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)

30-March-2025
Glasgow Concert Hall
Glasgow, Scotland

 

Brendan Hynes Sends in His Thoughts on Gig

In opening with a smooth instrumental version of Skye Boat Song, Van was seemingly paying his respects to his Scottish surroundings. He followed this song with a masterful version of Did Ye Get Healed which not only saw the brass section excel but also Dana Masters and Jolene O' Hara with superb backing vocals. Van was clearly very enthused as he encouraged both the band and the audience to clap along in unison towards it's conclusion which they did. When a rare performance of Little Village followed it was clear that this was going to be a special night and when Van then sat behind the piano and introduced the Ray Charles song What Would I Do? the bar was raised even higher with it's delivery with Van really into it and great solos from John McCullough on organ and Chris White on saxophone. After the band had brought the sound level way down low Van rather amusingly said "don't stop playing"!! When Van remained on piano for a beautiful rendition of Northern Muse I was thinking that this was the most magical start to a Van Morrison concert I had heard in a long time. 

 

After performing Enlightenment and Days Like This Van suddenly exclaimed "By The Way, Happy Mother's Day" in recognition of the day that was in it. Have I Told You Lately saw Dana feature prominently and even more so on Someone Like You which followed with Van on piano once more. It was beautiful and much appreciated by the very respectful Glasgow audience. 

 

Ain't Gonna Moan No More got the full treatment with extended band solos while Only A Dream saw Van in meditative mode as he repeated the words " all change" and "church bells chime" at the song's conclusion for an extended time. 

 

Green Rocky Road was indeed quite rocky at the outset as Van quickly removed the electric guitar he had strapped on and asked the unfortunate crew member who brought out a replacement and took away the offending instrument "how did that happen?". Van was clearly unhappy with the replacement guitar and handed it back as well before continuing to sing for a couple of minutes without any guitar until finally one was delivered in satisfactory working order at which point I was able to settle back down once more in my seat! 

 

The opening line of Real Real Gone saw an audience member seated near me seemingly become overcome by the brilliance of it all when pointing at Van before exclaiming "He's A Genius"!! The song itself was merged with You Send Me and featured Dana and Jolene prominently and to great effect. 

 

As the show neared it's conclusion Van introduced a Junior Wells blues song called Snatch It Back And Hold It which he and the band fairly thundered through at pace. If this song is a sneak preview of some of the songs to be performed at the forthcoming Blues Project shows in Mandela Hall, Belfast then it certainly augers well. 

 

Gloria featured as the last song of the main set with no encore. The band featured extensively as ever on this number and with Jolene reaching an extremely high vocal pitch during her vocal contribution which got great audience appreciation. 

 

Van was in fine voice throughout the show and very committed to the songs performed aided in no small measure by the superb contribution of his band and backing vocalists. 

-Brendan Hynes 

Setlist
Skye Boat Song
Did Ye Get Healed?
Little Village
What Would I Do
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Enlightenment
Days Like This
No Other Baby
Have I Told You Lately
Someone Like You
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Only A Dream
Green Rocky Road
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Snatch It Back & Hold It
Gloria

Set Length I h 44m.

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)

24-March-2025
Sub Rooms
Stroud, England

Setlist
Only A Dream
You Gotta Make It Through The World
Days Like This
Enlightenment
Someone Like You
Have I Told You Lately
Green Rocky Road
Vanlose Stairway
No Other Baby
Down To Joy
Wild Night
Moondance
Cleaning Windows
Precious Time
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Snatch It Back & Hold It
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Gloria

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)

23-March-2025
New Theatre Oxford
Oxford, England

Setlist
Only A Dream
You Gotta Make It Through The World
Someone Like You
Days Like This
So Quiet In Here
Down To Joy
Steal My Heart Away
Enlightenment
Have I Told You Lately
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Centerpiece
New Symphony Sid
Green Rocky Road
Did Ye Get Healed
Talk Is Cheap
Precious Time
Help Me
Ain't Gonna Moan No More 

Big Hand For The Band!

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

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

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Trevor Mires (Trombone)
Guy Barker (Trumpet)

19-March-2025
Symphony Hall 
Birmingham, England

Setlist 

Only A Dream

Back On Top 

Days Like This

Broken Record

Down To Joy

Enlightenment

Ain't Gonna Mon No More

Vanlose Stairway

Cleaning Windows

Magic Time

Have I Told You Lately

Centerpiece

Bags Groove

In The Afternoon/Raincheck

Laughin' & Clownin'

Wild Night 

Help Me 

Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!

