18-June-2026
Metropol Theater
Bremen, Germany

 

Setlist
Kidney Stew Blues
Snatch It Back and Hold It  

Madame Butterfly Blues  

Down To Joy

If It Wasn't For Ray

Back To Writing Love Songs

The Only Love I Need Is Yours

Red Sails In The Sunset

Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart

Northern Muse (Solid Ground)

Ain't Gonna Moan No More

Early In The Morning
Crazy Jane On God

Enlightenment
Goin' Down Geneva

Brand New Cadillac 

Dweller On The Threshold

Real Real Gone
Go To A Higher Place In Your Mind

Moondance

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John McCullough (Organ)
Leo Green (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Horns)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

Dana Masters (Vocals) 

17-June-2026
Metropol Theater
Bremen, Germany

 

Setlist
Kidney Stew Blues
Snatch It Back and Hold It  

Madame Butterfly Blues  

Down To Joy

If It Wasn't For Ray

Back To Writing Love Songs
Haven't Lost My Sense of Wonder

Goin' Down Geneva
Real Real Gone
Jumping With Symphony Sid
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Carrying a Torch
Enlightenment
When the Rains Came
Dweller on the Threshold
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Help Me
Wild Night
Moondance

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John McCullough (Organ)
Leo Green (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Horns)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

Dana Masters (Vocals) 

30-April-2026
Montpellier Gardens
Cheltenham, England

Brendan Hynes Sent in His Thoughts on Gig: 

Van Morrison at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Montpelier Gardens, 30th April 2026. 
This show saw the most exciting return of ace saxophonist Leo Green to the band lineup and with Bobby Rugierro returning on drums alongside David Hayes on bass we were treated to a terrific band performance with numerous audience ovations throughout the show for the many great solos included. 

After opening with a fine rendition of Dweller On The Threshold Van performed three songs from his most recent album in the form of Snatch It Back and Hold It, Play the Honk Tonks and Madame Butterfly Blues all of which it's fair to say went down a storm with the most appreciative audience. The last of the three featured a magnificent and dramatic sax solo by Leo Green which moved Van to exclaim "put him back in the cage!" Crazy Jane On God was really nice and was followed by Precious Time with Van changing the title following lyrics to "is holding sway". Back to Writing Love Songs was followed by Once In A Lifetime Feelings which I felt sounded much better when performed live. After Down To Joy and Ain't Gonna Moan No More, Van Performed a powerful combination of Laughin' and Clownin' (featuring yet another brilliant Leo Green sax solo) along with The Right Time which featured Sumudu with some extraordinary vocals which brought the house down and left Van telling the audience that we could all go home after that!! 

Real Real Gone was merged nicely with You Send Me before the following Green Rocky Road and Moondance. Early In The Morning really thundered along with David Hayes on bass really impressive before Help Me and Gloria brought the show to a conclusion. The latter featured some extraordinary organ playing by John McCullough in the band workout which got a massive ovation before Leo Green took on the role of MC, with Van having departed the stage, and inviting much audience participation and acclaim as he performed his saxophone party piece! Van was quite chatty throughout and gave many song introductions before they were performed.This was a really fine performance throughout and this was certainly reflected in the numerous audience member comments I heard afterwards while departing the arena which ranged from " incredible" to " unbelievable" to " extraordinary"!! 
-Brendan Hynes 

Set length 1 h 42m

Setlist
Dweller On The Threshold
Snatch It Back and Hold It  

Play The Honky Tonks  

Madame Butterfly Blues  

Crazy Jane On God

Precious Time
Back To Writing Love Songs
Once In A Lifetime Feelings

Down To Joy

Ain’t Gonna Moan No More

Laughin' & Clownin'/Night Time Is The Right Time 

Real Real Gone/ You Send Me

Green Rocky Road

Moondance

Enlightenment 

Early In The Morning

Help Me

Gloria

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John McCullough (Organ)
Leo Green (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Horns)
Sumudu  Jayatilaka (Vocals)
Jolene O’Hara (Vocals)

 

29-April-2026
The Forum
Bath, England

Setlist (Thanks Pat Corley)
Dweller On The Threshold
Snatch It Back and Hold It  

Play The Honky Tonks  

Madame Butterfly Blues  

Crazy Jane On God

Precious Time
Back To Writing Love Songs
The Only Love I Need Is Yours
Once In A Lifetime Feelings

Real Real Gone/ Wonderful World/ You Send Me

Down To Joy

Ain’t Gonna Moan No More

Little Village

Green Rocky Road

Moondance

Into The Mystic

Early In The Morning

Gloria

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John McCullough (Organ)
Leo Green (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Horns)
Sumudu  Jayatilaka (Vocals)
Jolene O’Hara (Vocals)

 

28-April-2026
The Forum
Bath, England

Hans Had These Thought on Bath Gig: 

The show started four minutes early, with some people still shuffling to their seats. Into The Mystic went down very well, followed by three songs from the latest album. Crazy Jane was the first real highlight, one of my favourite songs. Van finished it with a long mantra-like 'remain, remain' like only he can. 

