Gainesville was treated to an evening of Irish music and dance by the highly popular Celtic Woman (Lisa Lambe, Susan McFadden, Chloe Agnew and Mairead Nesbitt) as they made their return to the O'Connell Center on February 16 with their new show "Believe." Their performances can be frequently seen on PBS, but sitting in the audience of a live show adds a whole new dimension to the Celtic Woman experience. Playing with a band that includes two bagpipers and two percussionists takes us back to traditional Irish and Scottish rhythms, but the women also brought us some modern tunes covering Broadway favorites "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables and "Circle Of Life" from the Lion King. No Celtic concert would be complete without favorites "Danny Boy" and "Amazing Grace" and there wasn't a dry eye in the house during Chloe's beautiful rendition of "Ave Maria."
Other highlights of the evening included some audience participation which brought Lisa and Chloe amongst fans in the first few rows while playfully bantering in song and then later Chloe involved the audience in a sing-a-long for "Green Grow the Rushes." Mairead's energy was palpable as she ran and skipped across the stage so feverishly playing her violin she lost a few strings along the way bringing the crowd to their feet. Bagpipe, percussion and Irish dance solos also earned standing ovations and lots of audience clap-a-longs. By the end of the evening the ladies proclaimed, "Gainesville, you know how to have a good time!" It is truly an honor to have Celtic Woman continuously return to Gainesville when many artists skip this college town in favor of venues in Jacksonville and Orlando. Let's hope this Celtic Woman tradition continues in the Gator Nation for years to come. For more information about Celtic Woman and up coming tour dates please visit their website.
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