Keith & Kristyn Getty announce second date in Belfast for Christmas show
Due to phenomenal demand Northern Ireland's own Keith & Kristyn Getty have added another date to their ‘Home for Christmas’ tour at Belfast’s SSE Arena.
The Grammy-nominated Christian recording artists known for modern hymns and carols such as ‘In Christ Alone’, will now perform on December 19, 2024 as well as December 20, which has sold-out.
The pair, who split their time between Nashville, Tennessee, and the North Coast have been doing the Christmas concert in the States for 15 years.
“We are finally bringing it home,” said Kristyn. “We are excited to be coming with our band, with all our daughters and we have special guests joining us, as well as the New Irish Choir & Orchestra, for a celebration of Christmas season and Christmas carols.”
Keith said the concert is “a show of two halves”.
"The first half is like an Irish Christmas party, with lots of Christmas music. There’ll be a little bit of Irish dancing….but not from us!”, adding the second half of the show is lessons and carols.
“It goes through the entire nine lessons and carol service, but all in 60 mins. So instead of getting a reading that maybe lasts five minutes, it might just be four sentences and then in to the next carol, but it tells the whole story and with carols that everybody knows and loves. And 9,000 people in the SSE Arena can all sing carols at the top of their voices – from Silent Night to Hark the Herald Angels Sing to O Come All Ye Faithful, and then it finishes with a little bit of a hoedown at the end with Go Tell It On the Mountain and lots of gospel and fun at the end.”
Keith said they have had lots of requests to bring the Christmas show to Northern Ireland.
“Back in 2014 it was recorded by PBS Television in America and then we did a second TV special live at the Grand Ole Opry in 2019 and both of those shows have played on BBC Northern Ireland. Every Christmas we get lots of requests to bring the show back to Northern Ireland. So we had always wanted to do that.”
Keith Getty from Lisburn and Kristyn from Belfast have been credited with revolutionising the hymn genre since 2004, and been described as pre-eminent hymn writers, who have changed the way evangelicals worship.
They gained global recognition with their hit song, In Christ Alone, which has been covered by numerous musicians such as American artists, Alison Krauss and Owl City.
The Gettys have recorded 26 albums together, and have been nominated for a Grammy Award, as well as winning two Dove Awards by the Gospel Music Association. They have their own record label and publishing company, Getty Music.
They have performed at iconic venues worldwide, such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, and the Sydney Opera House, with performances in front of world leaders.
*Tickets for the Getty’s Christmas Show on December 19 are available at ssearenabelfast.com and ticketmaster.ie