 

The switch to a totally different song after such a high is always hard to digest for me, but Precious Time got a nice changed chorus: 

'Precious Time is on its way 

She's not only queen for a day 

[she shines her light] and she leads the way 

Precious Time is on its way.' (I am not sure about the part in square brackets). It got a more positive vibe. 

 

The Only Love I Need had a slow start, with Van adding 'it is in F sharp'. It is a wonderful calm love song. A few songs after that Van announced a medley, which featured Sumudu brilliantly on Night Time. Afterwards Van jokingly said 'We all can go home now'. It was a fantastic rendition. 

 

These Dreams was a nice surprise. Next highlight was Real Real Gone featuring an almost complete You Send Me, including bridge as Van requested. 

 

And yet another highlight was an nice long Green Rocky Road. The show went to a close with the crowd pleasers Moondance, Help Me and Gloria. Van went off, having worked some four minutes overtime. The band enthusiastically went on for ten minutes or so. 

 

We left the venue once again totally blown away. Thank you Van and a big hand for the band indeed! 

-Hans Driezen

 

Setlist (Thanks Pat Corley) 
Into The Mystic 
Snatch It Back and Hold It 

Play The Honky Tonks 

Madame Butterfly Blues  

Crazy Jane On God

Precious Time
Back To Writing Love Songs
The Only Love I Need Is Yours
Once In A Lifetime Feelings
Ain’t Gonna Moan No More
Laughin’ & Clownin’
Night Time Is The Right Time
These Dreams Of You
Down To Joy
Real Real Gone/ Wonderful World/ You Send Me
Green Rocky Road
Moondance
Help Me
Gloria

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John McCullough (Organ)
Leo Green (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Horns)
Sumudu  Jayatilaka (Vocals)
Jolene O’Hara (Vocals)

 

18-February-2026
Palace Of Fine Arts
San Francisco, USA

Tonight's show was the best of the first three. A somewhat abbreviated Little Village made it into the set near the end, so the band is ready to do some of Van's back catalog, apart from Help Me and Gloria. Less directing/correcting from Van tonight, more energy and cohesiveness, with big rolling grooves arriving in some of the new material. Ain't That A Shame (Van mentioned this was Bill Medley's arrangement) still a standout. 

-Art Siegel 

Setlist (Thanks Art) 
Kidney Stew Blues 
Snatch It Back and Hold It 
(Go to the) High Place in Your Mind 

Ain't That a Shame

Social Climbing Scene

King For A Day Blues (Band Intros)

Can't Help Myself

Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge 

When It's Love Time (w/Elvin Bishop)

You're The One (w/Elvin Bishop)

Deep Blue Sea (w/Elvin Bishop)

Loving Memories (w/Elvin Bishop)

Play the Honky Tonks (w/Elvin Bishop)  

Madame Butterfly Blues (w/Elvin Bishop) 

Rock Me Baby/Hollywood Bed (w/Elvin Bishop)
Little Village (w/Elvin Bishop)
Help Me (w/Elvin Bishop)
Gloria (w/Elvin Bishop)

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Anthony Paule (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John Allair (Organ)
Mitch Woods (Electric Piano)
Omega Rae (Vocals)
Larry Batiste (Vocals)

 

17-February-2026
Palace Of Fine Arts
San Francisco, USA

  

Tonight's show featured 16 songs from the new album, with several that he didn't get to yesterday. Van is turning Ain't That a Shame into something very special. Tonight he took it much further than yesterday and I suspect it's going to get better as the run continues, as will most of the songs. 

 

Van was doing a lot of explicit directing and to some extent rearranging songs on the fly. Several times he sang the instrumental or backup vocal parts that he wanted to hear repeatedly until the band picked up his instruction. 

 

Elvin Bishop came out to play guitar on You're the One and stayed on stage for the rest of the show. 

 

Things started to gel with Madame Butterfly, and continued from there. Again, Van needed to use large lyric sheets for his own compositions. That struck me as a little odd, but it's been a few years since he recorded these songs and he hasn't been playing them live. 

-Art Siegel 

 

Setlist (Thanks Art) 
Kidney Stew Blues 
Snatch It Back and Hold It 
Deep Blue Sea 
(Go to the) High Place in Your Mind 
Ain't That a Shame

Social Climbing Scene

King For A Day Blues (Band Intros)

On A Monday

Monte Carlo Blues

Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge 

You're The One (w/Elvin Bishop)

Deep Blue Sea (w/Elvin Bishop)

Loving Memories (w/Elvin Bishop)

Play the Honky Tonks (w/Elvin Bishop)  

Madame Butterfly Blues (w/Elvin Bishop) 
Rock Me Baby/Hollywood Bed (w/Elvin Bishop)
Help Me (w/Elvin Bishop)
Gloria (w/Elvin Bishop)

