Irish Star Michael Londra Begins Big Year In Hershey, Pa

Emmy nominated Irish singer-songwriter and producer Michael Londra will return to center stage as a singer in 2019 with a plan to tape a new special for public television and to do extensive touring beginning in Hershey, PA, at the Hershey Theater on March 15. "This is the year I go back to performing again," he said.

As producer and founder of VenuWorks Theatricals, he has spent two years producing the highly acclaimed Eoin Colfer musical NÖEL and seeing it through its debut national tour in 2018. "I love producing - taking a project, working with a team, and then seeing that project come to life on the stage - but it's time now for me to get back to doing what I do best."

Londra, one of the most recognized and recognizable voices in Irish music, was the Voice of Riverdance on Broadway. He produced and starred in his own PBS concert special, "Beyond Celtic," which received two Emmy nominations. His recording of "Danny Boy" was described by The Irish Emigrant in New York as "one of the best recordings of Danny Boy in history."

In 2013, the Wexford native was asked by the Irish government to perform with singing legend Judy Collins to celebrate the JFK50 events in his home county, Wexford, and to honor the President at his graveside in Arlington, Virginia with the Kennedy family.

His love of producing, however, has taken him off the stage and put him behind the scenes on some labor intensive projects. "We've been very successful with our production work. We brought together the very best team possible to create NÖEL, and it was amazing to see the public response to it when it toured nationally in 25 cities, last year. We have optioned several new theatrical pieces and it is hugely fulfilling to take a piece from paper to the stage . I love every minute of that whole creative process, but it wasn't possible to focus on my own singing while all of that was going on," he said.

With plans already in the works for another international tour of NÖEL this year, Londra will launch more tour dates of his own in Pennsylvania, and dates in New Mexico, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, and Michigan will be announced soon.

The highlight of 2019 will be the filming of Londra's second PBS concert special at the National

Opera House of Ireland. This will be his first concert in Wexford in several years, and he'll be working with Liam Bates, who wrote the music for NÖEL. The songs, he said, both original and covers of other artists, "will raise the spirit and Raise the Roof."

"I can't even begin to describe how excited I am for this show. I'm in such a good place in my life right now that I can relax a bit more and really enjoy this whole experience, and being able to record the show at home in Wexford with my family and friends there is really special to me. I have some major guest artists and it promises to be a special night. I'll even have the group from my "Ireland with Michael" bus tour with me," he said. "2019 is going to be a very exciting year. I can't wait to get back out there."

Tickets can be purchased from Michael's website at www,michaellondra,com.