Another memorable year

Hello everyone!

Well yet another wonderful year is coming to a close for Máiréad Nesbitt and for the forum in her honor. She began the new year in Switzerland wowing the audience there with the Tinker Bell suite among other lovely tunes. She was joined on stage by talented brother, Karl, which made it all the more special.

A spring tour was next and opening night of Songs From The Heart in Roanoke was a lovely forum event. What a great new creation by David and his stable of fine artists. Throughout the spring tour there were wonderful small gatherings and a special birthday for Máiréad in st. Petersburg. Forum administrator, Mike, passed 80 shows this year on the subsequent summer tour, and administrator emeritus, Scott, celebrated his 50th show in Albuquerque where it started for him in 2007. Máiréad and her forum made that night very special.

Prior to the summer tour Máiréad and her co-stars graced Australia for a promotional swing prior to returning later in the year to perform on tour. That tour was well handled by the people at Ovation channel and the forum was pleased to have folks at some of the shows to represent The Enchanted Forest.

Several of the artists left the group this year, but Máiréad hangs in there and has indicated she will be on stage once again in 2011 which promises to be another amazing year. Once again the Máiréad forum was able to raise a nice amount of money for her charity of choice and surpassed the previous year's amount. A copy of the check was given to Máiréad in Melbourne. Fund raising is already in full swing for 2011. Our thanks to everyone in her forum for their kind donations.

Máiréad now is in yet another recording process but is now home in snowy Ireland. She will be able to relax a bit and spend time with family and friends prior to hitting the road again for the tour opener on February 4th in Lakeland Florida. Have a wonderful holiday season, Máiréad, and all of you as well in her forum. Until then, Happy Christmas and a joyous new year!

The Máiréad Nesbitt fan forum leadership team

Oz and beyond

Hello everyone!!!

Well, the spring tour ended with a few stops in the great northwest. Then a brief time for Máiréad at home with family and friends. Far too brief really. Then time again to hit the road and the promotional swing in Australia.

Oz had it's first personal taste of pixie dust and for those at Penrith they won't quite ever be the same. We know that feeling very well here in the states. The girls did a whirlwind tour hitting radio and TV spots as well as the Penrith signing and performance. Máiréad led off the latter with a lovely rendition of Shenandoah followed by a bit of the fast section of The Butterfly. Well known standbys that most everyone knows and appreciates from her. You can catch that Penrith performance on YouTube courtesy of a forum friend Kim Gritten. Kim is the father of talented, young singer-composer Olivia Gritten. Both will be attending the CW performance in Sydney later this year. Kim was kind enough to make his way the 2-3 hour drive to Penrith to record the event and it was wonderful! Máiréad appeared on a radio interview that was also video recorded as well as a couple TV shows. BTW, check out the wonderful new Synan O'Mahoney black dress she is wearing!!! Stunning! Also note in the Penrith video that all the girls are wearing a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon.

Máiréad just put up a new blog as well which is always a great treat for all of us! In it she had lovely words to say about now former Celtic Woman, Alex Sharpe. The group is now proceeding forward as a quartet and so what David does with this will be very interesting. He hasn't let his audiences down yet and so we can count on a fine show when CW returns to North America to begin touring July 12th. They will end at what they have said many times is their favorite venue, Red Rocks outside Denver in Colorado. The tour finale is September 12th.

Then another break until late October when Máiréad and her friends begin the Australia tour. Six stops in five cities. This is the first tour of Oz and so it will be interesting to see how well it does. Most likely quite well. We'll have folks in the field both on the North American and Australian tours so check the forum for the reviews.

Máiréad Nesbitt is an incomparable artist and simply delightful person. You will notice something from her seldom seen in anyone today that holds any celebrity status. That is humility and a genuine care for her audience and supporters. you can hear it or read it in interviews and you can see it in person on stage and off. We wish her safe travels, wonderful performances and audiences each night, and plenty of restful time to recharge those Máiréadium batteries of hers! We'll post again here later in the tour. Until then, keep flashing those fiddler crossing signs, join us at a concert, and keep spreading he pixie dust!

All the best, Máiréad Nesbitt fan forum administration

Another wonderful tour!

Hello everyone!!

Well, another wonderful tour has ended for Máiréad and her friends. it began in mid-February with three shows in Roanoke and the premier of Songs From The Heart. It ended last weekend in Salt Lake City. She now takes a hard earned and much deserved break until they return in mid-July with an opening in Canada. That tour will take them into mid-September and the finale at their favorite venue, Red Rocks, outside Denver. They then have another break until October and their first tour in Australia.