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Anthony Paule (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John Allair (Organ)
Mitch Woods (Electric Piano)
Omega Rae (Vocals)
Larry Batiste (Vocals)

 

16-February-2026
The Chapel
San Francisco, USA

Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge record launch
Excellent show, close up and personal with 350 others at The Chapel. Van in good spirits and voice. Song selection entirely from the new album (except Help Me/Gloria). All U.S. musicians, from the group that played on the new album. None of the guest stars except Mitch Woods. Highlights for me were Ain't That A Shame, with a real gospel flair this time, and Rock Me Baby, with some Big Joe Turner verses mixed in. Van needed to read lyrics for his recent material, so off came the sunglasses for a while. 
-Art Siegel

 

Setlist (Thanks Art) 
Kidney Stew Blues 
Snatch It Back and Hold It 
Deep Blue Sea 
(Go to the) High Place in Your Mind 
Ain't That a Shame 
Play the Honky Tonks 
Madame Butterfly Blues (band intro) 
When it's Love Time 
Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge 
Social Climbing Scene 
I'm Ready 

Can't Help Myself 
You're The One 
Rock Me Baby/Cherry Red 
Help Me 
Gloria

 

Big Hand For The Band!
Anthony Paule (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John Allair (Organ)
Mitch Woods (Electric Piano)
Omega Rae (Vocals)
Larry Batiste (Vocals)

 

07-February-2026
Market Place Theatre
Armagh, Northern Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Pablo)
Into The Mystic 
Baby Please Don't Go 
Snach It Back & Hold It
Madame Butterfly Blues 
Ain't That A Shame 
Little Village 
Ain't Gonna Moan No More 
Crazy Jane On God 
Enlightenment 
Foreign Window 
Back To Writing Love Songs 
Once In A Lifetime Feelings
Only Love I Ever Needed Is Yous
Precious Time
Days Like This 
Green Rocky Road 
Early In The Morning 
Think Twice Before You Go 
Wild Night 
Help Me 
Gloria

 

Big Hand For The Band!

Dave Keary (Guitar)

Nicky Scott (Bass)

John McCullough (Keyboards)

Brendan Doherty (Drums)

Dana Masters (Vocals)

Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

06-February-2026
3Arena 
 Dublin, Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Brendan) 
Into The Mystic 
Crazy Jane On God 
Help Me/ Green Onions 
Gloria  

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Nicky Scott (Bass)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Brendan Doherty (Drums)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

05-February-2026
Studio At Waterfront 
 Belfast, Northern Ireland  

Brendan sends in his thoughts on gig 
Van Morrison at Waterfront Studio, Belfast, 5th February 2026.
This show in the intimate surrounds of the Waterfront Studio served to showcase some songs from Van Morrison's new blues album along with a range of songs from across his career. After opening with the inimitable Into The Mystic Van then hurtled headlong into Snatch It Back and Hold It from the new album. This is a real belter of a song which Van sang with great gusto and which featured great solos from Dave Keary on guitar and John McCullough on organ allied to some fine harmonica playing by Van. Little Village was a nice set inclusion but suffered somewhat in my view from the absence of the brass section tonight, particularly as Van's saxophone sounded very much out of tune.

 

Ain't Gonna Moan No More featured a fine guitar solo from Dave Keary which was reminiscent of George Benson at his best while Van finished the song with some incredible scatting which must have gone on for a couple of minutes and which unsurprisingly brought the house down. Other particular highlights included Foreign Window and Tore Down A La Rimbaud while All In The Game made a welcome return to the set list. When introducing the song Van said they would do a workshop and while the song was great while it lasted it was cut short somewhat prematurely by Van. Northern Muse was a nice set inclusion and featured Van playing piano. 

 

Help Me was performed with great energy by Van and saw him pounding from one side of the stage to the other while adding in some additional lyrics of his own such as "Sing When I Sing", "Dance When I Dance", "Go Out when I Go Out" while the band thundered along forcefully aided by superb backing vocals by Dana Masters and Jolene O' Hara to complement Van's own vocals. The song moved onto Green Onions after Van asked Dave Keary to play some Steve Cropper guitar in tribute obviously to the recently departed guitar legend. Finally, Gloria brought proceedings to a close after a very satisfying performance. 

-Brendan Hynes  

 

Setlist (Thanks Pablo) 
Into The Mystic 
Baby Please Don’t Go 
Snatch It Back & Hold It
Madame Butterfly Blues 
Little Village 
Moondance 
Ain’t Gonna Moan No More 
If I Ever Needed Someone 
Play Honky Tonks 
Foreign Window (Van on Guitar) 
Tore Down A La Rimbaud 
All In The Game
Laughing & Clowning 
No Other Baby 
Back To Writing Love Songs 
Once In A Lifetime Feeling 
Northern Muse (Solid Ground) (Van on piano) 
Help Me 
Gloria 

Set Length 1h 46m  

Big Hand For The Band!

