The Irish Tenors line-up of Finbar Wright, Anthony Kearns, and Ronan Tynan is reunited for an exclusive 12-date tour this coming Christmas holiday season. This is the Irish Tenor combination that mesmerized audiences with their highly successful PBS specials, including the groundbreaking Ellis Island Project that sold a million CDs and DVDs.
“It will be exciting to hear the three voices live together again -- it is a unique sound which will undoubtedly recreate the magic that has made the Irish Tenors special from the very beginning,” says Wright.
For the Irish Tenors, this upcoming string of dates is not just an opportunity to visit their fans for the holidays. They consider this Christmas tour an escape from the doom and gloom that has hit both sides of the Atlantic.
“We have here in Ireland a desperate situation; it really does effect people,” laments tenor Anthony Kearns during an interview with the Irish Voice.
“Everyone is talking about the same thing, how this is going to be so bad with no end in sight,” he says. “It starts to wear on people. I know I am sick of it as well.
“The one thing that is surprising is that 80,000 in tickets for the next Slane show just sold out over here in 40 minutes. The Take That reunion sold two shows instantly. There are 250,000 tickets sold for shows in the next three weeks in Ireland.
“It’s quite depressing here, and yet the fact that these tickets sold like that shows you that there is good tonic in a concert. Just kick up your legs, have a laugh and escape the news for the night. Lord knows it will be there in the morning anyway!”
Kearns, Wright and Tynan, the original lineup of Irish Tenors, will be harmonizing on a Christmas show for the first time in many moons. Noticeably absent is Karl Scully, the tenor who replaced Tynan when he went out on his own a few years back. Kearns is cagey about the future of the group and Scully’s association with it.
“We are going to see how this goes and see if we can nail the big man (Tynan) down for a minute to see what he wants to do moving forward,” says Kearns.
“Scully will join us here and there on this show. He is a fantastic young talent and we have no plans to roll on without him at the moment. I’m sure we will always work with him in some way, shape, or form.”
Kearns admits there is a certain chemistry with the original lineup that he is looking forward to being a part of on this Christmas tour.
“There’s something about it, I don’t know what it is, that works,” he says. “There is respect and there’s also a brotherhood that loves doing this. We have good fun; they love the camaraderie and the challenge of brotherly competition. ‘You’re going for the high note, big fella, I am right behind you.’ A
“Audiences see that competition and love to witness it. We have great, wonderful arrangements from a talented band.”
When I spoke with Kearns, he was knee-deep in rehearsals, where he described the experience of digging deep and doing a few runs around the piano. With all the tour activity, is there any time to do the shopping here in the U.S.?
“I do it all in one day,” he says. “I am not one for the shopping. I hit the ground running and the last bits and pieces I get on Christmas Eve.
“When you hit the ground running you don’t have much time to yourself on the Christmas tour. At one stage, you have five shows in a row. You go to sleep around 1 a.m. and then you run on the road again. You jump on a bunk and get some sleep in a while. You have to stand on the back legs and deliver.”
The Irish Tenors will be at the Beacon Theater in New York on Thursday, December 16. Tour dates also include the Landmark Theater in Richmond, Virginia on the 8th, and the Scranton Cultural Center on the 11th. For more information, visit theirishtenors.com.
“It will be exciting to hear the three voices live together again -- it is a unique sound which will undoubtedly recreate the magic that has made the Irish Tenors special from the very beginning,” says Wright.
For the Irish Tenors, this upcoming string of dates is not just an opportunity to visit their fans for the holidays. They consider this Christmas tour an escape from the doom and gloom that has hit both sides of the Atlantic.
“We have here in Ireland a desperate situation; it really does effect people,” laments tenor Anthony Kearns during an interview with the Irish Voice.
“Everyone is talking about the same thing, how this is going to be so bad with no end in sight,” he says. “It starts to wear on people. I know I am sick of it as well.
“The one thing that is surprising is that 80,000 in tickets for the next Slane show just sold out over here in 40 minutes. The Take That reunion sold two shows instantly. There are 250,000 tickets sold for shows in the next three weeks in Ireland.
“It’s quite depressing here, and yet the fact that these tickets sold like that shows you that there is good tonic in a concert. Just kick up your legs, have a laugh and escape the news for the night. Lord knows it will be there in the morning anyway!”
Kearns, Wright and Tynan, the original lineup of Irish Tenors, will be harmonizing on a Christmas show for the first time in many moons. Noticeably absent is Karl Scully, the tenor who replaced Tynan when he went out on his own a few years back. Kearns is cagey about the future of the group and Scully’s association with it.
“We are going to see how this goes and see if we can nail the big man (Tynan) down for a minute to see what he wants to do moving forward,” says Kearns.
“Scully will join us here and there on this show. He is a fantastic young talent and we have no plans to roll on without him at the moment. I’m sure we will always work with him in some way, shape, or form.”
Kearns admits there is a certain chemistry with the original lineup that he is looking forward to being a part of on this Christmas tour.
“There’s something about it, I don’t know what it is, that works,” he says. “There is respect and there’s also a brotherhood that loves doing this. We have good fun; they love the camaraderie and the challenge of brotherly competition. ‘You’re going for the high note, big fella, I am right behind you.’ A
“Audiences see that competition and love to witness it. We have great, wonderful arrangements from a talented band.”
When I spoke with Kearns, he was knee-deep in rehearsals, where he described the experience of digging deep and doing a few runs around the piano. With all the tour activity, is there any time to do the shopping here in the U.S.?
“I do it all in one day,” he says. “I am not one for the shopping. I hit the ground running and the last bits and pieces I get on Christmas Eve.
“When you hit the ground running you don’t have much time to yourself on the Christmas tour. At one stage, you have five shows in a row. You go to sleep around 1 a.m. and then you run on the road again. You jump on a bunk and get some sleep in a while. You have to stand on the back legs and deliver.”
The Irish Tenors will be at the Beacon Theater in New York on Thursday, December 16. Tour dates also include the Landmark Theater in Richmond, Virginia on the 8th, and the Scranton Cultural Center on the 11th. For more information, visit theirishtenors.com.
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