Lisa definitely was thinking about her family in this song! She placed her hands on her stomach towards the end and my friend and I both go “awww!” Lisa says “thanks”. SCARBOROUGH FAIR- Lynn did a fantastic job with song! She had a lot of passion when singing this song.
VIVALDI’S RAIN-Chloe sang this song too with a lot of passion and I could really tell that she likes singing this song. After she was done she giggled! LOL! It was so cute.
OVER THE RAINBOW- this song is my dads favorite song and he was absolutely amazed at how it sounded live.
MO GHILE MEAR- okay, I JUMPED! LOL! I can’t help it! I laughed during this song a lot too cause at one point Chloe poked one of the guy backup singers and he gave her this look like “oh no you didn’t”!. LOL! When Nicky and Ray were dueling away, the Girls were dancing with each other! Haha it was so funny!
DULAMAN- Again Lynn did a great job at this and she made it her own!
NEWGRANGE- okay for some reason the beginning of this song I didn’t recognize and then it hit me! Orla was having fun with song as she danced and smiled! She said “thanks” after she bowed.
THE SOFT GOODBYE- Okay so Lisa comes out and her dress! OMG her dress! It’s a crimson color and the design is perfect for Lisa!
THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER-this song almost made me cry when I saw Chloe and Lynn singing it together! Wow, it was so well done and I loved it!
NELLA FANTASIA- Again Chloe sang this song with so much emotion and passion its so hard to describe. Chloe says “thanks” real fast at the end.
AT THE CEILI- the dresses were different from the Spring tour and I loved them! They were really cute! Lynn did a great job at this song! The Girls were having so much fun and I was having fun watching them! lol
THE CONTRADICTION-so when Mairead started this song a guy in the back of the crowd shouts “YEAH!”, and Mairead just smiles and keeps on playing! LOL! She is so funny and cute in this song! Ray and Nicky had fun doing this song with her!
CARRICKFERGUS-Orla just makes me smile when I hear this song. She definitely sings this song from, her heart.
THE VOICE- oh jeez this song blows me away and seeing it live again well it was amazing as always!
SING OUT- this song is so fun to sing along with! Mairead was so funny engaging with the audience and getting us to clap! At one point when Mairead comes over to Lisa, she and her do this funny thing. They look at each other real fast then look away! Then look back at each and look away! LOL! It was cute!
YOU RAISE ME UP- this song chokes me up whenever I hear CW sing it but tonight I didn’t cry. I don’t know why I didn’t but it is such a powerful song for me, I hope the Girls keep it in the play list. When Chloe say “Thanks so much you’ve been a great audience”, we all stand up and clap and holler until the song is over! We keep standing and clapping until SP comes on.
SPANISH LADY- Well, is a fun song to watch on the DVD but even more fun to see it live! The Girls were smiling and dancing the night away! So that’s what went on at Ovens! I had so much fun! This show tops my first show by far! My dad and my friend could not stop talking about the show! My dad was utterly amazed at it and he said he would go again. My friend couldn’t believe it either and she said “Now I know why you love CW so much, I hope you never lose your love for them”. My dad said “I knew they had great voices but I didn’t think their shows were like this! That fiddler was just amazing!” They were both at a lose of words. So CW now had two new fans!I didn’t jump on stage LOL!People liked my t-shirt. They would comment on it and say “where did you make it?” or “great job”. To the forum members I met tonight, it was a pleasure meeting you! Hope to do it again soon!CW, thanks for another amazing performance! All that hard work pays off and you put on one heck of a show! Hope to see you in 2008! I am truly blessed to have been able to see CW again and I am also glad that I had the chance to share it with you all! Thanks!

So now I wait as CW comes back in August to do their 4th DVD (yeah I know 4th one already!). If I can't do to the taping, then I will be patient and wait till they start touring again and hopefullly they will hit Charlotte again!