So far the best things in this decade have been the times I drove to Canada to see Will's concerts and the art exhibit by myself.
Here's the 2000 and beyond list of events that I've been to:
November 25, 2001 -- Performing Arts Center -- Omak, Washington – Irish Rovers
March 17, 2002 -- Sid Williams Theatre -- Courtenay, British Columbia – Will
March 30, 2003 -- The Met -- Spokane, Washington – Irish Rovers
November 9, 2004 --Charles Bailey Theatre -- Trail, British Columbia -- Will with "Ireland - Where the Song and Dance Began" This marks the 34th year since I first saw him in concert!
March 17, 2008 - Excellent Frameworks Gallery, Duncan, British Columbia - not a concert, but the opening day of Will's art exhibit (well, ok, there was some good music, but the main focus was on the paintings.)
In November 2001 the Irish Rovers were in Washington State but the closest they got to Spokane was Omak. We drove over to see them there. I had ordered their Christmas CD off their web site, and it was a good thing, since their supply of that CD was held up at the border for some reason. Of course this was just after 9/11 and security was really tight between Canada and the US. I brought that CD along and had it autographed. Since this was near Christmas they did a lot of Christmas songs, which was interesting, as I have the LP “It Was A Night Like This” and now this CD but I’d never heard them do Christmas songs live before. 
On March 16 it was snowing in Spokane. Only about 1 inch was on the ground so I decided to go anyway. Once I got up Sunset Hill west of Spokane the freeway got really slick. I was only doing about 40 MPH but someone ahead of me put on their brakes and so I put on my brakes. I was driving the Blazer but didn’t have it in 4-wheel drive because I thought I had everything under control. When I put on my brakes I started sliding and slid across the right lane, across the left lane, and wound up sideways in the left lane. But I didn’t hit anything or anybody, and I didn’t flip, and I didn’t wind up in the ditch. For a moment while I was sitting waiting for traffic to clear I thought, “Why I am driving 500 miles in the snow?” But I thought about Will and went on. I told myself if the road didn’t clear up by Ritzville I was going back. By Ritzville it was bare and wet and by Ellensburg it was perfectly dry.
Going over the pass on I-90 it was snowing but not sticking and it was foggy. It rained a bit out of Seattle and then it was pretty windy up to the border. I followed the directions given on the B.C. ferries website and drove through Vancouver to Stanley Park. The Lion’s Gate Bridge was a mess! Traffic northbound was backed up clear to the beginning of the park.
I got to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal just after 6 and had to wait until 7:30 to get on the ferry. Got to Nanaimo about 9 and there was snow on the sides of the road. Drove up to Courtenay and found the Travelodge where I had reservations. Then I settled in for the night.
Sunday morning was bright and sunny and a little bit chilly. I had breakfast then drove downtown and found the theater where the show was going to be. I drove around Courtenay a bit then went north to a provincial park called Miracle Beach and walked down to the beach. Great views of the mountains over on the mainland. Then I drove back into town and did a little shopping. Went over to Comox and walked around their marina and took some pictures of the boats and across the bay.
Spent the afternoon just looking around Courtenay. Finally by 5 I couldn’t stand it so I went and had supper and then went down to the theater. The box office opened at 6 and I was one of the first ones in. I was in line to pick up my ticket and the lady in front of me said “it’s under the name of Millar. It’s Will’s family.” It was Will’s wife Catherine. I should have said hi but I didn’t and I regret that.
At 6:30 they opened the doors to the auditorium. I was in row C in the center. Before the show started I saw Will open the door that led outside backstage and look out. Finally at 7 the show started and out bounded Will followed by Shelia and Frank Ryan, Tyler Carson, Dan Wise, Chuck McCandless, Sandy Jasper, and Gordon Miller. The songs were great and the music was great and it all went by way too fast!!! Will still has so much energy! Sheila plays the harp and sings and she was good. Tyler is a great fiddler and his sister Kendel came out and they were almost as good as Will (gasp – did I really say that?). They have the same knack of playing to the audience as Will does.
