Van the Man announces intimate Trim concert

The notoriously reclusive Van Morrison has announced an intimate concert in Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim, which will take place in April. It is one of his few Irish appearances to be confirmed outside of Northern Ireland and Britain this year, and takes the form of a concert with five-course meal and a champagne reception. Tickets are a princely €175 for the event on Sunday 7th April. Late last year, Morrison, known as 'Van the Man' released a new studio album with Blue Note, 'Born to Sing', his thirty-fifth studio album as a solo artist. His last album for Blue Note was the Grammy nominated 'What's Wrong With This Picture?' in 2003. Morrison's career, which has seen him honoured with a Brit Award, an OBE, an Ivor Novello, six Grammys, honorary doctorates from Queens University Belfast and University Of Ulster, induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the French Ordres Des Artes Et Des Lettres, has done nothing less than redefine the possibilities of pop music. There are ten original songs on 'Born To Sing', his first new album in four years (the longest he has ever gone between recordings), revealing an artist continuing to test his creative parameters. "They're not all one thing," he says. "Some are about the world crisis, others are more mystical. Whatever ideas come in, there's no set abc of it. Really, it wouldn't be interesting if everything was set - there would be no surprises." Perhaps the most striking thing on the new album is hearing him weigh in on the global financial and economic meltdown on several songs. From his earliest days, Van Morrison has channelled the influences of such giants as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson, and Leadbelly. His music has defied boundaries, offering everything from the swinging soul-jazz of moondance to the traditional celtic styles of Irish heartbeat. In the last few decades, he has collaborated with a range of artists including John Lee Hooker, Mose Allison, and Tom Jones, and dedicated projects to celebrating and re-exploring his blues, jazz, skiffle, and country roots. He famously entertained President Bill Clinton on his visit to Belfast in 1995 with his rednition of 'Days Like This', which he penned himself. It became the official anthem of the peace movement in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Office used it along with 'Brown Eyed Girl' as theme music for a television advertisement promoting the ceasefire. Morrison performed it for an audience of 60-80,000 people when President Clinton visited Belfast on November 30, 1995. Clinton, himself a saxophonist, had shown an appreciation for Morrison's music and had wanted to perform but was advised against it by security officers.