The signature sound that flows from Celtic Woman, a sound that has sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and Boston’s Opera House, will be heard Saturday in Seattle.
The female Irish ensemble of four haunting voices and a fiddler backed by 15 others has a recording, “A New Journey” (2006), with contemporary hits and Irish standards. It paired with a winter PBS special that was carried by 90 percent of the nation’s PBS stations. The CD debuted in the fourth spot of the Billboard Top 200.
In concert, each soloist has a turn and then joins in an ensemble performance. The group has benefited from being together for a couple of years, time to hone and blend different backgrounds (rock, classic, traditional, and theater).
Loreena McKennitt: The Canadian singer does it all: compose, perform Celtic music, manage, produce and run her own successful label (Quinlan Road). She’s also acted and composed music for Stratford Festival of Canada productions, including original music for “The Merchant of Venice.” McKennitt has sold more than 13 million albums, won Juno awards and the Billboard International Achievement Award. Tuesday, Seattle
Jackie Greene: Every now and then you run across a bright light in the music business, someone with lyrical talent, a sense of pacing, clearly enunciated words, introspection without gratuitous angst, a sense of direction and the patience to learn his craft. Each of Greene’s four albums is markedly different as he allows different influences to take over: rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass. Wednesday, Seattle
Tierney Sutton: The Grammy nominee and JazzWeek Magazine’s Vocalist of the Year in 2005 performs a two-night set with the same band that she’s worked with for a decade. It makes for a particularly tight group that does justice to sharp arrangements between sometimes ironic and contemplative vocals and music. This year’s release, “On the Other Side,” may be the alto’s best CD. Tuesday and Wednesday, Seattle
The Bad Plus: The traditional and free jazz trio has a track record of covering pop and rock songs (Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” Radiohead’s “Karma Police”), draping them in The Bad Plus style. But in the just-released “Prog” CD, they seem to focus on the essence of the familiar, such as David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” and Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” rather than just translate the often overproduced songs. Thursday through May 20, Seattle
Blue Scholars: The Northwest hip-hop scene is well-represented by MC and poet Geologic (vocals and rhythms) and DJ and jazz-trained pianist Sabzi (beats, cuts and turntable). They’ve stressed the political and the personal after analyzing life. They were a main stage performer last year at the Sasquatch! and Bumbershoot festivals. Today and Saturday, Seattle
Glen Campbell: He’s the man who brought us “Gentle on My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Southern Nights” and “Rhinestone Cowboy” on his way to winning Grammy and Dove awards, turning out about 70 albums, and 27 Top 10 songs. Campbell also turned out the hits “Wichita Lineman” (No. 1 country, No. 3 pop charts) and “Galveston.” Sunday, Bow
Everclear: Another of the Northwest’s grunge-punk bands in the 1990s, fronted by Art Alexakis, Everclear has been back in its newest reincarnation since spring of 2004 but still under the politically active Alexakis’ lead. To most fans’ surprise, the group’s first recording was a cover of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”; the latest was the rock CD “Welcome to the Drama Club.” Monday, Seattle
Shifty Sailors &Company: Shiver your timbers with the Shifty Sailors, Whidbey Island residents who sing to preserve the sailing-ship heritage, folk lore and sea songs. This year’s concert features an all-island children’s choir. Call them li’l Saltys in Training. Then they’ll be off on a tour of the New England states. The Shifty Sailors have also followed the tall ships in Great Britain, France and the Baltic countries. Saturday, Oak Harbor
LEFT: Everclear performs Monday in Seattle.
BELOW: Glen Campbell performs Sunday in Bow.
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