After the show I waited around and had Will sign my copy of Journey of the Celts. I said “Great show Will – it was worth the drive.” He said “Where did you drive from?” I said “Spokane.” He paused, really looked at me, and said “you’re …. You’re….” and shut his eyes trying to remember my name. I had e-mailed and said I would try to make it up to the show but didn’t say I was definitely going. Anyway, after a few seconds I said “Charlene.” Will said “You’re the one who’s been sending me all the jokes!” I said “Do you want me to stop doing that?” He said “No, I enjoy them. Just can’t use them all.” Then he signed my CD and said that the group was going to a pub down the road and why didn’t I stop by?
So I went to the pub and found some other fans who were there and sat by them. After a while Will came in and he did come over and try to talk but kept getting interrupted. First they had him sing “The Unicorn” in Karaoke, then had him sing “Wasn’t that a Party” (and I heard him protest “that was Jimmy’s song”). His wife was there and other people kept coming over. I did get to talk to him a bit. The fan I was sitting next to said something to him and Will asked if she had his e-mail address and she said no, so Will pointed to me and said “she does.” I gave his e-mail address to the other lady. Don’t know if she ever got in touch with him or not. I do wish I had gone over to their table but I was feeling a bit insecure so I didn’t.
Monday morning I woke up and looked out the window and saw – snow. It had snowed about an inch overnight. I had breakfast and checked out and started home. The road was mostly bare and wet with some slush in the higher spots. By the time I got to Nanaimo it was snowing pretty steadily. The ferry ride back took 2 hours instead of 1-1/2 due to the snow and fog. It was really rough most of the way too so I didn’t dare try and read. Then it took another half hour to unload instead of 10 minutes. When I got going up the hill out of the terminal I saw why – there was about 3 inches of snow on the road which goes almost straight up from the terminal and it was slick. Plus being on the coast people aren’t used to driving in the snow so they were crawling.
It was still snowing when I crossed the border and looked like the middle of winter. About 10 miles from the summit of Snoqualmie Pass traffic came to a halt. There was snow on the side of the road and four lanes of parking lot. Finally about 6:15 we started moving. It took until 9:30 for me to get over the pass and down into Ellensburg. Then I finally had supper. It usually takes 3-1/2 to 4 hours from Ellensburg to Spokane. I got home at 1:30 Tuesday morning.
As it turns out, the pass was closed all day Tuesday into Wednesday, so it’s a good thing I kept going.
I e-mailed Will to say I made it home ok and he sent back a scan of a vintage postcard:
Back in 2004, Will also told me about his 2004 tour of Western Canada - I went to the show in Trail, BC, in November 2004 and it was great!! Details below.
My friend Marla in LA went to an Irish festival in Encino in June 2004 and took these pictures of Will:
I think Marla did a wonderful job with the pictures! She does free-lance photography, and if you are in the LA area and would like to hire her to take some pictures for you, her e-mail address is
mlcc62@yahoo.comI saw Will’s show “Ireland- Where the Song and Dance Began” in Trail, British Columbia, on November 9, 2004 (one day short of 34 years since I first saw the Irish Rovers in concert). It is WONDERFUL! This is a different kind of show than what he used to do with the Irish Rovers. “Ireland” tells the story of Ireland from the early days through the potato famine and up to the early days of the 20th century. There’s singing of course, but it’s interspersed with great dancing by Phillip Brady and some of his pupils, great fiddling by Kathleen Keane, Ian Millar, Martin Nolan, Shelia Ryan on harp, and Davey Walker. The music is illustrated with slides and video from Will’s own collection of antique newspaper articles and pictures. All this is tied together with narration and jokes told by Will as the seanachie (story teller). A special treat by Kathleen Keane was when not only did she play the fiddle, not only did she dance, but she danced WHILE playing the fiddle!!(And I’m doing good to walk and chew gum at the same time!) There was a drawing during the show to give one member of the audience a chance to win free tickets for a trip to Ireland next year but I didn’t win that. Still, I had a great time and it is a fantastic show. Will said afterwards that he would like to bring the show to the US, particularly the East Coast, and I certainly hope he can do that.
Lana interviewed him and wrote this story for the paper:
Will Millar’s Ireland
By Lana Rodlie
Times Staff
Anyone who wants a quick trip to Ireland but doesn’t like to fly will get just as much out of a production called Will Millar’s Ireland.
