Cooney headlines Magic of Christmas show at Carnegie Hall

Andy Cooney has been christened by The New York Times as “Irish America’s Favorite Son.” Now, for the second year in a row he will headline The Magic of Christmas at Carnegie Hall on December 8.

Cooney has been singing Irish songs all his life and has been wowing audiences since he was a teenager when he began singing at many famous Irish establishments in the New York area. He started touring at age 19 with the legendary Paddy Noonan and gained national exposure for his talent. Since then he has been performing on the road year round, recorded 20 albums and has played and recorded with the finest musicians and singers on the Irish and Country music scenes including Phil Coulter, Joannie Madden, Seamus Egan, Eileen Ivers, Crystal Gayle, Larry Gatlin, Ronan Tynan, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers and Charlie Daniels.

Cooney's newest offering, a Christmas CD called The Magic of Christmas, was recorded with Ireland’s National Concert Orchestra. The show at Carnegie Hall will feature many of the traditional and popular songs from this album including Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Sleigh Ride, Oh Holy Night, and many more.

At the event, Cooney will be joined by a special guest, Grammy Award winning singer, Crystal Gayle. Famous for her signature song Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Ms. Gayle has decades of hits behind her and has won many awards for her music including the Country Music Awards, The Grammies and The American Music Awards. Cooney and Gayle will perform a duet You Were Never Too Far From My Mind, from Andy’s previous album, It’ll Be Me.

Also joining Cooney on stage will be another Grammy Award winning musician and fiddle player extraordinaire, Eileen Ivers. Having garnered 9 All Ireland Fiddle Championships and performed as the original fiddle player in Riverdance, Ivers has gone on to a very successful career both as a solo artist and with her group Immigrant Soul. She has been called the “Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by the New York Times, bridging the gap between her Celtic roots and the ethnic beats of Latin, Jazz and African music.

Cooney's 13-year-old son Ryan, who made his singing debut at Carnegie Hall last Christmas and brought the house down with his rendition of the Little Drummer Boy, returns for an encore performance. The orchestra is conducted by Gearoid Grant who has been the conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland since it was formed in 1980.

The choir includes the Festival Youth Chorus, directed by Eily O’Grady Patterson, and is comprised of children who hail from the New York area. In addition, the Fordham University Choir, directed by Robert Minotti, will lend their voices. Angela Kelly Molloy is the host. The Magic of Christmas will take place at the world renowned Carnegie Hall on December 8, at 8 p.m. For Tickets call 212 247-7800 or visit www.carnegiehall.org