Rockin' Road to Dublin coming to Ovens Auditorium April 26

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 15, 2018) – Ovens Auditorium will host Irish rock and dance show "Rockin' Road to Dublin" on Thursday, April 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, at all Ticketmaster outlets or at the Bojangles' Coliseum Box Office located at 2700 E. Independence Blvd. Tickets cost between $29 and $60 (plus applicable service charges) and are subject to change.

From Celtic rocker Chris Smith and Irish World Dance Champion Scott Doherty comes “Rockin’ Road to Dublin,” an Irish-rock fusion show that thrusts Irish dance back into the spotlight.

“This isn’t your typical Irish dance show,” Smith says. “It combines the magic of Broadway and the energy of a rock show with the excitement of Irish dance. We’ve taken traditional Irish tunes and updated them to make the entire evening more dynamic and powerful. It has enough of the tradition people love, but it’s different enough that they will never look back!”

Smith has gathered an elite class of musicians to perform in the "Rockin' Road to Dublin" band: Marc Malsegna (award-winning guitarist), Kelly Mills (five-time winner of the Drum Corps and Percussion World Championships), Mike Moore (Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion), Joe Schermann (“Guys and Dolls,” “White Christmas,” “Grease,” “Smokey Joe’s Café” and “Shout”) and Corey Walden ("The American Rogues" and founder of The Suzuki School of Milford).

“It’s truly the music that gets the audience on their feet,” says Doherty, who previously toured with "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance." He has worked his own magic choreographing the critically acclaimed show. “We’ve created this mashup of awesome Irish everything with rock and roll. It’s a high energy concert mixed in with an Irish dance show.”

For “Rockin' Road to Dublin,” Doherty chose three-time international Irish dance champion Ashley Smith to be his lead female dancer. On stage since the age of 3, at 16, she was crowned the World Irish Step Dancing Champion in Belfast in 2004—making her the youngest American female ever to win the world title at that time. A top-30 female finalist on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance,” she was also a featured dancer on the Oscar-nominated film "Silver Linings Playbook."

Rounding out the cast are other well-known Irish dancers, including Mark Chichester ("Lord of the Dance"), Declan Crowley ("West Side Story: Mashup"), Bernadette Devereaux ("Lord of the Dance"), Patrick Holland ("Cherish the Ladies"), Billy Kanaly ("Riverdance"), Erika Nielsen ("Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games"), world champion Tyler Schwartz ("Celtic Fyre") and Mairéad Stillson ("Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games").

“The lyrics of the songs tell a love story that weaves together the music and dance,” says director Jeff Whiting, whose work includes choreography for Broadway tours of “The Producers” and “Bullets Over Broadway.” “Our goal is to have the audience walk away having had an experience that is entertaining, uplifting and inspirational.”

For more information, visit rockinrd2d.com, Twitter @rocknrd2dub, Instagram @rocknrd2dub and on Facebook at RockinRoadToDublin.

About Ovens Auditorium
Ovens Auditorium, located adjacent to Bojangles' Coliseum, opened in 1955. With a seating capacity of approximately 2,400, Ovens has hosted more than 7,000 events including Broadway shows, symphony concerts, operas, dance recitals and nationally known speakers. For more information, visit ovensauditorium.com.