Celtic Women bring their 20th Anniversary Tour to Wheeling

By Dave Parsons

For any musical group to be around for 20 years is never a given these days.  So, the folks in Wheeling, WV had anticipated Celtic Woman’s 20^th Anniversary tour stop at the Capitol Theater on April 2 for quite some time.  Even being a Tuesday night, that had seen non-stop rain and flooding in the area the past 48 hours, you could tell the crowd going into the theater was anticipating a great night out.

Celtic Woman certainly did not disappoint.  The three ladies trading vocals along with the fiddler/singer, fronted a wonderful band that played at least a dozen instruments throughout the show.  By the second song, the ladies were joined by 3 male backup singers and dancers, and a bagpiper player. The setlist included traditional Celtic tunes and some covers such as Rainbow by Kacey Musgraves. The ladies traded solos all evening and the ensemble numbers were heavenly.

In a town like Wheeling, that is just now starting to see shows like Celtic Woman on a more regular basis, the crowd showed their appreciation with standing ovations several times during the 2-hour performance. For a day as dreary as it can get, Celtic Woman’s 20th Anniversary Tour stop in Wheeling certainly brightened the evening for all who had the opportunity to witness it.  I am sure those folks would not be upset if the 21^st year tour included coming back to the friendly city!