Everdream bringing Celtic holiday magic to area

They remember their first visit to Sandpoint.

Then known as Affiniti, Everdream's Emer Barry and Mary McCague had met Howard Crosby, nephew of legendary crooner Bing Crosby, who convinced them they had to perform in Sandpoint as part of their annual A Celtic Christmas tour. 

"I remember the first time we came, we were trying this out," Barry told the Daily Bee of how the tour, now more than 10 years old, made it to the North Idaho community. "We saw this theater and we thought we'd give this theater a go. When we arrived, there was a queue around the corner to come to this show."

Once inside, the pair said they fell in love with the theater and with their Sandpoint fans.

"It's a really, really beautiful theater, and the audiences are so fun; they're really up to the crack," Barry said, adding that while Sandpoint can be a challenge to get to logistically, the crowds make the trip worth it. 

"The audience has just been such a joy," she added. "They just make it worth it, so we make the extra effort every year to come back."

"That's true," McCague said.

Fortunately for North Idaho fans, Everdream is performing at the Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., on Tuesday. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. with the doors opening an hour prior. It's the fourth trip to the community for the band, which was previously known as Affiniti.

The band is also performing at the Midge and Peper Smock Family Theater at the Kroc in Coeur d'Alene on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 11-12.

While Barry and McCague were able to make the tour this year, longtime harpist Teresa O'Donnell was unable to make it. In her place will be harpist Jean Kelly. Kelly, who has been the answer to a question on the British quiz show, Mastermind, is "absolutely fantastic" and has performed for the Queen of England.

The show promises to be a lot of fun, and both McCague and Barry said they are looking forward to performing at the historic Panida Theater due to the warm welcome they get from the community's residents.

Barry and McCague met while performing at a wedding and instantly connected. Then a pianist, McCague mentioned that she also played the violin, and the idea for the band was born with the pair connecting up with a harpist to complete the trio.

It is a love for all genres of music — from Celtic to classical to modern pop and rock music — that helped form the all-female trio of harp, violin and voice to create the foundations of Everdream's musical style, switching seamlessly from toe-tapping jigs to haunting ballads. They had so much fun performing together that they wanted to keep going, prompting the band's formation.

"We would just take different songs and just try to put our own stamp on them, and it took a while just to hone our particular sound," McCague said. "We love to take a more modern song that people might not expect classical or Celtic musicians to perform and just kind of knock it on the head and rework it so that it just sounds completely different."

One of the trio's new favorite songs to give that spin to is "Firework" by Katy Perry, which now has an accompanying instrumental piece written by McCague, giving it a Disney-meets-Celtic-meets-pop-music sound.

"I love it because the lyrics are so uplifting and fun, and it just sounds so different from the original pop sounds," Barry said. "It really sounds like a Disney song performed by a Celtic music group."

For McCague, her favorite song of the current tour is the band's take on "Dreams" by the Irish rock group, The Cranberries. Everdream's take gives the song a relaxing, haunting sound.

In addition to Celtic classics and the band's take on modern hits, the duo said they love performing Irish classics, which garner an added depth of appreciation from American audiences.

"When we perform them in Ireland, I suppose we're so used to hearing them that people don't resonate with them in the same way," McCague said. "But when we come here, we see the effect that it has on people. We were at the Capitol Theater in Yakima (Wash.) and people were in tears when we were playing 'Danny Boy.' It's just really humbling."

An animal lover, Barry said her favorite memory of performing came a few years ago after she noticed a dog in the audience after she went into the crowd as she sang the aria from "Carmen."

"It was the best day ever," Barry said, laughing. "So I sang 'Carmen' to the dog, and the whole audience was like, 'Oh my God and the dog was standing there — it was a beautiful pit bull mix, I think, and he was standing there going, 'Oh my God, I feel like I'm really special. Am I really special?' and I was, 'Yes, you are. You're a special boy.'"

Barry is still Facebook friends with Riley's owner.

For McCague, it is the interactions with the crowd that she loves, meeting audience members and talking to them. She laughs as she relates a story after a performance in Texas when an elderly fan in his 80s proposed to Barry. His wife turned to McCague and said that she should take him. The memory prompts the pair to laugh.

"You just never know what's going to happen," Barry added.

It's that connection that they are able to make with their fans through their music that makes what they do so special. It's a chance to bring Ireland to those who haven't been able to visit or whose families immigrated to the United States generations ago.

A favorite on the corporate entertainment circuit in Ireland, the trio has performed on stage with everyone from Sinead O'Connor to Michael Bublé.

Christmas is a favorite time of year and the group loves being able to share their music with others during the holiday season. While away from home, the pair said they love bringing the Celtic Christmas tour to America each year. They love pairing their music with the beauty and joy of the holiday and sharing both with their fans.

"It's like we get the best of both worlds," Barry said. "We get to perform all of our favorite music and get to see parts of America that we wouldn't get to see otherwise."

Tickets can be purchased on the Panida's website or at the door.

Information: Everdream, everdreamireland.com; Panida Theater, panida.org