Celtic Woman Tour set for North American return

The Celtic Woman Tour--an ensemble performance trek featuring the talents of five female Irish vocalists--will return to North America in February to kick off a lengthy 2007 tour.

The group--featuring vocalists Chloe Agnew, Lisa Kelly, Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, Orla Fallon, Mairead Nesbitt and recent addition Hayley Westenra--will launch its trek with back-to-back shows in Tampa, FL, starting Feb. 14. The tour will hit over 50 cities on an outing scheduled to run into late May.

Essentially the Celtic music equivalent of the Lilith Fair, the Celtic Woman Tour is the brainchild of Sharon Browne and Dave Kavanagh of Celtic Collections, Ltd., an Ireland-based independent record label. The pair, along with musical director David Downes, conceived the tour "to showcase the talent of great Irish female singers and performers," according to the Celtic Woman website.

The ensemble recently released an album of Christmas songs. "A Christmas Celebration," which hit stores Oct. 3, entered the Billboard World Music chart in the No. 1 position in November, knocking the group's previous, self-titled effort out of the top spot, a position that album had held for 81 weeks.

The collective is set to unveil a new studio album in January with the release of "A New Journey."