On the road with emmet cahill

I like to think of Emmet Cahill as the Irish version of an up and coming Michael Bublé, albeit of the classical and musical theatre world.

Despite being on the first rung of the solo career ladder, the 24-year-old has a huge following State-side (22,000 followers on Twitter, 25k likes on Facebook), having first tasted international fame with Celtic Thunder.

Back and fourth to the US four times this year alone, Emmet is launching his first solo album, Road Trip, in Mullingar Arts Centre on September 12.

He will have special guest, Rebecca Winckworth, granddaughter of the late Dr Winckworth, and member of Ragús, Anúna and Celtic Nights, performing with him on the night.

“I’m excited for people to hear my new album Road Trip. It’s a collection of my favourite songs. Some they would have heard me do before, music theatre songs, but there’s a few surprises in there as well.”

Road Trip is based on his first solo tour of the States which was in May. And for Emmet, it was a different experience to that of touring with Celtic Thunder.

“Touring as my own entity as opposed to Celtic Thunder, the big show where everything is sort of done for you... I absolutely loved it. You go out every night and it’s your show and you have to entertain for nearly two hours.

"It’s tough going and the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” says Emmet, who discovered a lot about himself on the trip.

Fans

Emmet finished the show in New York and a lot of friends made the trip over to see him. But then Emmet also has a lot of fans, diehard fans it seems, who will travel anywhere to see him.

“When you’re out on the road it’s nice to see familiar faces from home. Then I had a lot of Canadian fans come over the border to see me in Buffalo. That was really nice, when you see people make the effort. I think people drove six or seven hours to see the show, which is crazy. I think if you did that in Ireland it’s from top to bottom.

“In America they have a great attitude, if they really want to see you and support you, they’ll do it.

“A lot of people go on my Facebook music page and they’ll see all the comments (from the fans) and it seems crazy from the surface, but to me it’s become normality.

“But I can see why people think it’s absolutely crazy. For example, the show in Mullingar, there’s a lady who rearranged her whole trip from Australia to come see it. And likewise, there’s people coming from the west coast of America.

“It’s so funny because they’ve all see me sing in America and Australia but they all want to see me sing in my home town. It’s like this exclusive thing. They want to experience what I’m like in front of my friends and people from my own town.

“So, I mean, it’s obviously something to be said about Mullingar Arts Centre. It’s made a good impression on people because some people have been back twice to see me. People are obviously keen to see me so hopefully it’s helping put Mullingar on the map.

Road Trip

Emmet nas returned this week to America, which he now sees as his second home.

“I’m covering Atlanta, Florida, Texas, and then fly to the west Coast, LA, Portland, Seattle, before flying to Ohio to do an Irish music festival.

“It’s such a massive scene out there. The Irish scene. It’s crazy to us because we’re such a small country, but it spreads so far. And at these festivals, everyone just wants to be Irish. They tell you about their family that have some sort of connection going way back.

“It’s funny because I was sitting beside an English lady on the plane going over the last time and she asked me 'What is the thing about Irish in America?’, and she said no other nation in the world would get that sort of coverage in somewhere like America. It’s unique and it’s great for us.”

While Emmet loves coming home, he always has one foot in the US. He is currently working a 1916 collaboration, which will be aired in the US later in the year, and is working on an album for a US spring launch. 

“A move to the States is definitely on the books. I’m getting different offers for over there, and when they say they need you tomorrow, it doesn’t work when you’re back here.”

• Emmet will be blogging on his US adventures, so watch this space.
• Emmet Cahill comes to Mullingar Arts Centre on Saturday September 12. Tickets sold out fast last time so make sure to get in ahead of the crowd.
Priced at €22.50/20, tickets are available from 044 9347777 or mullingarartscentre.com.