Máiréad has a prominent role in this new show with carry-over solos from the previous show of Coast of Galicia, and Granuaile's Dance. She has a new slow/fast combo of her incomparable Last Rose Fantasia and The Mason's Apron. Along the way she joins in the ensemble pieces like Nil Se'n La, Non C'e Piu, You Raise Me Up, and others.

Máiréad on this tour also experienced many high lights such as performing at Radio city with the PS 22 choir, receiving the Irish Music Award in St. Louis as best fiddler for 2009, and a surprise birthday serenade in St. Petersburg. She posted a blog on the tour and was the only one to do so. In it she thanked her forum for the donations on her behalf to Oxfam Ireland Unwrapped and also thanked her fans for the IMA award. She has always been most kind and supportive and is a class act in every way.

So now we wish her a wonderful and restful break, safe travels for the summer tour, and continued inspiration in music and all of life. Thank you, Máiréad, for the sacrifices you make to share your marvelous gifts with all of us. Thanks also to the membership of the Máiréad Nesbitt fan forum for the consistent support of that place and this truly amazing artist and person. Until next time, all the best!

Máiréad Nesbitt fan forum leadership team

New member of the forum family

Please welcome a new member to our family of forums. Today was the launch of the official Siobhan Owen forum at www.siobhanowenforum.com

Siobhan is a wonderfully gifted, young soprano and harpist from Australia. She is very much in demand in her native country and has won national awards. Her latest Cd, Celestial Echoes, is a marvelous blend of Welsh/Gaelic and English, vocals and harp, traditional and contemporary.

Please also check out Siobhan on Myspace, Facebook, and on her official website for the latest in upcoming shows and information.

Forum(s) administration team and members

A new start in Roanoke

Hello everyone!

Well, the tour is off and running after three great shows in Roanoke! Trust me when I tell you that you will love this new David Downes creation. The set is lovely, the song set marvelous, and the artists all in top form. That includes new addition solo bagpiper, Anthony Byrne.

We had sixteen Máiréad forum folks for what was billed as MáiréadFest II, though our friend could not be there for the meet & greet. Main reason for that was a very special event in the wedding of Scott and Cindy earlier that day. You can find a bit of that on TV and WDBJ channel 7 who covered the proceedings and did an interview. Our thanks to them for being there and responding to the press release. So, Scott being a Chloe fan, and Cindy being a Lisa fan, it only made sense those were the two at the meet & greet that night.

For the event our new administrator, Mike Brown, had wonderful things to spread about. Brand new fiddler crossing signs cut to shape and on durable material were created. Those were handed out to members and also make great promotional tools since they have Máiréad's official site information and forum information on the back of them. Mike also brought a treat for the artists in the form of the now known to be popular Cadbury flakes. You should have seen the frenzy when Lisa, Chloe, and even Rachel saw the box of them. It really was a cute moment. Another special moment were the interactions both ways between Scott and Cindy and Chloe and Lisa. The newlyweds even received a card signed by the five ladies and with a special note by each. Very nice touch.

MáiréadFest was a three day event and we had great seats at the shows each night. Perfect for those wonderful interactions from the stage and back. Máiréad was her usual fiesty self and vigorous in all three shows. She was delightful with all of us and we can't thank her enough. You'll be happy to know that Granuaile's Dance has been retained for the touring show! That is in addition to that fantastic piece, Coast Of Galicia. Both are in the first act. In the second act she has chosen her amazing rendition of Last Rose of Summer to start her slow/fast air combination. She even gets to take a bow for it at last! The fast air is as the DVD shows it to be and that is The Mason's Apron. Máiréad as always plays an important role in other pieces during the show and we know you'll love her contributions.

Please check the tour schedule and attend a show if you can. This is a wonderful new creation that is well worth seeing in person. Not to mention you'll be supporting your favorite Celtic violinist. Have a great tour in 2010 and all the best to you Máiréad and to you her supporters from all of us in the Máiréad forum leadership team.

Máiréad Nesbitt fan forum leadership team and members

Congratulations Máiréad!

On behalf of everyone in the Máiréad forum, we congratulate you, Máiréad, on winning the Irish Music Association Award as best fiddler. The awards were given out in Missouri last night.

All of us who nominated and voted for Máiréad are so very proud of her and please at the results. We thank Mr. Bob Reeder and the entire IMA for selecting Máiréad as this year's winner.

Máiréad Nesbitt fan forum leadership team and members

Happy new year from the Mairead forum!!

Welcome to a new year and a new and energized blog!!