A taste of “where the song and dance began” as this former Irish Rover likes to call it, is a blend of history, folklore, visuals, music and dance -–a powerful show that rivals Riverdance and Lord of the Dance.
Not as huge or sterile as its higher-profile counterparts, the production brings the audience right in, displaying incredible talent, old-time favourites, colourful costumes, and a powerful look at the green isle.
Fairly new to North American audiences, Will Millar’s Ireland played to 38 sold out venues in Australia and New Zealand. The show is currently playing smaller towns from B.C.’s interior to parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta, to “fine-tune” it before touring the U.S.
The winners are the small-towners who will come away feeling like they’ve just had a “wee bit of whisky” and a good laugh with an old friend.
Millar plays the seanachie or storyteller, and with humor, poems, and a backdrop of incredible visuals, tells the story of his homeland, from the Celts, the Potato Famine, and immigration, to Ireland’s bid for independence.
Stories are interwoven with music by the beautiful voices of Ian Millar, Sheila Ryan (also on harp), and Kathleen Keane (singing, dancing, and playing the fiddle, sometimes doing all three at the same time). Then there’s Martin Nolan on “the pipes,” and the fast feet of Phillip Brady who was formerly with Lord of the Dance.
All this is rounded out by eight beautifully-costumed and talented young dancers. Not to be missed is a number that depicts the war between the orange and the green, replete with lights flashing to simulate gunfire – a very emotional show, especially for anyone with a few drops of Irish blood in them.
The graphics are from Millar’s own collection – beautiful scenic pictures of Ireland mingled with historical photos and video clips.
“I’ve been collecting for seven years, scanned them in. It gives it a new dimension,” he said.
Indeed the pictures add flavour to the music, depicting some of Ireland’s darkest days, and the choices of photos show that Millar’s Irishness is as ingrained as the colour of his thick red hair.
He talks about the Potato Famine as if it happened in his lifetime.
“Black ’47 took two and a half million people away,” he said of the historical events leading up to 1847.
Millar hails from County Antrim, north of Belfast. He came to Canada with his folks when he was 17 years old.
“A lot of Ulstermen came to Canada and a lot of early politicians after Confederation were Ulster Presbyterians,” he said. “Every mayor was an orange protestant. My dad got a job with Eatons.”
Apparently Timothy Eaton was from the same region of Ireland and promised a job to any countrymen who came to Canada.
The family eventually moved back to Ireland, he said, as the old songs would make his mother cry.
“She was always homesick, so we packed up and went back,” which explains his thick Irish accent.
Millar formed the Irish Rovers back in the days when the Clancy Brothers were popular. After 30 years of world tours, a successful TV show and dozens of recordings, including the Unicorn, which sold 8.5 million copies, Millar left the group to strike out on his own.
“One reason we parted company is because I always wanted to do something like this,” he said. “There were years and years of the bar scene but that’s not what I want.”
Seeing the success of Riverdance, he took a show to New Zealand, with dancers, “and it grew into this . . .
“The show has never played in America and I want to take it all the way to New York. I’d like to expand it, have 10 girls dancing,” he said.
When he’s not travelling, he lives in Maple Bay on Vancouver Island in an old farmhouse built in 1909.
A hapless sailor who once very nearly drowned in a cold January sea, he wrote Messing Around in Boats which is still available in bookstores and has, to date, sold about 10,000 copies in Canada. He also likes to paint, and produced a childrens CD called Celtic Wonder Tales.
His wife, a former Canadian Airlines attendant, owns a high-end dress shop in Duncan and rarely travels with him. They have “three children, three cows, three calves, and a border collie . . .
“After touring, I love the home life but I like to spend time in my cabin the woods.”
The cabin is on his property and it’s where he likes to go to write, paint, or just have some quiet time to himself.
“My wife likes to put the dog out, put the cat out, put Will out – every bloke needs a shed..”
