Van Morrison Tickets at Mandela Hall

Born in 1945, Van heard his Shipyard worker father’s collection of blues, country and gospel early in life. Feeding off musical greats such as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson and Leadbelly, he was a travelling musician at 15 and singing, playing guitar and sax in several bands before forming Them in 1964. The band enjoyed chart success with instant hits such as the much covered ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here Comes The Night’.

Van’s unrivalled song writing and musicality continues to evolve with the creation of new material and reinterpretation of older classics, showcased in the current album ‘New Arrangements And Duets’, which features fifteen tracks, personally selected by Van Morrison, from his extensive back catalogue. A career-spanning set, stretching from ‘I’ll Be Your Lover Too’, originally from 1970’s ‘His Band And The Street Choir’, through to ‘Ain’t Gonna Moan No More’, from 2018’s ‘The Prophet Speaks’.

The duets highlight an array of vocalists in the shape of Kurt Elling, Curtis Stigers, Joss Stone and Willie Nelson. The two Willie Nelson duets – ‘What’s Wrong With This Picture’ and ‘Steal My Heart Away’ – also showcase the guitar talents of Lucas Nelson of Promise Of The Real.