The Celtic Tenors
The Celtic Tenors brought their charming warmth to a cold night in Newton, NJ over the weekend, delighting a sellout crowd in the newly renovated Newton Theater.

With music director Vincent Lynch navigating the tight ship on the keyboards, Matthew Gilsenan, James Nelson and Daryl Simpson delivered a barnstorming set that included tracks from their excellent "A Celtic Tenors Christmas" disc. Those angelic voices brought “We Three Kings” and “O Holy Night” to new, heavenly heights!

While the set began and ended with Christmas songs, the songs in the middle displayed their playful personality. To say that the show ran the gamut of tastes for every music fan would be an understatement.

The dramatic Finnish/Swedish carol “Gaudette” from the 16th century was delivered with an urgent a capella flare, which was in sharp contrast to the playful burlesque that transpired when the lads slowed down Eric Clapton’s classic “Lay Down Sally.”

The Celtic Tenors place a high premium on great songwriting, seeing it as their mission to expose great, lesser-known songs.

“Galileo fell in love as a Gallilean boy/he wondered what in heaven who invented such a joy/but the question got the better of his scientific mind,” they sang on Declan O’Rourke’s ultra-romantic “Galileo (Someone Like You).”

They brought the room to tears with “The Dutchman,” the song about love and dementia made famous by Liam Clancy. They re-claimed Phil Coulter’s “Remember Me,” a song originally written by Coulter for them, but later made famous by the Celtic Thunder show.

Yes, there were the obligatory forays into the cheesy Irish sing-alongs like “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Rocky Road to Dublin.” The crowd ate it up and the lads do know where their bread is buttered, so they added a bit of ham and made a satisfying meal of it nonetheless!

The entertainment didn’t stop when they left the stage two hours later. They sang an impromptu “Danny Boy” in the lobby at the request of fans waiting for them to sign their CDs, and then delighted a stunned crowd with a surprise set at O’Rourke’s Bar down the road when all was said and done.

The music lasted into the wee hours of the evening, and if that didn’t put the town of Newton in the Christmas spirit nothing will!

Their Christmas CD would make a great stocking stuffer, so hop over to www.celtic-tenors.com to get yours today!