Dave Keary (Guitar)

Nicky Scott (Bass)

John McCullough (Keyboards)

Brendan Doherty (Drums)

Dana Masters (Vocals)

Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

04-February-2026
Studio At Waterfront 
 Belfast, Northern Ireland  

Setlist (Thanks Pablo) 
Into The Mystic 
Snach It Back & Hold It 
Madame Butterfly Blues 
Little Village 
Ain't That A Shame 
Enlightenment 
In The Afternoon 
Wavelength 
Wild Night 
Crazy Jane On God 
Back To Writing Love Songs 
Once In A Lifetime Feelings 
Only Love I Need Is Yours 
Tore Down A La Rimbaud 
Foreign Window 
Early In The Morning 
Laughing & Clowning 
Help me 
Gloria 

Big Hand For The Band!

Dave Keary (Guitar)

Nicky Scott (Bass)

John McCullough (Keyboards)

Brendan Doherty (Drums)

Dana Masters (Vocals)

Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

14-September-2025
Waterfront Hall
 Belfast, Northern Ireland 

  

Brendan Hynes shares his thoughts on special night

Van Morrison Lit Up Inside & Keep 'Er Lit Relaunch Show

After compere and interviewer for the night Dylan Jones had set out the programme to be followed throughout the show Van Morrison made his way to the stage for the interview part of the night to an ecstatic audience response. This was quickly replaced however by audible gasps from the audience as Van unfortunately stumbled and fell over. After he had been helped to his feet there were various shouts of " We love you Van" from audience members while a woman asked Van if he was alright to which he responded by saying "not really but I'll carry on regardless". After some microphone issues before the interview commenced Van asked that the house lights be turned on and left on so that they could see the audience. I suspect this may have been more to avoid a further fall after the interview was completed rather than a desire on Van's part to see how well we were all looking!!.

The interview itself largely focused on Van's musical influences and his process in writing and recording over the years. On the question of why he had chosen to do tonight's type of show Van said it was for something different and that the songs tonight would differ from his birthday shows and be more "wordy"! Van provided some quite comical responses to some of the questions put to him. When asked why he picked tonight's poets to do readings Van replied "because they're good". On the question of the good things about playing in Belfast Van jokingly responded that it means he doesn't have to go the airport or stay in hotels which got a good laugh from the audience!!.

Paul Muldoon read out the lyrics of Cleaning Windows and Madame George followed by Scarlett Sabet who recited On Hyndford Street and The Way Young Lovers Do. Scarlett spoke in glowing terms about how Van's songs, and Astral Weeks in particular, provided a soundtrack to her earlier life.

After the interval Paul Muldoon returned to recite a poem he wrote called Here And Now in tribute to Van while Scarlett recited a poem called For Jack which she wrote about Jack Kerouac. The final guest was John Cooper Clarke who recited some of his own material. He greatly enjoyed himself to such an extent that he wanted to do another reading despite the signals he was getting from the off stage crew. When he moved across the stage to ask if he could do one more reading he was unceremoniously told that the time was up which was quite amusing really.

It was now time for the main event and having attended the original Lit Up Inside shows back in 2014 I was hopeful that a similar set of songs would be performed. I was not to be disappointed and when Van immediately sat at the piano to the opening notes of Haunts Of Ancient Peace I sensed that something really special was about to unfold. This was quite beautiful with the superb backing vocals of Dan's Masters and Jolene O' Hara contributing hugely. Little Village featured nice flugelhorn and trumpet solos from Chris White and Matt Holland respectively while Van performed a fine extended saxophone solo towards the song's conclusion. The superb and so distinctive TB Sheets followed and featured extensive harmonica playing by Van and fine organ by John McCullough. This song went down a storm and got a huge ovation. The Way Young Lovers Do was a fine arrangement followed quickly by Enlightenment.

Foreign Window was quite beautiful and included some lovely guitar work by Dave Keary while Tore Down A La Rimbaud which followed featured lovely saxophone and organ solos. An extended Slim Slow Slider featured another lovely organ solo while Van featured with some electric guitar playing to complement his vocals. On Hyndford Street also saw Van on electric guitar but he cut the song short somewhat abruptly to instruct the band to play Crazy Jane On God which was really good and saw the backing vocalists excel once more. A fine rendition of Saint Dominic's Preview followed before the beautiful In The Garden brought proceedings to a tumultuous ending with Chris White doing a great extended saxophone solo after Van had departed the stage and the backing vocalists involving the audience in singing the No Guru No Method No Teacher refrain over and over to conclude the song.