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

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

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Trevor Mires (Trombone)
Guy Barker (Trumpet)

18-March-2025
Royal Concert Hall
 Nottingham, England

Setlist 

Only A Dream

Back On Top 

Days Like This

Enlightenment

Wonderful Remark

Cleaning Windows

New Symphony Sid

Green Rocky Road 

Ain;t Gonna Mon No More

Precious time

Wild Night

Moondance

Down To Joy

Bright Side of the Road

Broken Record

Vanlose Stairway

Help Me 

Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!

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

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

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Trevor Mires (Trombone)
Guy Barker (Trumpet)

23-February-2025
Whitla Hall
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Setlist 

Only A Dream

Back On Top 

You Gotta Make It Through The World

Ain't Gonna Moan No More

So Quiet In Here

Steal My Heart Away

When Will I Be Loved

Broken Record

Vanlose Stairway

Enlightenment

New Symphony Sid

Green Rocky Road 

Precious Time 

Summertime in England 

Wild Night

Help Me 

Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!

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

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

Richie Buckley (Saxaphone)

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Trevor Mires (Trombone)
Guy Barker (Trumpet)

22-February-2025
Whitla Hall
Belfast, Northern Ireland 

Setlist

Only A Dream 

Back On Top 

You Gotta Make It Through The World 

Aint Gonna Moan No More 

I'm So Lonesome, I Could Cry 

Laughin' And Clownin' 

Precious Time 

Enlightenment 

Vanlose Stairway 

Down To Joy 

Green Rocky Road 

Summertime In England 

Jackie Wilson Said 

Whenever God Shines His Light 

Think Twice Before You Go 

Help Me

Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Sam Burgess (Bass)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)
Richie Buckley (Saxaphone)
Christopher White (Saxaphone)
Matt Holland (Trumpet)
Trevor Mires (Trombone)
Guy Barker (Trumpet)

21-February-2025
Whitla Hall
Belfast, Northern Ireland

via S, Corr

Brendan Hynes was at gig & sends in this review

As the band took to the stage for the first of Van Morrison's three shows this weekend at the venue it was very pleasing to see that the big band format assembled for the New Arrangements and Duets album launch shows in Brighton last year was once more followed. Also noteworthy was the return after many years of Neal Wilkinson on drums and Richie Buckley on saxophone with the latter's presence proving particularly significant as the show progressed. 

The show opened with lively renditions of Only A Dream and Back on Top before Van reverted briefly into skiffle territory with I Want A Roof Over My Head which was followed by a very impressive rendition of So Quiet In Here. Laughin' and Clownin' saw Van in full flight aided in no small measure by the excellent big band and backing vocalists Jolene O' Hara and Dana Masters. Down To Joy was introduced by Van as the new single and apparently it is included on his new forthcoming album. Green Rocky Road represented a further skiffle selection before Days Like This, Enlightenment and Precious Time saw a return to more regular set selections. 

The sight of Van proceeding to sit at the piano often promises something special and sure enough we were treated to a superb Vanlose Stairway featuring a great Richie Buckley saxophone solo and lovely big band brass. There was understandably a huge ovation at the end of the song whereupon Van uttered the word 'Summertime" before embarking on a magical journey back through Summertime in England. This one got the full treatment as we visited the mystic church and had Van telling Mr. Lawrence that he read his book with Richie Buckley repeating Van's utterances at breakneck speed during the 'call and respond' segment before unleashing a savage piece of saxophone playing as the song reached a crescendo with the backing singers singing "Soul Is A Witness" over and over towards it's conclusion. There was unsurprisingly an audience eruption followed by a standing ovation at the end of the song. 

Whenever God Shines His Light was followed by a terrific rendition of Ain't Gonna Moan No More featuring superb solos by Dave Keary on guitar, Guy Barker on trumpet, Sam Burgess on bass and John McCullough on organ. Come On In and Moondance were followed by a powerful Help Me on which the backing vocalists excelled before the encore of Gloria brought proceedings to an end but not before a quite incredible trombone solo by Trevor Mires which brought the house down. 

Van was in fine voice and quite jovial throughout the show and there was a strong dynamic evident with his superb band. 

-Brendan Hynes

Setlist 

Only A Dream

Back On Top 

I Want A Roof Over My Head 

So Quiet In Here 

Laughin And Clownin' 

Down To Joy 

Green Rocky Road 

Days Like This 

Enlightenment 

Precious Time 

Vanlose Stairway 

Summertime in England 

Whenever God Shines His Light 

Ain't Gonna Moan No More 

Come On In 

Moondance 

Help Me 

Gloria

Set Length: 1hr 47m

Big Hand For The Band!

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

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

Richie Buckley (Saxaphone)

Christopher White (Saxaphone)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Trevor Mires (Trombone)
Guy Barker (Trumpet)

21-January-2025
Grand Opera House
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Crawford Bell Tribute 

 

Setlist: 

Have I Told You Lately