(Editor’s note: This story was originally published Dec. 3, 2022 with photography updated after the Dec. 20, 2022 performance. Celtic Angels will appear in Evans again on at 4:30 and 7 p.m. Dec. 18, 2024 at the Hardin Auditorium. For tickets, go here. The story has also been update with additional concert dates by Augusta Amusements.)
The Celtic Angels Christmas will bring a glimpse of Ireland during the holiday season to Evans.
“It’s so social at Christmas. We want to celebrate that feeling,” said Louise Barry, a native of Dublin, Ireland, who founded the group. “A few things we tend to do are specific to Dublin.”
It’s patterned after a traditional Irish ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), which is a gathering among friends and neighbors, usually involving music, dancing and storytelling.
The event at the Jabez Sanford Hardin Performing Arts Center will have all those elements.
In addition to the singers who will be bringing the sounds of the season and maybe a surprise or two, Barry is joined by the Celtic Knights, a group of champion Irish dancers Some of them have performed in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“They’re an incredibly talented group,” she said.
For the final ceilidh element, Barry tries to include audience members so they feel like they’ve been among friends by the end of the performance.
“I do tend to make a demand on the audience,” she said. “I do ask for participation.”
Audiences, however, tend to want to oblige in the spirit of the season.
Barry and her group have been to Evans before and have always received a warm welcome when performing.
“Southern hospitality is even more than I expected,” she said. “I’m thrilled to be back.”
The Celtic Angels Christmas is more than just a concert. It’s an experience, according to Barry.
“It’s a fluid and cohesive show,” she said.
It’s not just a dance number thrown in here and there that doesn’t blend with the overall performance, Barry said, but everything is brought together seamlessly.
The Celtic Angels will perform two shows at 4 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $49.95.
Other concerts in the Augusta Amusements 2024-2025 season include Belinda David’s tribute to Whitney Houston at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 8, 2025, and Rhinestone Cowgirls at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17, 2025.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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