Just when you think you’ve heard every love song there is, Keith Harkin finds a way to rewrite the rules — and your emotions — with a guitar, a voice, and a story that’s almost too touching to believe.
In an acoustic performance that fans are calling one of his most emotionally powerful renditions to date, the Celtic Thunder star reimagined his beloved track “Lauren and I” but this time, with a twist: a second guitarist joined him, creating a dynamic, soul-stirring soundscape that made the song soar in ways we’ve never heard before.
This wasn’t just another live session. This was lightning captured in six strings.
The interplay between their guitars created a rich, layered atmosphere, perfectly cradling Harkin’s heartfelt vocals. Every note pulsed with warmth, ache, and longing — qualities deeply woven into the fabric of the song’s lyrics. The performance felt intimate and epic all at once, as if listeners were sitting beside him in the room… or living inside the story itself.
“Her name was Lauren. We never met. But I wrote a song about her anyway.”
A Song Born on MySpace, Raised on Symphonies
Harkin opened up about the true story behind “Lauren and I” and it’s the kind of modern-day fairytale (or cautionary tale?) that only music can fully express.
More than a decade ago, before Facebook took over the world, Harkin was active on MySpace, connecting with fellow musicians and fans. One day, a girl from Birmingham, England, reached out and simply asked, “Would you write a song about me?”
He did.
“Ten years ago, this girl contacted me out of nowhere and asked me to write a song about her,” Harkin recalled in a recent McPherson Guitars session. “I still haven’t met her to this day. We chat online now and again. But I wrote the song and forgot to send it to her… for years.”
And yet, the song didn’t fade into the digital void. Quite the opposite:
“Lauren and I” was eventually recorded with a 60-piece orchestra, performed in front of thousands of people, and featured in a PBS special.
“Needless to say,” he joked, “when I finally sent her the song, she thought I was an axe murderer. But I guess she liked it — we still talk.”
Played on a McPherson Guitar, the new version shimmers with delicate intricacy and rhythmic intimacy. The dual-guitar arrangement builds tension and release, echoing the push-and-pull of a relationship that never quite came to be.
The result is the kind of performance that stops time and breaks hearts, gently.
