Celtic Woman stopped by the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis last night, as part of their 2013 World Tour.

If you’ve never heard of Celtic Woman, they are an all-female Irish music ensemble, currently represented by three angelic voices (Chloe Agnew, Lisa Lambe, Susan McFadden) and one firecracker fiddler (Máiréad Nesbitt). Nesbitt doesn’t exactly sing, but her fun energetic fiddling stole the show for many fans.

Having seen some Celtic Woman on PBS (via TPT/Twin Cities Public Television), I knew what to expect- but it’s still very exciting to finally see the live performance. The light show was some of the best I’ve ever seen, and the musicians (including various Celtic instruments such as bagpipes, bodhrán, mandolin) are some of the best I’ve heard. This wasn’t amateur hour; the people who worked on this production are seasoned veterans.

There were two parts in this 2013 Celtic Woman show. The first part seems like they were focused on Irish songs (“Nocturne”, “Danny Boy”, cover of Enya’s “Orinoco Flow”), but throwing in a Scottish song, “Caledonia” (this is actually Scotland’s old name).

The second part of the show (after the intermission), the songs seem like they were tailored for the North American audience, throwing in some American music. Songs like “Amazing Grace”, “I Dreamed a Dream”/”Circle of Life”, cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, were extremely well done as beautiful vocal pieces.

Set closer and encore was a wonderful version of “The Parting Glass”. The lyrics of “I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call ‘Good night and joy be with you all.’” was very fitting to end the show.

Audience attentiveness were high, beautiful lighting, perfect harmonies & melodies, they all came together to produce one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen this year.

Celtic Woman continues their tour:

04/14/13 Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee Theatre
04/16/13 Des Moines, IA Performing Arts
04/18/13 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre
04/19/13 Chattanooga, TN Chattanooga Mem
04/20/13 Richmond, KY EKU Center For The Arts
04/21/13 Springfield, IL Sangamon Aud
04/23/13 Dayton, OH Schuster
04/24/13 Louisville, KY Louisville Palace Theatre
04/26/13 Cherokee, NC Harrah’s Cherokee Casino
04/27/13 Durham, NC Durham Performing
04/28/13 Charlotte, NC Belk Theater
04/30/13 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
05/02/13 Jacksonville, FL Moran Theater
05/03/13 Savannah, GA Johnny Mercer Theatre
05/04/13 Orlando, FL Bob Carr Perf. Arts Centre
05/05/13 Fort Myers, FL Barbara B. Mann
05/07/13 Lakeland, FL The Lakeland Center
05/09/13 Sarasota, FL Van Wezel Perf. Arts Hall
05/10/13 Coral Springs, FL Coral Springs
05/11/13 West Palm Beach, FL Kravis Center
05/12/13 Melbourne, FL King Center
05/14/13 Columbus, GA RiverCenter
05/16/13 Oklahoma City, OK Civic Center
05/17/13 Longview, TX S.E. Belcher, Jr.
05/18/13 Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theatre
05/19/13 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre
05/20/13 Midland, TX Wagner Noel

05/25/13 Chandler, AZ Wild Horse Pass
05/26/13 Las Vegas, NV Smith Center
05/28/13 San Rafael, CA Marin Veterans’
05/29/13 San Rafael, CA Marin Veterans’
05/30/13 Santa Ynez, CA Chumash Casino
06/01/13 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer
06/02/13 Vancouver, BC Queen Elizabeth
06/04/13 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
06/05/13 Spokane, WA INB Performing
06/06/13 Boise, ID Velma V. Morrison Center
06/08/13 Rapid City, SD Rushmore Plaza
06/09/13 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amph
06/11/13 Omaha, NE Orpheum Theater
06/12/13 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival
06/14/13 Vienna, VA Filene Center
06/15/13 Bethel, NY Pavilion Stage
10/13/13 Cologne, Germany Lanxess Arena
10/14/13 Berlin, Germany O2 World
10/15/13 Hamburg, Germany O2 World
10/17/13 Frankfurt, Germany Alte Oper
10/18/13 Stuttgart, Germany Porsche Arena
10/19/13 Vienna, Austria Wiener Stadthalle
10/20/13 Leipzig, Germany Leipzig Arena
10/22/13 Munich, Germany Olympiahalle
10/23/13 Amsterdam Royal Carré Theatre
10/25/13 Hasselt, Belgium Congrestheater
10/26/13 Zurich Hallenstadion Zurich
12/22/13 Atlanta, GA Symphony Hall