Irish Christmas tour report

[OC Richard]

I just returned Monday from a ten-day tour of Keith and Kristyn Getty's "Irish Christmas".

It was my first experience, after playing Celtic music for 35 years, of touring with a band on a tour bus etc.

I was a somewhat last-minute sub for the piper who had often played with them, Patrick Darcy.

For those unaware, the Gettys compose and perform modern Christian music. They're from Belfast but now live in Nashville, the centre of the Christian music industry.

What sets them apart somewhat is that, unlike Christian artists who write songs for people to listen to, the Gettys write songs for congregations to sing, in other words modern hymns. There are nine of their songs in the new Baptist Hymnal.

These "Irish Christmas" concerts featured a mix of Getty originals and old Christmas standards given an Irish twist. For example a traditional Irish reel might serve as the "intro", "link", and "outro" of a traditional Carol.

I played various Irish whistles, and uilleann pipes.

(For whistle enthusiasts: I used a Feadog D and Generation C both of which I've played since c1980, plus a new Freeman Tweaked Generation Bb, a Michael Burke aluminum A, a Sindt B, a Susato Low E, and a red MK Low D.)

(My pipes were made by David Quinn in 1978. I'm the original owner.)

The band was mostly made of of seasoned Nashville pros. Dave Cleveland, the guitarist, has toured and recorded with just about every Country and Christian group in Nashville. Jeff Taylor, who plays accordion, whistles, mandolins, etc has likewise played with everybody.

We played at various venues in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

Time for photos!

Here are a couple shots of the band at work:





The banner outside the Charlotte venue:



While walking around Charlotte I spotted this amazing view, a cool juxtaposition of the old and new:

[Maclachlan]

Man, I bet that was fun!

[BoldHighlander]

What an experience! Thanks for sharing it with us!