2009 was an amazing year for the forum and for many within it. The first major event was in March at Wilkes-Barre with the first annual MáiréadFest. It began with dinner the night before and a catered forum lunch the next day prior to the show. It was a very special night attended by almost thirty forum members, family, and friends. The most important aspect of the event had been in the works for several months. That was the meeting between forum member Kimberley and her favorite artist Chloe. That did happen right away from the stage with some delightful interactions between the two of them. After the show the request to have Máiréad and Chloe at the meet and greet was granted. The meeting between Chloe and Kim was precious and there were many tears and smiles to go around that room. Máiréad received lots of gifts and attention in this celebration of her. She was most kind and gracious in her speech to all of us but cut it short as the emotion of the night overtook her. Chloe stepped right up and finished in a way only Chloe can do. She really is a fine spokeswoman for the ensemble. It was a wonderful couple of days for many forum folks and will never be forgotten. Photos were taken during the event.

The next important event for the forum came with Máiréad's use of the fiddle bow she was given by the forum for her birthday. She was presented that indirectly through Lisa after the show in Dallas on her birthday. It was an emerald green unique bow called an Incredibow. She had indicated later in a blog she might use it for her finale both nights at Red Rocks which wrapped up the spring tour. It was an incredible surprise and great honor to say the least when she brought it out in the first act the first night. She used it periodically throughout the night and did the same thing the next night. Again, another night of smiles and tears for the forum folks who attended. Some of us had the pleasure of seeing her at the meet & greet after the final show. Both night's shows had been preceded by forum gatherings for lunch and dinner with the latter catered at a room at the venue. We again had between 20-30 forum folks in attendance. Celtic Woman graciously had a photo taken of Máiréad with the bow backstage the first night.


The next event for the forum was represented by over a dozen forum members attending the new DVD recording in Ireland at Powerscourt in County Wicklow, Ireland, at the end of July. Most were there only a couple of days but some of us were there for a week. We fought off heavy rain the first night and an overheated generator the second night. But the show went on to a successful conclusion. It has been aired now in part on PBS pledge drives and the CD and DVD will be available soon. Some forum folks made the cut and can be clearly seen on the videos. We were also able to meet the very nice conduit for Celtic Woman, John Flanagan, at the show. Yes, he is real. Some forum folks were able to meet and have photos taken with David Downes, Chloe's mum Twink, Lisa's mum and dad, Helen, Ray, Darren Holden of The High Kings, and others. Some of us were also blessed with viewing the sound check the second day which was basically the entire first act with the artists in casual attire. Later in the week a few of us were in Killarney in the west of Ireland to attend a show by The High Kings. Some touring around Ireland by some made it a very full week plus. Not a whole lot of sleep in all of that either.

The final forum event of the year came in Albuquerque in November. That was a full day as the artists had two shows that day and a long drive to Tucson to make that night. Máiréad was her usual energetic self save for a fall during the afternoon show. She and friend fiddle were fine and she scampered off stage none the worse for it but it did put a scare into us for a bit. After the night show it had been planned to present Máiréad with the check from her forum to her charity of choice, Oxfam Ireland Unwrapped. Again, with the cooperation of Celtic Woman, that event happened. She was given a large, laminated check in the amount of $2000 that had been gathered for about an eight month period in her forum. She again was most gracious in thanking everyone there and as in Wilkes-Barre, Chloe was the other artist in attendance. As with Wilkes-Barre, photos were taken.

The Máiréad forum has grown very nicely since it began in January of 2008. While it is not a large forum yet it is certainly an energetic one. We like to call that pixie dust. Appropriate since Máiréad plays the sound tracks for the Disney Tinker Bell movies! It exists with the support of Máiréad which has been a great honor and blessing from the start. We cannot thank her enough for her kindness and support in person and in writing. Regardless of where she is or what she is doing in her career her forum will endeavor to promote and support her in as many ways as possible. We endeavor to show the proper respect throughout without censoring the passionate writings of some and without taking away the fun we have in the enchanted forest. We do hope it is a source of pride and pleasure for her.

We are now in 2010 and some changes are coming. But in all those changes the continuity of her forum will be maintained. For many this new year presents a series of challenges in this struggling economy. The forum will be well represented at shows around the country. It is also actively promoting fan sites in various vehicles to continue promoting and supporting Máiréad in all she does. She begins the new year in Switzerland with a performance in Berne with their symphony orchestra. Her brother Karl is there too and is a gifted artist in his own right. We thank all of you in her forum for being there and supporting her with your posts, prayers, time, and dollars for her charity. Be looking there and here for news and about the 2010 charity drive for Oxfam in her name and that of her forum. Blessings to each of you and have a wonderful new year.

Máiréad Nesbitt fan forum leadership team and members