Neil Byrne and Ryan Kelly Bring ‘Echoes’ to New York

Neil Byrne and Ryan Kelly returned to the United States in June 2017, bringing their Echoes tour to New York City following recent performances in Australia and Canada.

The Celtic Thunder duo performed at The Sheen Center’s Loreto Theatre at 18 Bleecker Street, where they continued a touring chapter built around their 2016 album Echoes and its accompanying documentary, Echoes: The Story.

The Story Behind Echoes

Released in February 2016, Echoes marked an important step in Byrne and Kelly’s development as a duo. The 10-track album features nine original songs alongside the well-known Irish classic “Step It Out Mary.”

The project began during a remote weekend songwriting retreat in County Cavan, Ireland, where Byrne and Kelly worked with fellow musicians Nicole Hudson and Peter Sheridan. A little over a year later, those sessions had developed into an album shaped by Irish culture and the experiences the pair had gained from years of performing around the world.

The album quickly attracted attention on international music charts. Echoes reached No. 1 on the iTunes World Music chart and also placed in the Billboard Top 5 World Albums chart. It reached No. 1 on Amazon’s Traditional Folk and Traditional British & Folk charts, while also appearing among Amazon’s Top 100 Albums and reaching No. 1 on Google Play’s Top World Albums chart.

The story behind the album was later expanded into Echoes: The Story, a documentary that follows Byrne and Kelly to locations around Ireland that inspired some of the music. The film also features interviews in which the two musicians discuss the songwriting process, their influences and their journeys as performers.

A Sound Built on Irish Tradition and Americana

At the heart of Byrne and Kelly’s music are their vocal harmonies and a blend of traditional Irish music with Americana. The combination gives their work a contemporary Celtic folk character while keeping its connection to their Irish roots.

Both men are principal singers with Celtic Thunder and have performed with the group since its beginnings in 2008. Their work together as Byrne and Kelly, however, grew out of a series of shows called Acoustic By Candlelight, which they began performing in 2012.

Ryan Kelly comes from Moy in County Tyrone, while Neil Byrne is from Bray in County Wicklow. Both had already spent years writing, recording and performing with different groups and productions before establishing their partnership.

Their work with Celtic Thunder also gave them extensive experience performing internationally, including tours across North America and Australia.

From ‘Acoustically Irish’ to ‘Echoes’

Before Echoes, Byrne and Kelly released their debut album, Acoustically Irish, in October 2013.

The record proved to be a major success. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard World Albums chart and topped the iTunes World Album charts in the United States, Canada and Australia. It also reached No. 1 on Amazon’s U.S. World Album and Celtic Album charts, as well as the CD Baby Global Chart.

Their work was also recognized by the Irish Music Association of America, which awarded the pair “Best Duo” in a Concert, Pub or Festival and “Best New Album” for Acoustically Irish in 2013.

The success of that first album established the foundation for the more personal and original material that followed with Echoes.

Taking Echoes on the Road

By the time Byrne and Kelly arrived at The Sheen Center in 2017, the duo had already taken their music to audiences across several countries.

The New York performance was part of their continued U.S. touring following shows in Australia and Canada. The concerts gave audiences an opportunity not only to hear the songs from Echoes performed live, but also to experience the musical partnership that had developed between two longtime Celtic Thunder performers.

That combination of close vocal harmonies, Irish musical traditions and contemporary influences remains central to the Byrne and Kelly sound — a style that has carried their music from intimate acoustic performances to stages around the world.