This show was a masterclass from Van which featured a dream setlist for the multitude of his fans who have deeply explored his immense body of work. It would be great if further performances of this particular show were to be scheduled in the future.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Haunts Of Ancient Peace
Little Village
TB Sheets
The Way Young Lovers Do
Enlightenment
Foreign Window
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Slim Slow Slider
On Hyndford Street
Crazy John On God
Saint Dominic's Preview
In The Garden

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Nicky Scott (Bass)
Alan 'Sticky' Wicket (Percussion)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Matt Holland (Trumpet)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)
Christopher White (Saxophone)

Set Length 1h 14m
Overall show length 2h 42m (including short interval)

31-August-2025
Waterfront Hall
 Belfast, Northern Ireland  

Brendan Hynes once again shares his thoughts on gig

Van Morrison at Waterfront Hall, Belfast, 31st August, 2025
Tonight's show didn't deviate markedly in content from the previous night but with a couple of different special guests present. After opening once again with Into The Mystic and Only A Dream Van said that the next song was going to feature Dana Masters and she certainly rose to the challenge with a fine vocal contribution to Symphony Sid which got a well deserved ovation from the audience. Little Village which followed was once again a major highlight with nice flugelhorn and trumpet solos from Chris White and Matt Holland and an extended saxophone solo from Van towards it's ending.

Chris Farlowe joined Van for Ain't Gonna Moan No More which got the " one more time" instruction from Van before a really good version of It's All Over Now Baby Blue which worked very well. Back To Writing Love Songs and The Only Love I Ever Need Is Yours from the new album received another airing and were well received. Van was a mine of information in introducing For Mr. Thomas as he outlined the background to how it came to be written which involved the writer Robin Williamson going into a fish and chip shop in the USA before going on to a venue frequented by the likes of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg whereupon he read a newspaper page containing references to Dylan Thomas and this provided the inspiration for the lyrics. I'm sure Robin would have appreciated Van's fine rendition!

Van was joined by Kevin Burke who Van said was going to give us some jazz education for Broken Record. After initially leading the audience in some Van birthday celebrations with Van saying "you set me up!" Kevin not only sang some of the vocals but also did some scatting which included his apparent party piece of doing a vocal impression of a trumpet solo which included him waving his hat in front of the imaginary trumpet for greater sound effect no doubt! It was quite impressive and the audience was greatly amused. Crazy Jane On God was very good once again with Dana Masters and Jolene O' Hara contributing beautiful backing vocals. The final special guest was Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones and rather appropriately And It Stoned Me was performed which was a real highlight of the show. Van said it was Ronnie who chose the song to which Ronnie replied that he loves the song. Ronnie also joined Van on the medley of Who Do You Love/ Mona/ Not Fade Away after which Van rather surprisingly shuffled off the stage as he had only been on stage for just over an hour. It was obviously just for effect as he quickly returned alongside Chris Farlowe for a great rendition of Stand By Me on which the brass section excelled. Stormy Monday followed with Ronnie Wood returning to the stage and with Kevin Burke also joining in for Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket.

Unsurprisingly Gloria brought proceedings to an end with Van introducing all the band members and guests including a reference to Sticky Wicket on "percussion and personality" which is quite an accolade! The extended band solos included a moving version of Happy Birthday on trumpet by Matt Holland which the audience joined in with before Jolene O' Hara hit some incredibly high pitched notes with her vocals to huge acclaim.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List 
Into The Mystic 
Only A Dream 
Symphony Sid
Little Village
Ain't Gonna Moan No More (w/Chris Farlowe)
It's All Over Now Baby Blue (w/Chris Farlowe)
Back To Writing Love Songs 
The Only Love I Ever Need Is Yours 
For Mr. Thomas
Broken Record (w/Kevin Burke)
Crazy Jane On God 
And It Stoned Me (w/Ronnie Wood)
Who Do You Love/Mona/Not Fade Away (w/ Ronnie Wood)
Stand By Me (w/Chris Farlowe)
Stormy Monday/ Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket (w/Chris Farlowe/Ronnie Wood who were  joined by Kevin Burke on second song)
Gloria 

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Nicky Scott (Bass)
Alan 'Sticky' Wicket (Percussion)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Matt Holland (Trumpet)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)
Christopher White (Saxophone)

Set Time: 1Hr 39Min

30-August-2025
Waterfront Hall
 Belfast, Northern Ireland  

Brendan Hynes once again shares his thoughts on gig

Van Morrison at Waterfront Hall, Belfast, 30th August, 2025 The first of Van Morrison's weekend 80th birthday shows commenced as has become the norm of late with Into The Mystic followed by Only A Dream which saw Van repeat his No Prima Donna/All Change mantra over and over at the song's ending. Little Village was a major highlight in what was a great arrangement which concluded with a fine extended saxophone solo by Van. Van introduced the first of his special guests which unsurprisingly was Chris Farlowe and they once more worked their way through It's All Over Now Baby Blue followed by Ain't Gonna Moan No More, which featured more fine saxophone playing by Van, and finally Stormy Monday/ Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket featuring nice guitar work by Dave Keary. Van next told us he was going to do a couple of songs from the new album which, as at Thursday night's studio show, were Back To Writing Love Songs and The only Love I Ever Need Is Yours and they clearly benefited from that previous outing as they sounded somewhat stronger tonight. 

