If you’ve got a soft spot for Irish music, you’ll love Celtic Thunder.
The concept behind Celtic Thunder is pretty unique – the band features a group of men from Ireland and Scotland, ranging from 21 to 42, singing songs that celebrate a common Celtic heritage.
The band’s members have changed over the years, but they’ve stayed true to their traditional folk style – think violins, acoustic guitars and harmonies that’ll make the hairs stand up on your arms.
Each member has his own incredible voice for solos, but it’s the group performances that are the most beautiful.
You could easily lose yourself down a YouTube rabbit hole listening to these talented singers. But if you’re going to start anywhere, make it Celtic Thunder’s performance of “The Sound of Silence”.
Originally produced by music duo Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” is often considered a relatively depressing song. There are many theories about the meaning behind the lyrics, with some suggesting religion, technology and even politics may be involved.
Nearly 60 years later, we’re all still familiar with the tune, so there’s no denying its musical success.
In Celtic Thunder’s take on the song, performed during one of their tours, there’s nothing depressing about the lyrics. Instead, the band simply makes the song sound beautiful.
Colm Keegan and Keith Harkin joined together to duet for the performance – and it’s like a match made in heaven.
Colm sings with a quiet intensity, while Keith puts more passion and energy into his singing.
They each take on a different tone, with Keith singing several octaves higher than Colm.
While they stick to the lyrics we all know so well, there’s something surprisingly uplifting about the acoustic guitar-playing – and it definitely helps that both men are smiling throughout.
A song of despair becomes a song of hope, leaving the audience listening with rapt attention.
Neither Colm or Keith are members of Celtic Thunder anymore, but thanks to this performance especially, their legacy lives on.
The video has more than 12 million views, making it one of the most popular Celtic Thunder videos of all time.
Many people in the comments praised the two men for their beautiful take on the song.
One person wrote:
“Wow, Just wow. I was honestly worried about hearing a cover of this thinking It might be an insult to the original but this is so good”
Someone else commented:
“I have often heard this song in a cover, but never so beautiful (it’s even better than the original) Wow, I’m a fan. compliments for the good looking gentlemens.”
Colm and Keith are definitely a favorite amongst their YouTube audience – and let’s just say that it’s only partly because of their perfect singing voices.
There are many comments about Colm’s “beautiful blue eyes”, which, to be fair, are definitely a talking point.
Quite a few of Celtic Thunder’s videos have gone viral, but the “Sound of Silence” performance is definitely one of our favorites.
Even long-time fans of the band agree that it’s one of the best harmonies produced by the talented men to this date.
Luckily, thanks to today’s technology, we can watch live performances like this as many times as we want. Which, in this case, is a lot.
Click “play” to watch the video in full just below – and prepare to find your new obsession…
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