Legacy Vol. 2 (10th Anniversary)

Celtic Thunder’s Legacy Vol. 2 (10th Anniversary) revisits the second half of the Irish vocal ensemble’s 2016 Legacy project, a polished live-style program that joins traditional Celtic material with contemporary pop, soundtrack, and singer-songwriter selections. The 13-song album gives individual singers—particularly Keith Harkin, Emmet O’Hanlon, Damian McGinty, and Ryan Kelly—room to lead, while maintaining the group’s defining blend of theatrical staging, broad orchestral-pop arrangements, and ensemble harmony. It opens with Harkin’s sweeping version of “Now We Are Free,” moves through O’Hanlon’s “Isle of Inisfree,” McGinty’s “Home,” and the ensemble performances of “Song for the Mira” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

The record’s repertoire reflects Celtic Thunder’s crossover appeal: Irish identity and storytelling remain central in “Streets of New York,” “Seven Drunken Nights,” “Take Me Home,” and the Gaelic closer “Hail the Hero (Mo Ghile Mear),” while “Remember Me, Recuérdame,” “Lauren & I,” “Life with You,” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” broaden the musical frame. These contrasts give the album an accessible, celebratory tone—sentimental ballads sit beside pub-ready folk material and larger-than-life anthems. The 10th-anniversary edition preserves Legacy Vol. 2 as a showcase for the group’s multi-singer format: rooted in Irish tradition, but tailored for a contemporary concert audience that values familiar melodies, clear vocals, and a generous sense of occasion.