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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man band

Booming Celtic Thunder lands at Arena’s Star Theatre

Having trouble keeping your Celtic touring extravaganzas straight?

Here’s a hint: Celtic Thunder, which rumbles into the Spokane Arena on Monday, is the one with the five Irish-Scottish hunks.

In fact, the original name of the act was Celtic Man, as a counterpart to the popular Celtic Woman. But Celtic Thunder sounded, well, even more manly.

The concept is certainly tried and true: Gather five Celtic vocalists, add an orchestra and some electric guitars, surround them with sophisticated modern stagecraft, and let them wrap their talented brogues around songs both traditional and modern.

If you saw their “Celtic Thunder” special on PBS, you have a good idea what to expect.

“It’s a hard show to put into words,” singer Paul Byrom said in June during a live, in-studio interview at KSPS-7 in Spokane. “You need to see it to comprehend it.

“We’re not a group, we’re not a ‘boy band.’ It’s very much five very different singers, with five very different styles. So our families were intrigued by how, in God’s name, this was going to work.”

It works by giving each of them their own showcase numbers. Some are traditional – “Mountains of Mourne,” “Raggle Taggle Gypsy,” “Come By the Hills” – and others are more pop-oriented: Dire Straits’ “Brothers In Arms” and the Eagles’ “Desperado.”

Some have a classical feel, backed by an orchestra; others have a pub feel, backed by bodhran and pennywhistle. All five singers sometimes join together on a big number.

As Byrom suggested, the singers are certainly not cut from the same cloth. They range in age from 15 to 40. Here’s the lineup:

•George Donaldson, 40 – He was singing in a Glasgow pub and building buses before being tapped for Celtic Thunder.

•Ryan Kelly, 29 – An Irish singer and actor, who was previously working in a bank.

•Paul Byrom, 28 – A well-known Irish tenor from Dublin.

•Keith Harkin, 21 – A Derry singer-songwriter who looks like a California surfer – and actually does surf on Ireland’s west coast.

•Damian McGinty, 15 – A singing prodigy with a big, powerful voice and a stage presence beyond his years.

The music is only part of the attraction. In keeping with the tradition begun by “Riverdance,” the show is also visually impressive, with a stone terrace set and complex lighting effects.

The Spokane date is the 46th of a 50-show autumn-winter tour.