Van's second special guest was James Hunter who reprised Ain't That Loving You Baby with Van followed by Just a Little Bit from Van's Them days which included some impressive harmonica playing by James. Their collaboration at that stage of the show concluded with I Don't Want To Go On Without You which James had featured on in a recording by Van. 

For Mr. Thomas was strong once again and was followed by an exceptional Crazy Jane On God featuring Dana Masters and Jolene O' Hara most impressively on backing vocals. This is quite haunting and has become quite a standout set inclusion of late. A somewhat rare and outstanding rendition of Not Feeling It Anymore was a major highlight and went down a storm with the audience. Another rarity followed in If I Ever Needed Someone featuring beautiful backing vocals by Dana Masters to complement Van's own voice. 

The show reached it's conclusion in up tempo mode culminating in Gloria as the final number which featured a rather incredible extended saxophone solo by Chris White as part of the band workout once Van had departed. 

Van was once more in fine voice throughout with the song choices on the night undoubtedly influenced to some extent by the blues backgrounds of Van's special guests for the show.

-Brendan Hynes

Set List 

Into The Mystic 

Only A Dream Little Village 

It's All Over Now Baby Blue (w/Chris Farlowe) 

Ain't Gonna Moan No More (w/Chris Farlowe) 

Stormy Monday/ Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket (w/Chris Farlowe) 

Back To Writing Love Songs 

The Only Love I Ever Need Is Yours 

Ain't That Loving You Baby (w/James Hunter) 

Just A Little Bit ( w/James Hunter) 

I Don't Want To Go On Without You (w/James Hunter) 

For Mr Thomas 

Crazy Jane On God 

Not Feeling It Any More 

If I Ever Needed Someone 

Don't Start Crying Now/ Custard Pie 

Who Do You Love/ Mona/ Not Fade Away (w/James Hunter) 

Gloria (w/Chris Farlowe and James Hunter) 

Set Length 1h 39m

Big Hand For The Band!

Dave Keary (Guitar)

Nicky Scott (Bass)

John McCullough (Keyboards)

Neal Wilkinson (Drums)

Dana Masters (Vocals)

Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

Christopher White (Saxophone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Alan 'Sticky' Wicket (Percussion)

28-August-2025
Studio At Waterfront
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Brendan Hynes Sent in His Thoughts on Gig: 

Van Morrison at Waterfront Hall Studio, Belfast, 28th August, 2025. The first of Van Morrison's three shows at this venue was held in the smaller and more intimate studio so it was a real privilege to be in attendance in a hall with a capacity of around 300. Van arrived on stage to the opening notes of Into The Mystic which set the tone for the evening. Only A Dream which followed was a fine arrangement with Van specifically requesting a fine saxophone solo by Chris White. Enlightenment was followed by two songs ( For Mr.Thomas and Crazy Jane On God) with lyrics by other writers namely Robin Williamson and William Butler Yeats which were both credited beforehand by Van. The latter song featured Dana Masters and Jolene O' Hara prominently on backing vocals to great effect.

After Cold Cold Heart which included a trumpet solo by Matt Holland that Van particularly enjoyed we were treated to a sublime Dweller On The Threshold which featured the brass section and backing vocalists in particular. Back To Writing Love Songs and The Only Love I Ever Need is Yours from the new album were well received and before playing the latter Van explained that the lyrics were written by Don Black so if anyone wants to know what the song is about they need to contact Don because Van doesn't know. A nice arrangement of Little Village was followed by Symphony Sid before the intro to In The Afternoon indicated that we needed to prepare ourselves for the long journey ahead and what a journey it turned out to be as Van gave it the full treatment.We were transported down the ancient highway and along the coastline with Van reminding us that there is No Plan B and No Safety Net. Van put his heart and soul into the song's delivery with the ecstatic standing ovation at it's conclusion richly deserved. 

Will Night was followed by a rare rendition of Blue Money which fairly motored along and it saw guitarist Dave Keary produce some comical high pitched vocals which greatly amused Van and the band before he threw in a very low note subsequently as an apparent display of his versatility!. Don't Start Crying Now/ Custard Pie kept up the high tempo and were followed by Van strapping on the electric guitar before performing a medley of Who Do You Love/ Mona/ Not Fade Away which Van announced as a collection of songs from way back including by Buddy Holly. This medley which I felt paled somewhat in comparison to the rest of the show brought it towards it's conclusion with Van returning one more time to the stage for the standard closing number of Gloria. Van was in fine voice throughout and really engaged in proceedings. This show was a fine aperitif to the weekend birthday celebration shows and certainly whetted the appetite for the main course to follow!
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist

Into The Mystic 

Only A Dream 

Enlightenment 

For Mr.Thomas

Crazy Jane On God

Cold Cold Heart 

Dweller On The Threshold 

Back to Writing Love Songs 

The Only Love I Ever Need Is Yours

Little Village 

Symphony Sid

In The Afternoon 

Wild Night

Blue Money 

Don't Start Crying Now/ Custard Pie

Who Do You Love/ Mona/ Not Fade Away

Gloria 

Set Time: 1h 44m 

Big Hand For The Band!

