This Celtic Woman has a thing for violin and harp, Taylor Swift and boy bands

Man, is Celtic Woman on a roll, or what?

In August, fiddler Tara McNeill joined Máiréad Carlin, Susan McFadden and Éabha McMahon as the newest member of the Ireland-based folk/Celtic/new age musical quartet; they recorded “Voices of Angels” almost as soon as McNeill came aboard, then released it in November; they made a trip to L.A. last month for the Grammy Awards, as best world music album nominees for “Destiny” – an album that also was released stateside in 2016; and now they have a new tour that comes to Charlotte’s Belk Theater on Sunday afternoon.

We recently got on the phone with McNeill intending to have a serious Celtic Woman discussion, but wound up chatting mostly about frivolous stuff including her brushes with Josh Groban and Bono, her infatuation with Taylor Swift and Irish boy bands, and why she really needs to see (an edited version of) “Braveheart.”

Q. I know you’re a fiddler first, but you also play the harp, and I’m told it’s been seven years since Celtic Woman has had a harp player. In this show, what’s the best showcase of your talents with that instrument?

Well, I play it in “Danny Boy,” which is a special song to us because it’s like Ireland’s second anthem. The harp part is beautiful; it was written by (musical director) Gavin Murphy. ... I’ve been getting comments on social media from people happy that the harp’s back in.

Q. And then what are your big moments on the violin?

There’s a song called “Across the World” – that’s a real fun solo, and that’s definitely from Ireland. I move around the stage a bit in that, and it gets the audience clapping along, which I enjoy. And then another one of my solos is “For the Love of a Princess” from “Braveheart,” which is slower and has Scottish heritage.

Q. I assume you’ve seen the movie?

I haven’t, no. I need to! But I’ve heard it’s very violent, so I don’t know...

Q. I mean, you could fast-forward through those parts and just watch the love story.

(Laughing.) OK, OK – I’ll do that.

Q. The new album also has songs from movies like “Romeo and Juliet” (“A Time for Us”) and “Titanic” (“My Heart Will Go On”). Please tell me you’ve seen “Titanic.”

I have, yes. (Laughing.) ... Actually, “My Heart Will Go On” is the second song in our set. It’s a heartbreaking song, in a way, so we try to keep the introduction to it light, because we know that just hearing the music – hearing a piano and those lyrics – are going to make people emotional. It’s definitely one that gets the tear ducts flowing.

Q. Also, I saw on your website that you’ve collaborated with Bono and Josh Groban before. Details?

Well, it was “The Late Late Show” (Ireland’s longest-running chat show) that Josh Groban was performing on. I was in the string quartet playing along with him. At the time – it might have been seven or eight years ago – I didn’t know who he was, but then after that, I became a big fan of his. So I’m always kicking myself because I could have talked to Josh Groban, or I could have, you know, become best friends with Josh Groban. (Laughing.) ... Then the Bono thing, it was an Amnesty International charity concert in Dublin, maybe five years ago. He was performing, and I was in this string section performing along with him. And I actually did get chatting to Bono a bit, but it was backstage and it was so noisy. I kept asking him to repeat things; I couldn’t hear what he was saying at all.

Q. I also understand that you have a thing for Taylor Swift?

Yes! I’m a mad fan.

Q. Alright, give me your top three all-time favorite Taylor Swift songs.

OK, definitely, number one has to be “Shake It Off.” Number two... “I Knew You Were Trouble.” And then, I’ll go for a slower one: “Love Story.”

Q. Who were your pop idols when you were a girl?

I went through a lot of phases. There was an Irish pop group – a boy band – called Westlife. I really liked them. And then there’s Busted and McFly. These are really cheesy boy bands that I liked.

Q. Did you have posters of them in your bedroom?

Oh my goodness, yes. But I was only allowed to put them on the wooden doors; I couldn’t put them on the paint because that would chip off paint.

Q. So did you dream of being a pop star back then?

Oh, yeah. My family wanted me to go onto “X Factor.” And I just knew no matter what realm it was in, I wanted to be up on stage. ... But being in this Celtic world, and with Celtic Woman, this is where I’m meant to be. I know this is where I’m meant to be.

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day: Here’s Celtic Woman’s new version of the Irish classic “Danny Boy,” recorded at Capitol Records’ Studio A in Los Angeles with one mic and in one take:

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 10:50 AM with the headline "This Celtic Woman has a thing for violin and harp, Taylor Swift and boy bands."