Anyone that knows me well enough knows that my tastes in music is fairly eclectic. I mean in my CD collection alone there is a bit of rap, a bit of rhythm and blues, country, pop, rock, classical, etc etc etc. I was never one to conform into any one arena, it’s just not me.

So it should come as no surprise that I would have some celtic music in my collection… especially a quintet of Irish men whom called themselves Celtic Thunder. They were brought together upon the successful heels of Celtic Woman and include two very special gems the really cute Damian McGinty and the soulful tenor Paul Byrom.

I have always been a fan of Paul Byrom, and when I heard that he was leaving Celtic Thunder in late 2010, I was disappointed until it was known that he was going to pursue a solo career. For anyone that has known his music in Ireland all know that he preferred a solo career over a career in a “boy band” due to having already been in a “boy band” in his youth and not having a good experience with that group.

So in my email box over the weekend I found out that Paul Byrom is going to kick off his first solo tour through the U.S. in Chicago on Wednesday! Argh, really? Really? As if I wasn’t busy enough, *sighs* we’ll see if I could muster the time to make it, otherwise I would have to content myself with his latest CD.

Hearing about Paul made me wonder what was going on with Celtic Thunder, and it was there that I found out that young Damian McGinty had left the group and will be on the third season of Glee! !_!

To say that I was surprised is a moot point. I never had time to watch tv, let alone keep up with the latest news, so obviously I had to hunt down information about The Glee Project, since it just completed it’s first season, and find out what the heck happened.

Apparently Damian auditioned and became a co-winner earning him a seven-episode arc on the show. Because of the obligations with the show, he was forced to resign from Celtic Thunder. *sighs* I enjoyed watching Glee during its first season and kind of tapered off in the second season. Now with the addition of Damian, I’m finding myself having to watch the show again just to see him and see how he would perform. Go figure.

As for Celtic Thunder? They still have the dangerous Ryan Kelly and the fatherly George Donaldson for me to enjoy, so I am not too worried about that, but still… time flies, apparently.