NATHAN CARTER:
CELTIC COUNTRY STAR
One of Ireland’s favorite country stars today is Nathan Carter, born in Liverpool to parents from Newry, Northern Ireland. He began playing the accordion at age four and at age 10, won the All-Ireland championship for Traditional Singing, and is also an accomplished guitarist and pianist. His albums and live performances have won numerous awards. On May 28, 2019, Nathan performs at the Wilbur Theatre in downtown Boston, and he is joined by special guest Chloë Agnew. We caught up with Nathan to ask him about his music and the upcoming show.
Nathan, you've performed in Boston a few times before. What is your impression of Boston and the music audience here?
I am really looking forward to returning to Boston as the audiences were simply fantastic when we played there last November. It was great to meet a lot of people from back home in Ireland also. We had a great time and I can't wait to do it all again!
Your fans appreciate your ability to cross musical genres and embrace country, pop, Irish traditional and American folk. How do you like to define your musical identity?
My own particular style of music has evolved over the years and I guess you could call it "Celtic Country" – it embraces all of the above genres and I feel that it's important to cut your own groove in your musical career.
In addition to your many Celtic influences, what American musicians have influenced you?
I've always been a huge fan of traditional country music and when I was a very young child my gran and granddad were always playing Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, George Jones and Merle Haggard, and in more recent times, I was hugely influenced by Garth Brooks. I also love the bluegrass music by Ricky Skaggs and I'm a huge fan of Vince Gill and Brad Paisley also.
You also have traditional musical chops, having played with the Liverpool Céilí Band and competed in the Fleadh Cheoil. Do you incorporate traditional music into your show?
Yes, our live show has a good mix of Irish traditional music throughout the evening. We are lucky to have a multi-talented band who are also fantastic Irish traditional players and we tend to play a lot of homegrown Irish traditional songs and tunes throughout the show.
Thank you, Nathan