Cherish the Ladies. Courtesy photo

“It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn’t enjoy what they do,” says the Boston Globe speaking of Cherish the Ladies, the Grammy-nominated Irish-American group that formed in New York City in 1985 to celebrate the rise of extraordinary women in what had been a male-dominated Irish music scene.

Since their first sold-out concert, they have burst onto the Irish music circuit performing thousands of concerts around the globe and are now among the busiest and most admired Irish groups on the planet. The group has toured the finest venues around the world including the White House and the Olympics and along the way have recorded 17 critically acclaimed albums. On Thursday, July 28, this Celtic group arrives in Boothbay Harbor to play the Opera House.

Under the leadership of front woman and raconteur, All-Ireland flute and whistle champion Joanie Madden, the groups show is a blend of the old and the new. Irish songs, lively jigs and reels and heart-wrenching slow airs transport the listener on an enchanted musical journey. Cherish the Ladies make centuries-old music their own with music that has been passed down from generation to generation enhancing it with tasteful new arrangements and talented renditions.

Catchy newly composed melodies, almost certain to become traditional staples in their own right, are interspersed throughout the show. Each song has been carefully selected and showcases the musicality and versatility of this outstanding ensemble that includes Joanie Madden (flute, whistles, harmony vocals), Mary Coogan (guitar) Mirella Murray (accordion), Kathleen Boyle (piano, harmony vocals) and Nollaig Casey (fiddle). The concert will also include world champion Irish step dancers. Joanie Madden has been named one of the Top 25 most influential Irish Americans of the past quarter century.

The New York Times calls their music “passionate, tender, and rambunctious,” and the Washington Post praises their “astonishing array of virtuosity.” They’ve won recognition as the BBC’s Best Musical Group of the Year and named Top North American Celtic Group by both America’s National Public Radio and the Irish Music Awards, not to mention having a street named after them in the Bronx!

Cherish the Ladies have shared the stage with such legendary musicians as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, The Chieftains, Vince Gill, Nanci Griffith, Pete Seeger, Don Henley, Arlo Guthrie, Maura O’Connell, Mary Black and even collaborated on the The Boston Pops Symphony orchestras recording, “The Celtic Album” which was nominated for a Grammy. They’re in constant demand in the symphony world and have become the most popular Celtic Pops act in history with over 300 performances as the featured soloists with symphony orchestras.

Cherish the Ladies level of artistic, historic, and purely enticing entertainment is unlike any in its genre, and the evening is made possible thanks to generous sponsorship from First Federal Savings and Loan. Advance discounted tickets are $30 and available directly from the box office at 86 Townsend Ave, Boothbay Harbor or by calling (207) 633-5159. The box office is open Wednesday-Friday from 10-2. Regular tickets are $35 and available online at boothbayoperahouse.com. Doors for seating open at 7, the music begins at 7:30 pm.