In May 2022 André performed 4 concerts in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. A well-known Irish song is about the shellfish selling Molly Malone. We found her statue in Dublin. The song goes like this: In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone. She wheeled her wheel barrow, through the streets broad and narrow, crying: cockles and mussels alive, alive oh.

She was a fish monger and that was no wonder, for that were her father and mother before. They wheeled their wheelbarrow through the streets broad and narrow, crying: cockles and mussels alive, alive oh. Then she got a fever and no one could save her, and that was the end of sweet Molly Malone. Now her ghost wheels the barrow through the streets broad and narrow, crying: cockles and mussels alive, alive oh.

Gary Bennett on Facebook: “I first set my eyes (not hands like many others) on sweet Molly Malone”. LOL, Garry!

Since this is a fan website, we like to show the fan friends we have met in Dublin. Jack and Edna Welton from Scotland, Torben and Kirsten Esbensen from Denmark, Margareth Thompson from Ireland, Vivienne Clifford and Anne Setright from Ireland.

Donij van Doorn, Micaëla Oeste and Anna Majchrzak sang “The Rose” with a beautiful backdrop of roses. Solo new soprano Micaëla: “Oh mio babbino caro”. Justinas Kaunas new violinist. Maja Jasinski new flute player. Funny detail in the Dublin concert: During the Libiamo song Bela’s champagne changed into a glass of Guinness (Irish dark beer)!

Charlotte Hawkins (she is an English television and radio presenter), interviewed André in Dublin.

April 2022: Big surprise in Scotland! Glasgow. For the encores Andr é entered the stage in a kilt!! We think it suits him very well! The fans loved it. They figured out which Tartan it would be and most of the suggestions went to the McLean Hunting Ancient Tartan. The photos are taken at the Glasgow concert. It was a real treat.

May 2022: Ireland. Dublin.

German tour May 2022. Cologne. The last act of the Cologne concert was a real suprise for the German fans! The popular German band “The Höhner”, together with the Johann Strauss Orchestra, performed a medley of popular German songs, including the well-known: “Viva Colonia”, which has been adopted by the local football club as their anthem. Even in Holland they use the song as “Viva Hollandia” during soccer matches.

Sharing a January 3, 2025 article from Glasgow Times, by Morgan Carmichael André Rieu talks love affair with Scotland ahead of Glasgow gig A mastermind musician and conductor has opened up about his love affair with Scotland ahead of his show in Glasgow in April 2025. André Rieu, known for his passionate and unforgettable concerts – and for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra – will be playing at the OVO Hydro on April 5, 2025. Sharing his excitement for the show with the Glasgow Times, the Dutch violinist said: “I love the Scots, I’m looking forward to playing to the Scottish audience. “They seem to love me and my orchestra. We have a love affair. Every year we come to Glasgow now, and it’s beautiful and amazing. I even played in Glasgow once (in May 2022) in a kilt. I liked the kilt very much,” he added with a laugh. André's upcoming city show will be part of his UK and Ireland 2025 tour – where he will be joined by his 60-member Johann Strauss Orchestra and a host of international soloists. And if you have seen André before, you can expect an entirely different show. “Every year the show is different,” André said. He continued: “I am extremely proud that people come to my concerts, and they don’t know what I am going to play. They don’t know anything. Normally people want to know what is going on, but in my case, the audience doesn’t know at all, yet they still come. The shows are always sold out because the people know that when you go to Andre, it will be an evening you will never forget.” The show follows André's newest record, "The Sound of Heaven", which was released in November 2024. Despite André having released a double-digit number of albums, he considers this to be his best yet. He said during the interview before Christmas: “This is my best CD up until now. You could see it as a Christmas album because it is really beautiful music that would fit extremely well with Christmas time. When you sit next to the Christmas tree and you close your eyes and put on my new CD, you will be in heaven.” André's journey in music started when he was just five years old when he began playing the violin. Having developed a fascination with orchestra from a young age, André went on to study violin at the Conservatoire Royal in Liège and the Conservatorium Maastricht, and even studied at the Music Academy in Brussels. And now, at the age of 75, he continues to live the dream – as he puts it. He added: “I am very very happy and proud. I think I have the best life in the world because I can make music. I cannot imagine a life without music. I could never have imagined that when I was five years old and I started the violin, that I would play every year in Glasgow.” André Rieu's new CD, "The Sound of Heaven", released on December 6, 2024