By Mary O’KEEFE and Charly SHELTON

Irish music and church have gone hand-in-hand for centuries. The sound of an Irish tenor’s voice resonating off the acoustics of a church chapel has been equated to heaven itself. So what better way to enjoy the voice of Irish tenor Emmet Cahill than in Pasadena’s Presbyterian Church? 

Cahill tours both as a solo artist and with the Irish music group, Celtic Thunder. As a soloist, he has performed in Dublin at the Gaiety Theatre, the National Concert Hall and Croke Park and regularly at the Mullingar Cathedral. With Celtic Thunder, he has toured internationally; the show airs on PBS. 

“Going to a church is a great way to know the people of the community,” Cahill said in an interview with CV Weekly. “I grew up singing church music, that’s kind of where I started, and we have a choir with us that we worked with last year and they’re back this year.”

But just because the show takes place in a church doesn’t mean it’s all “Ave Maria” all of the time.

“I’ll be singing a lot of Irish songs, a lot of stuff people would know, some traditional old Irish songs like ‘Danny Boy’ and ‘When Irish Eyes are Smiling.’ Popular songs that are passed through generations of families all over America,” Cahill said. “They kind of resonate a lot with people whether they have Irish roots or not. In many ways, they signify tradition to people. It’s great when the songs are so well received.”

All of the songs, whether classic Irish ballads or showtunes or any of the other songs included in the program, are tied together with a distinctly Irish theme – storytelling.

“It’s a varied show, but it kind of has a recurring theme through it. The songs all tell stories about people and, of course, the Irish travelled all over the world. They brought their stories with them so in many ways I’m trying to keep that going, keep the tradition alive,” Cahill said.

He will begin his 2018 U.S. tour in Colorado and travel to the West Coast. He will be performing in about 45 shows around the country between now and June, when he rejoins Celtic Thunder for the second half of the year. 

Cahill is 27 years old, from Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland and is considered to be one of Ireland’s most exciting young performers. His debut orchestral album, “Emmet Cahill’s Ireland” was released last year and went to No. 1 on the Amazon, iTunes and Billboard world music charts. He opened the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York with his performance of “Danny Boy.” And he is slated to perform at Carnegie Hall next month. He received his formal classical training in opera at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. 

Cahill’s solo performance is at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for the performance alone, or $45 for the show and a meet-and-greet beforehand. Tickets can be purchased at https://emmetcahilltours.ticketleap.com, or for information, call the Presbyterian Church at (626) 793-2191.