Dave Keary (Guitar)

Nicky Scott (Bass)

John McCullough (Keyboards)

Neal Wilkinson (Drums)

Dana Masters (Vocals)

Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Alan 'Sticky' Wicket (Percussion)

26-June-2025
Malahide Castle
Malahide, Ireland

 

 Irish Examiner (Source)

 

Van Morrison, Neil Young, Malahide Castle, Dublin ★★★★☆
The electric guitar is alive and well. Neil Young, who is back touring in Europe for the first time in six years with his new backing band, Chrome Hearts, jabbed manically on Old Black, his trusty guitar, to glorious effect at the castle gardens in Malahide on Thursday night.

Before the Canadian star took to the stage, we were treated to a set from Van Morrison, as part of possibly the best double-bill you’ll see this year. Both singers turn 80 in 2025, although they’re acting like men half their age.

The Belfast Cowboy hit the ground running with a heart-lifting rendition of Into the Mystic to open his set. Looking debonair in a blue suit and trilby hat, and clutching his gold mic like a weapon, his voice is as strong as ever. He was in an ebullient mood, even chuckling (yes, sir) as he ebbed and flowed his way through classics from his canon, including Bright Side of the Road and Wild Night. 

 

Van the Man even had time for a bit of improvisation as he got close to the exit ramp: “We’re near the end game here,” he said, casting around to his band. “What about some Summertime in England. Will we do it? Will we do it? Let’s go.” Morrison went out in a blaze of glory with a stomping version of Gloria.

-Richard Fitzpatrick

 

Setlist
Into The Mystic
Cutting Corners
Only A Dream/No Prima Donna
Bright Side Of The Road

Days Like This

Ain't Gonna Moan No More 

Precious Time
Crazy Jane On God

For Mr. Thomas

Wild Night

Summertime In England

Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!

Dave Keary (Guitar)
Nicky Scott (Bass)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)

Dana Masters (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Richie Buckley (Saxaphone)
Guy Barker (Trumpet)

15-April-2025
Mandela Hall
Belfast, Norther Ireland

Brendan Hynes was at gig & sends in his thoughts
This special show titled 'The Blues Project' and featuring special guests Paul Jones and Chris Farlowe promised a night of jazz and blues and that is exactly what was delivered. Chris Farlowe got proceedings off to a stomping start with a lively rendition of the Ray Charles classic Unchain My Heart on which the band excelled. Chris followed this with an acapella version of a Lee Roy Parnell song called The Rock which was certainly something different. Van Morrison then took to the stage and performed Broken Record which was notable for Van uttering the song title 29 times as the song concluded thereby equalling the previous record (which therefore actually remains unbroken!). Going Down to Bangor proceeded impressively at breakneck speed as Van armed himself with his bucket and spade for the journey! Baby Please Don't Go/ Streamline Train upped the tempo again before the Centrepiece jazz standard which followed. Laughin' And Clownin' was a particular highlight featuring great guitar, saxophone and trumpet solos by Dave Keary, Chris White and Matt Holland respectively.

When Van made his way to the piano I sensed something special would ensue and sure enough he delivered a superb version of the Ray Charles song What Would I Do which Van of course covered on his Sense of Wonder album.The version performed tonight was enhanced by some wonderful harmonica playing by Paul Jones who entered from the wings of the stage about half way through the song and his playing encouraged Van to issue his infamous "one more time" invite! The backing vocals of Dana Masters and Jolene O' Hara, which were excellent throughout the show, were particularly haunting on this song as they complemented Van's own vocals beautifully. This song and other notable covers such as All In The Game exemplify the particular ability that Van has to put his own particular stamp on a song so that it surpasses the original version and sounds like one of his own compositions!

Paul Jones performed a solo version of Work Song before being joined by Sam Burgess on bass to perform a song called Sonny Boy Williamson which Paul informed us he had recorded back in the 1960s with the late great bassist Jack Bruce of Cream fame as a tribute after the death of blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson.

Van was joined by Chris Farlowe for a very strong version of Stormy Monday which was merged with Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket and which featured some great guitar playing by Dave Keary including the replication of the police siren sound made famous by John Plitania of the Caledonia Soul Orchestra during the It's Too Late To Stop Now shows. There were great saxophone and trumpet solos performed as well in the song's delivery. Ain't Gonna Moan No More was very strong once again and featured some fine extended saxophone playing by Van towards the song's conclusion.Rock Me Baby which followed once more featured the brass section prominently aided in no small measure by Paul Jones on harmonica.

