Derry man Keith Harkin bringing Irish soul and rock'n’roll on tour across the USA

Irish Soul and Rock N' Roll to go on US tour.Irish Soul and Rock N' Roll to go on US tour.
Irish Soul and Rock N' Roll to go on US tour.
Born and raised in Derry, Keith Harkin has set out for an impressive tour from coast to coast in the USA.

Keith, formerly of Celtic Thunder fame, spoke to us about his latest 40 US city tour and what it means to represent Ireland.

The Derry man said: “We’re basically zigzagging our way all across north, south, east, west America. There are 40 gigs, with more being added to the New York segment of the tour.

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“It's not for the faint of heart. I have been touring full-time professionally since I was 21. I’ve been touring for 18 years now, I tour less now, believe it or not. I think it's like anything it takes practice, I've had years and years of being in a van, in a tour bus. You have to hunker down and get it done. Work is work.

“I love singing, I love playing music, but if you want to play music professionally, the kicker is you have to travel, and you have to dedicate a lot of your time to it.

“I still have to walk in every night and smile and give everybody their best night because people are coming out, and there is nothing better than a good gig. I know that feeling, so I want to have as much energy as I can every night, blast everybody from the stage and give them a good time. You got to get on stage and let the adrenaline get you through it.”

After 18 years of touring across the USA, Canada and Australia, Keith spoke on what makes a good gig.

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“It's so funny, you could be playing in the most random town that you have never played in or never even heard of, and you could end up with one of the best gigs of the whole tour because you don't expect much going into it.

Keith Harkin St. Paddies Tour 2025.Keith Harkin St. Paddies Tour 2025.
Keith Harkin St. Paddies Tour 2025.

“It all depends on if the crowd is good. I’ve played in arenas with 7000 people, and it could be a bore of a show, whereas you could play in a room with seven people, and if they are a good time, I’m going to have way more fun with those seven than I am the 7000,” said Keith.

Keith describes his music as ‘Irish soul with rock ‘n’ roll’.

“I grew up in Ireland, listening to Irish music, playing Irish tunes, and I also grew up listening to country music and rock ‘n’ roll. My father was a musician as well, he was a singer and guitarist. So there was always music in our house. I was heavily influenced by those," said Keith.

Keith’s latest album, ‘A proper St. Patrick's Day II,’ is set to release on March 16. Speaking on the album he said: “My idea of a St. Patrick’s day is going down to the 19th Hole or the Drift Inn or the Derby Bar with my dad and my uncles. We just would've played tunes all day, music and singalong songs. So I wanted people to hear what it's like in my mind what St Patrick’s Day tunes and sessions sound like."

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Lastly, Keith shared that he is proud to be representing Ireland internationally.

"I am a very proud Irish man," said Keith.

Keith Harkin’s US tour starts on February 27 in Kansas City and his latest album will be available on March 16.

Tickets are available here: https://www.keithharkin.com/

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