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
Dweller On The Threshold
Snatch It Back and Hold It
Back To Writing Love Songs
Once In A Lifetime Feelings
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
David Hayes (Bass)
John McCullough (Organ)
Leo Green (Saxaphone)
Sumudu Jayatilaka (Vocals)
Jolene O’Hara (Vocals)
