Celtic Thunder


Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic set pieces, visual effects, and highly choreographed staging.
Since the original group's formation in 2007, Celtic Thunder has released twelve albums as well as ten live performances on DVD, three of which were split into two releases.

History

Celtic Thunder was conceived in the mind of producer Sharon Browne who started the group in 2007.
Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland. They are accompanied by the Celtic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Phil Coulter, the musical director of the group.
In December 2008, 2009 and 2011, Billboard magazine named Celtic Thunder Top World Album Artist. Their first three albums also placed in the top 10 for World Albums.
In March 2009, Celtic Thunder opened the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York City.
On 28 November 2010, Celtic Thunder member Paul Byrom announced his resignation from the group to begin a solo career. He left the group when the 2010 concert tour was over.
In 2011, Damian McGinty entered and won the Oxygen reality show The Glee Project. On 21 August 2011, McGinty announced on The Glee Projects Live Viewing Party, that he would be stepping down from Celtic Thunder due to his new role on Glee.
In 2011 David Munro became the musical director.
During their 2012 tour, Colm Keegan was joined the group to stand in for Ryan Kelly, who was injured in a fall. After Kelly returned, Keegan was asked to become a permanent member of Celtic Thunder.
On 15 October 2012, Celtic Thunder hosted a special performance at The Pentagon.
In December 2012, Celtic Thunder performed an unplugged concert at the Sullivan Hall, New York, in front of an audience of just over 300 people. The concert was in aid of the victims of Hurricane Sandy and resulted in approximately $50,000 being raised.
On 13 January 2014, after three years with Celtic Thunder, Emmet Cahill announced his decision to take a break from Celtic Thunder.
On 12 March 2014, Sharon Browne announced that George Donaldson, one of the five original Celtic Thunder principal singers since the Celtic Thunder auditions in August 2007, died of a heart attack. He was preparing for the Celtic Thunder Australian tour in May. He is survived by his wife Carrie and daughter Sarah.
On 3 April 2014, Emmet Cahill announced that he would once again be joining the "Thunderheads" on the Australia tour.
On 5 April 2014, it was unofficially announced that Emmett O'Hanlon would be filling the place of Emmet Cahill after his departure following Celtic Thunder Cruise II in November 2014.
On 24 November 2014, it was announced that Damian McGinty would be rejoining Celtic Thunder as a temporary guest artist for their 2015 Very Best of Celtic Thunder Tour.
On 16 December 2015, Colm Keegan announced that he will be taking a break from touring with Celtic Thunder for a year and will be recording a new solo album. Emmet Cahill rejoined Celtic Thunder to replace Keegan.
On 26 April 2016, Keith Harkin announced his departure from the group to focus on his solo career. On that same day, it was announced that Michael O'Dwyer will be replacing him.
Celtic Thunder posted a loss of more than €722,000 for the year to March 2018. The musical act owed creditors €856,000

Members

Current Members

The current members of Celtic Thunder are :
The past members of Celtic Thunder are :

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On 17 December 2008, Celtic Thunder completed their 2008 US tour of fifty cities. They also toured the United States extensively in fall 2009. For spring 2009 they focused on touring Canada, while also playing some concerts in the northeastern US.
During their 2008 fall tour, Celtic Thunder sold over 125,000 tickets in 49 shows and placed twentieth in the Star Tour Poll.
Celtic Thunder's first studio album and first concert special DVD were released on 18 March 2008. The album was titled Celtic Thunder and the concert special was titled The Show. It was filmed at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland, on 18 August 2007.
The second studio album was released on 16 September 2008, titled Act Two. It included the rest of the songs from The Show.
The third studio album and second concert special DVD, both titled Take Me Home, were released 14 July 2009. Take Me Home was filmed at Casino Rama, Orillia, while the group was on tour in 2009. It is considered a live concert DVD rather than a studio production.
The fourth studio album and third concert special DVD, both titled It's Entertainment!, were released on 9 February 2010. It was filmed alongside Storm at the Toronto International Centre Hall 5, Toronto, Ontario, on 1 October 2009, and 2 October 2009.
After It's Entertainment!, Celtic Thunder fans sent many requests to Sharon Browne for a Christmas-themed album and an album containing more Irish music. Through these efforts, Christmas and Heritage came to be, postponing the release of '.
The fifth studio album, titled Christmas, was released on 12 October 2010, and the concert special DVD, also titled Christmas, was released on 22 November 2010. Christmas was filmed alongside Heritage at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, on 17 September 2010.
The sixth studio album and fifth concert special DVD titled Heritage was released on 22 February 2011. Heritage was filmed alongside Christmas at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, on 17 September 2010.
The seventh studio album and sixth DVD, titled ', was released on 20 September 2011. Storm, unlike Celtic Thunder's other DVDs, is not just a filmed concert but has a storyline, an elaborate set establishing a location, and costumes which help to define the singers' and dancers' characters within the story. It makes use of the It's Entertainment cast which is Celtic Thunder's largest to date and features singer Deirdre Shannon, a former member of Celtic Woman.
The eighth studio album and seventh concert special DVD, titled Voyage, was released on 28 February 2012. It was originally set to be filmed on 27 September 2011, but due to changes, this filming was cancelled. The search for a new venue began on 3 October 2011, and resulted in a filming date of 18 October 2011, in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Midland Theater.
The eighth concert special DVD, companion DVD to Voyage for online purchase only, is titled Voyage II and was released on 25 June 2012. The CD of the same name was released on 1 September 2012, not available in stores.
The 2012 Celtic Thunder North American tour was called the Voyage tour.
The ninth concert DVD special is called "Mythology". It was filmed in early 2013 at the Helix Theater in Dublin, Ireland. Featuring a Celtic Cross, the stage setting is one of the most ambitious. The tour began in August 2013, with stops in Canada and the United States and to finish in Australia June 2014.
The tenth DVD, entitled "Live and Unplugged" features a live more personal show at Sullivan Hall in New York. The concert was a benefit concert for the victims effected by Hurricane Sandy.
The eleventh DVD put out by Celtic Thunder was titled Home. The DVD has many fan favourites and pre-recorded CT songs in the background of the beautiful Irish scenery.
In November and December 2014 Celtic Thunder toured the Eastern United States with songs from their Christmas CD Christmas Voices. This was the first Celtic Thunder symphony tour with symphonies such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Discography and videography

Studio albums

In 2015 Legacy re-released the whole Celtic Thunder back-catalogue, including re-releases of Celtic Thunder, Celtic Thunder: Act Two, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, Christmas, Heritage, Storm, Voyage, New Voyage, Mythology and The Classic Christmas Album. Some of the songs originally sung by Paul Byrom got re-recorded by Emmett O'Hanlon or Colm Keegan. All tracklists were revised.

Compilations

Live albums