By Spotlight Central, Photos by Love Imagery
originally published: 03/09/2026
Folks on the hunt for a great night of Irish music make their way to Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts this Friday, February 27, 2026 evening for a concert by the Grammy-nominated Irish music ensemble, Cherish the Ladies.
Inside the Grunin Center auditorium, executive director Heidi Sheridan welcomes the crowd and introduces Cherish the Ladies. Guitarist Mary Coogan, accordionist Mirella Murray, pianist Hannah Collins, and violinist Nollaig Casey take the stage along with leader Joanie Madden, who exclaims, “We’re delighted to be here!” as she and the group launch into the jaunty Irish tune, “Paddy Mills.”
Music lovers clap along to the tune’s sprightly melody as dancers Tyler Schwartz and Joe Harrison make their entrance and dance with ease and style, impressing with their fancy footwork.
Audience members applaud and Madden responds, “Thank you very much, Toms River!” before welcoming singer Kate Purcell to the stage. Accompanying herself on guitar, Purcell’s soprano voice calls out, “When the fog down from the mountain hits the wave across the glen,” on “Glenties,” an Irish ballad about a picturesque town in County Donegal, Ireland.
Madden explains that Cherish the Ladies is currently celebrating 41 years together prior to introducing her stagemates including newest member, Hannah Collins, who renders a piano solo on the rhythmic “Paddy Fahey’s Reel.”
The audience claps along as the rest of the ensemble joins in and picks up the tempo. Then, Madden plays penny whistle on the Irish jig, “Planxty Baptist Johnson,” before she and the group segue into the 6/8-metered jig, “March of Oscar and Malvina.”
Joe Harrison dances to “The Hunt” where he rapidly steps to Madden’s solo flute playing. Happily performing energetic leaps and heel clicks while traveling about the stage, Harrison gets Madden laughing to the point where she can no longer play the flute.
Kate Purcell gives a smooth rendition of Anne Murray’s “Snowbird” where audience members sing along on the 1970 hit’s well-known “Spread your tiny wings and fly away” refrain.
The ensemble continues with a song Madden wrote in honor of her musician father entitled “To See Once More.” Starting off as a lovely lilting tune with just violin and piano, whistle, guitar, and accordion join in before the rhythm shifts to double time and music lovers clap while Schwartz and Harrison step to the joyful noise.
Madden tells a humorous story about losing her camera in New Zealand before performing “The Hills of New Zealand,” an original composition which was used in a “Visit New Zealand” commercial. Deftly accompanied by the ensemble, Madden plays trills and runs on the tin whistle on this wistful lullaby.
Mary Coogan’s guitar fingerpicking is featured on the lyrical “Road Dust” before Kate Purcell croons, “Remembering her golden hair/The autumn leaves were rolling in the air/We walked beside the silver stream/I held her gentle hand,” on the Irish folk story song, “The Autumn Winds.”
The audience applauds and Madden and Co. conclude Act I of tonight’s show with a song Madden wrote as a teenager. After Madden starts off on tin whistle, Mary Coogan accompanies on guitar as Nollaig Casey fiddles and Mirella Murray is featured on accordion on the uptempo jig, “The Cat’s Meow.”
Following a short intermission, the ensemble returns to perform the Irish reel, “The Old Maids of Galway,” where feet stomp as the band gallops along and a fast and flittering Joanie Madden whistle solo brings cheers from the audience.
Tyler Schwartz returns for an unaccompanied solo where he dances slowly and then more quickly, creating a symphony of stomping taps before Joe Harrison joins him and they alternate between soloing and dancing together, eliciting hoots and hollers from the crowd.
Mirella Murray’s accordion is spotlighted on “The Diamond,” a waltz about finding a diamond ring buried in a coffee can. Then, Joanie Madden and Nollaig Casey are featured on flute and violin on “The Cappataggle Waltz.”
Kate Purcell returns to perform “Ambletown,” a rhythmic sea shanty from the 1800s which has concertgoers clapping along. Madden’s flute starts off “Hornpipe,” a jig which features Schwartz and Harrison soloing, first, to the ensemble and, next, a cappella to enthusiastic audience applause.
A highlight of the evening’s performance is Kate Purcell’s interpretation of “Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears,” a song about the first person to come through Ellis Island — a 15-year-old Irish teenager. Purcell accompanies herself on guitar as she earnestly sings, “Isle of hope, isle of tears/Isle of freedom, isle of fears/But it’s not the isle you left behind,” on this poignant ballad.
After Madden asks, “Did you have a good time tonight?” she and the ensemble conclude tonight’s presentation with “Boat to Bofin,” where audience members happily clap along as Schwartz and Harrison impress with their fancy footwork on this sprightly Joanie Madden jig.
The crowd responds with an enthusiastic standing ovation, after which the performers take a group bow and Madden exclaims, “Thank you so much! We hope you had a good time!”
As concertgoers make their way out of the Grunin Center auditorium, several share their thoughts on tonight’s program by Cherish the Ladies. Remarks Maureen from Toms River, “I enjoyed it very much! I thought it was very entertaining — I loved the music and the dancing was an extra treat I hadn’t expected.”
Joan from Toms River declares, “I loved Cherish the Ladies! I’ve been following them since the early ‘90s, and they sounded as great as ever — the singing was wonderful and the dancers were fabulous, too.” Judith from Island Heights agrees, adding, “I enjoyed the show — I loved the energy — and I was extremely impressed with Joanie Madden’s playing and storytelling.”
Nancy from Manasquan acknowledges, “I’ve seen Cherish the Ladies several times and they were better than ever tonight — they’re amazing!” Christine from Manahawkin concurs, noting, “I’ve seen them before and I’ll be back to see them again — they’re fabulous and I loved the dancers, too.”
Lastly, Maureen from Lavallette recalls, “I’ve been following Cherish the Ladies for years — I can remember first seeing them in a gym 41 years ago! I love Joanie Madden — she’s always so enthusiastic and has such different stories to tell — plus the music had everyone tapping their toes,” prior to concluding,” Now I’m all ready for St. Patrick’s Day!”
To learn more about Cherish the Ladies, please go to cherishtheladies.com. For information on upcoming performances at the Grunin Center — including Beginnings: A Celebration of the Music of Chicago on March 14, Nella on April 7, The Brit Pack on April 18, and The Duprees with Who’s Johnny on April 19 — please click on grunincenter.org.
Photos by Love ImagerySpotlight Central. Your source for Jersey entertainment news and reviews
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