All Photos: Alan Mercer
Over the past few years, Emmet Cahill’s life has been transformed from a young man pursuing a career in classical music to being plunged into the world of touring across cities and performing to thousands of fans with world renowned Irish music show Celtic Thunder. After five years of phenomenal success, including three albums shooting to number 1 on the world billboard charts, Emmet is now carving out his own unique identity as a solo artist, with an eagerly anticipated debut solo album due to be released in February 2017.
Growing up in a musical household, pursuing a career in music was always a natural path for Emmet to take. From the tender age of four, his father began to provide music lessons, leading to a 5 year ‘Schola Cantorum’ music scholarship at his local secondary school. After attending formal classical training at the prestigious Royal Irish Academy of Music, Emmet soon found himself touring the world, from the United States, to Canada, to Australia as a lead singer with the Irish music group, and relishing every moment of it.
Emmet’s talents have been recognized both home and abroad. He has enjoyed success as a multiple prize winner in various competitions across Ireland, the RIAM ‘Promising young singer of 2010’, the ‘John McCormack Young Tenor Award’, as well as being voted ‘Tenor of the year’ in 2013 by The Irish Music Association in the United States in recognition of his performances on stage. He also performed in stage productions at The National Concert Hall as well as The Gaeity Theatre, Dublin.
With the release of his debut album next year, the next few months will be an exciting creative process for Emmet. During his time with Celtic Thunder, he has been immersed in a variety of distinct musical genres, awakening his passion for Irish music as well as other styles.
As he continues to challenge himself and test the boundaries of his musical character, many wait in eager anticipation of what 2017 will bring for this young solo artist.
AM: Emmet, have you started recording your new album yet?
EC: We start as soon as I get home to Ireland. I’ll record the vocals and piano along with the band first. We’ll be recording the orchestra later in the summer.
AM: When will you release it?
EC: The plan is to release it in February 2017. I’ll do a spring tour in conjunction with that. This is my first large scale album. I’m very excited about it. I’ve been working towards this for five years now.
AM: That is a long time. Why has it taken so long to get your album out?
EC: I think one reason is that I want to do it right. I wanted to be sure I was in the right head space to do it and obviously picking the right songs.
AM: What are the right songs?
EC: The songs I’ve picked have been reflective of my life experiences over the last year and a half and touring on my own. I’ve been meeting people all the time and really seeing the great connection the American people have with Irish music and culture. Also I’ve been hearing lots of human stories and that’s what this album is all about.
AM: What are your goals with this music?
EC: We are trying to achieve bringing people back to an older time. Maybe bring back some happy memories from when they were kids. I think people are seeking this at the moment by the way the world is right now. They want to go back to more traditional ways. The songs on my album will do that as well as telling stories. We’re hoping it will be a nice mixture of those things.
AM: Can you tell me if the album is going to be Irish folk songs?
EC: I can tell you it’s no secret that what I feel I am strongest at is the old classical Irish songs. I’ll be recording ‘Danny Boy’ of course. There’s a song called ‘My Cavan Girl’ which is a song my dad taught me. This will be about my own personal experience growing up in Ireland. I want to bring that story to the American public so I can hear their reaction. So it will be a culmination of growing up in Ireland and spending the last few years here in America.
AM: Speaking of ‘Danny Boy,’ can you believe you have made that song yours?
EC: Well, it’s one of those songs that has been sung so many times and by so many different artists and it’s such a beautiful song, it’s open to people making it their own. It’s very kind of you to say, I’d like to think I do bring my own personality to it. Certainly I bring my own emotion to it. It’s hard to get through it without breaking down. It’s a very emotional song for me and when I sing it I see the audience reaction.
AM: Your rendition stops people in their tracks.
EC: Everyone has their own special connection to that song. It’s an eternally beautiful song. Even if you’ve never been to Ireland people have a connection to ‘Danny Boy.’ This is an example of what we’re trying to do with the album. We are trying to speak to people and bring out their emotions. It’s not an album with a list of songs. There will be a lot more depth to it.
AM: What do you want people to take away with them after seeing you sing live?
EC: I want people to come to my show and walk away feeling they have really had an experience. I want them to feel an experience because I feel a connection to it. I want people to come to a show and laugh and cry. I want people to achieve both things. I think if you can experience both those emotions then you have really been touched by the music.
AM: Don’t you think you were born to be a singer?
EC: It’s something I’ve always done. I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t the focal point of my life. My dad was a musician and a music teacher and my mother was a singer so it was always in the house and it was always going to be that way. Music was always going to be a part of my life. Now I didn’t think it was going to be as essential to my life as it is.
AM: What has touring with Celtic Thunder and on your own been like?
EC: It’s been a roller coaster ride the last five years coming to America touring, particularly the last eighteen months. It’s given me a real indication of what I want to do with my life. I do want to tell stories and bring these songs to people.
AM: You seem to have a very close and special relationship with your fans. Why do you think that is?
EC: First off, they are hugely supportive. I think a lot of them see me as part of their family which is lovely to hear. I’ve gotten to know so many of the fans very well. I know the majority on a first name basis. I think it’s reflective of the music I’m performing. The people are really connected to it. It’s much more personal than just being a fan.
AM: What is your favorite part of interacting fans?
EC: The one thing I enjoy most of all is meeting people and hearing their human experiences and stories. Those are the things that I can hopefully capture when I go out on stage. I love talking to people after shows. The fans aren’t hesitant about telling me their stories and why they’re connected to a certain song. They give me an insight into their life. That’s what I’m interested in. I’m interested in human stories. When I come to America, it’s such a vast continent you meet so many types of people from different backgrounds. That’s what makes it all so interesting and so enjoyable.
To learn more about Emmet Cahill visit his web site http://www.emmetcahill.com/