Van introduced Fame as a song he had recorded with Paul Jones before going on to say that Paul had played the part of a rock singer in a film many years ago. When Paul clarified that the part was that of a pop singer Van as quick as a flash jokingly asked him if he had to practice to play the part!! This song was very well performed and another highlight of the show.
Help Me indicated that the end was nigh and featured Paul Jones once more on vocals and harmonica before being followed by lively versions of Think Twice Before You Go and Worried Man Blues/ This Loving Light Of Mine which brought the main set to a close.

Van did return for Gloria which was a somewhat surprising song choice given the nature of the particular show and it as usual saw the band play extended solos before Jolene O 'Hara impressively showcased her vast vocal range as the song concluded.

Van was in great voice throughout the show and seemed to really enjoy the collaboration with his two musical guests enormously. 
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Unchain My Heart (Sung by Chris Farlowe)
The Rock (Sung by Chris Farlowe)
Broken Record
Going Down To Bangor

Baby Please Don't Go/Streamline Train
Centerpiece
Laughin' & Clownin'
What Would I Do
Work Song (Sung by Paul Jones)
Sonny Boy Williamson (Sung by Paul Jones)
Stormy Monday/Take your Hand Out of My Pocket (w/Chris Farlowe)
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Rock Me Baby (w/Chris Farlowe (vocals & Paul Jones (harmonica))
Fame (w/Paul Jones)
Help Me (w/Paul Jones (vocals & harmonica))
Think Twice Before You Go
Worried Man Blues/This Little Light of Mine (w/Chris Farlowe & Paul Jones)
Gloria (w/Chris Farlowe (vocals & Paul Jones (harmonica))

Set Length I h 45m.

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Sam Burgess(Bass)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)
Alan 'Sticky' Wicket (Percussion)
Christopher White (Saxaphone)
Matt Holland (Trumpet)

31-March-2025
Usher Concert Hall
Edinburgh, Scotland

 

Brendan Sends in His Thoughts
Tonight's show was, as the setlist indicates, broadly similar to the Glasgow show the previous night with just a few different song choices so for brevity I will pick out some of the highlights as I saw them. After opening once more with Skye Boat Song,Van quickly played the unmistakable opening saxophone intro to Did Ye Get Healed which was quite superb once more with the brass section and backing vocalists very much to the fore. After Van had performed Cold Cold Heart with great gusto he informed us that it was a Hank Williams song with a Louis Prima twist before introducing the next song as a Ray Charles one which was of course What Would I Do Without You with Van once more on piano. This was even better than the previous night and a brilliant organ solo by John McCullough clearly gained Van's approval as he said " that's it" a couple of times. Van became totally immersed in the song' s delivery and left the piano to sing standing sideways facing the backing vocalists while performing various hand movements of emphasis in doing so.It was quite magnificent! An extended Little Village which followed had the audience totally enraptured by it's brilliance and it would be hard to get more reverential audience behaviour in a church setting! 

 

Someone Like You with Van on piano once more was quite sublime and would have been even more enjoyable for me were it not for the intervention of an over zealous usher shouting loudly across the row where I was seated at someone who may apparently have been filming some of the song on his phone. Somewhat to my disappointment Northern Muse did not feature tonight but the inclusion of another gem in Dweller On The Threshold was rich compensation with Matt Holland on trumpet and Chris White on saxophone making huge contributions. 

 

Snatch It Back & Hold It was unleashed once more on an unsuspecting audience and was even better than the previous night with Van and his band really on fire with Van contributing some great harmonica and brilliant solos by John McCullough on organ and Chris White on saxophone. The audience absolutely loved it as did I and it got probably the biggest ovation of the night which is really saying something given the quality of Van's own compositions performed. Playing the blues doesn't get much better than this and I could see this song becoming a real fan favourite. Star of the County Down was a pretty rare set inclusion complete with Van's arms flailing north, south, east and west just like he used to do in bygone years with the great Georgie Fame! Unsurprisingly Gloria brought proceedings to an end as part of the main set with John McCullough's organ solo the winner for me of the many great band solos performed after Van had departed. This was another fine show with Van in fine voice throughout and his band reaching great heights in delivering the songs he chose to include in the set. 

 

One noteworthy aspect of both tonight's show and the Glasgow show the previous night was the level of respect for and indeed reverence towards Van shown by the audience throughout as they sat enraptured with a decided absence of people talking annoyingly during songs (apart of course from the unruly usher who interrupted Someone Like You tonight) which so often ruins concert attendance in modern times for real music fans.
-Brendan Hynes

 

 Setlist
Skye Boat Song
Did Ye Get Healed?
Cold Cold Heart

What Would I Do

Little Village

Enlightenment
Days Like This

Have I Told You Lately
Someone Like You
No Other Baby

Dweller On The Threshold 

Green Rocky Road

Snatch It Back & Hold It

Only A Dream
Real Real Gone/You Send Me

Star Of The County Down
Gloria

Set Length I h 49m.

Big Hand For The Band!

Dave Keary (Guitar)
Sam Burgess(Bass)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)

Dana Masters (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)

Alan 'Sticky' Wicket (Percussion)

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)