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This was the longest I had ever spoken with Will in the 34 years that I’ve been going to his shows. Usually I would just get autographs and would be really nervous about that. When I went to Courtney in 2002 I did go to the pub afterwards but his wife was there and she was so pretty and I felt that I looked like someone who had driven 500 miles the day before, so I got all shy and didn’t go over to his table. But this time he sat right next to me and that was so neat!! Lana snapped a couple of pictures of us (I really have to lose some weight!) and they turned out really good, (although when I e-mailed copies to Will he said they were blurry - but hey, considering my camera is about 15 years old and just a no focus 35mm camera that’s been dropped on pavement and cracked and dropped in sand and gotten wet more times than I can count, I still think they turned out good!) Thank you again Lana. As I said, Will gave Lana an interview and also introduced his oldest son James who is helping out with the show. He talked about how he has been wanting to do a show like this for years, even before he left the Irish Rovers, and hopes to be able to bring it to the US very soon. Most of the other performers came to the pub too but I didn’t really talk to them.
This tour is over now but there's a good chance it will be in the US soon. If you can possibly get to see the show, go for it!
This review is of a performance of "Ireland - Where the Song and Dance Began" which took place a few days before the one I saw. Thank you, Will, for sharing this!
EVER WONDER WHAT THE CHILDREN OF CELEBRITIES DO?
Although I haven’t made any kind of real effort to find out about the Irish Rovers’ kids, I do know what some of them have been up to.
Joe’s son Ian is a singer. Ian has a CD out called “Raised on Songs and Stories,” which you might be able to find on-line. He has been performing with Will over the past several years, and also in a group called Fire in the Kitchen. Ian is now performing with the Irish Rovers, since his dad retired.
May 2005 - Will has just filmed a pilot for a cooking show. Check out
Stewed and enjoy some good home cooking and music! January 2006 - Will has added Kathleen Keane as a cohost for the show. He sent me an ad for Stewed - it's a very large file, so I put it on another page here. June 30, 2005 - Sleepover Nightmare, a horror movie, was filmed at Will's house in the fall of 2004. It is now out on video (both DVD and VHS). Good luck finding it in your town - I spent the better part of 2 days looking for it at various video stores in Spokane, including Blockbuster, Hastings, and Sun Coast, before giving up and ordering it on the Internet.
When I ordered the 40th Anniversary album I mentioned the similarity between these two covers:
George's wife Betsy enclosed this note with the 40 Years a-Rovin' CD:
If you can't read it, it says: "Dear Charlene, Wow, are you a good fan. You're right. It was so good George wanted to use it again. You're the first to pick up on it. Enjoy the CD. Regards, Betsy Millar."
Kind of neat to be the first in something! And it was nice of Betsy to take the time to write.
January 2007 Will's CD "Celtic Whispers" went gold in Canada! Way to go Will!
January 15, 2008 - Many, many thanks to Bobby in Calgary who sent me copies of her newspaper clippings about the Irish Rovers - since they all came from Canadian papers, I didn't have any of those. And I am especially glad that she sent DVD copies of some of the Irish Rovers Super Specials that were shown on the CBC - plus a copy of the Virginian episode that the Irish Rovers were in! (Were the guys really ever THAT young?? ;-) George doesn't even look old enough to be in a saloon!)
January 2008 - Will has a video on his Facebook page. Check it out
here. March 2008 - There's an exhibit of Will's paintings at the Excellent Frameworks Gallery in Duncan, British Columbia. Do stop in if you possibly can - it is GOOD! I went to the opening on St. Patrick's Day and got to have a nice long talk with Will. The paintings are selling fast, so check it out soon for the best selection! Closes April 16, 2008.
Here's a shot of the window display at the art gallery.
I took a couple of photos of Will and his friends singing in the gallery, but people kept getting in my way, so this is the only one that really turned out decent:
There were several local musicians performing with Will, including Sandy Jasper who makes
Elf Song Whistles, and Chuck McCandless (sitting next to Will in the above picture).After a while I went over to the pub where Chuck McCandless was playing and enjoyed his show. Sandy and her husband and her mother were there, along with Rick Dennis, a reporter from the Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial. I sat and talked with them for a bit until Will came into the pub, then I had a chance to talk with him.
I had a link to the article in the Cowichan News Leader here, but it's gone from their website and not on the "wayback machine" site yet.
It's really pretty up around Duncan - I should go back when I can spend more time there.
July 3, 2008 - My condolences to George on the death of his wife Betsy.
March 2009 - I knew this day would come eventually but it's still not fun - Will has decided to retire after this year. Details are in several Canadian papers, one of the best is from
the Cowichan News Leader of March 13.
