Celtic Woman – and ‘Ancient Land’ – New England-bound in March

Ancient Land features the incredible vocal talents of Megan Walsh, Mairead Carlin, Eabha McMahon, Tara McNeil.

Celtic Woman’s latest tour, featuring the ensemble’s latest recording, “Ancient Land,” is heading for New England, with stops planned in Concord (NH) at the Capitol Theatre on March 29, in Providence at the Performing Arts Center on April 2, in Hartford at the Bushnell Center on April 3, and in Worcester at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts on April 7.

In the company’s own words, “Ancient Land” carries on “the centuries-old Irish tradition of using song to tell stories of the land, stories of love and stories of dancing, with songs that will bring a piece of Ireland to audiences everywhere.”

To read the commentary in the Celtic Woman Forum is to see that for many, reaction to “Ancient Land” is a mix of the good and the not so bad and the what I find missing. One contributor, signed on as Excalibur, writes about his “great expectations for this one after two albums with little to zero new material. This has always been a very important thing for me,” he adds. After some back and forth of historical Celtic Woman note, the critic reports:

“My overall impression with Ancient Land is quite positive: I’m always happy when the girls and the band of Celtic Woman actually record and play Celtic music instead of going too far from their roots. I don’t mind when they do some classical piece (I actually quite enjoy those) or contemporary songs, but sometimes it sounds a little too much, especially if the ‘Celtic twist’ of the arrangement is not very, very peculiar. In this case, most of the songs have a very strong Irish feel, most of them are actually traditional and there’s a lot of Gaelic lyrics which is another thing I’ve always wished for in previous albums.”

Readers can rely on Excalibur’s critique of the new CD or judge its value for themselves late next month and into April in Concord, Providence, Hartford, and Worcester.

Tickets are $45, $75 and $156 depending on seat location. Discounts are available for members and groups of 10 or more. Please contact the box office at 877.571.SHOW (7469) for more information.