Armed with one of the most powerful voices in the country, Jess Kavanagh has found widespread acclaim as the lead singer of self-described ‘agrosoul’ group BARQ. Some of her career highlights include a lauded performance on Body&Soul’s Main Stage in 2018 and sold-out headliners with BARQ, as well as a special guest appearance during Hozier’s Electric Picnic set in 2019, to sing ‘Nina Cried Power’.

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"The international music scene is surprisingly small, and the Irish music scene is even smaller – parochial even. In my experiences of being a musician in Ireland, I’ve always only felt one or two degrees of separation away from Van Morrison. I’ve been able to learn important gems of wisdom from the session musicians that worked with him, and in that sense I have really felt his legacy.

"I've been lucky to have had the opportunity to play with Ralph Salmins over the last couple of years with The Waterboys. Ralph also worked with Van Morrison for ten years, so I asked him to recommend a good song I may not have known. He suggested ‘Vanlose Stairway’. I loved the call and response from the backing vocals, and I wanted to recreate that myself. I roped in Ralph Salmins, Steve Wickham and Aongus Ralston from The Waterboys, and the wonderful Luke Dunford from Chief Keegan to play with me – and they were more than happy to help. Although it was all recorded separately, it all sounds magically tight, and the interplay between the fiddle and keys sounds so good. I’m blessed that I could call on such a superteam!"

Read more in the upcoming Van Morrison Special Issue of Hot Press, and watch Jess Kav perform 'Vanlose Stairway' below:

See the full schedule for the upcoming performances on 'Rave On, Van Morrison' below:

• Fri Aug 21 Gemma Bradley Sometimes We Cry (7pm); Jess Kav Vanlose Stairway (8pm)
• Sat Aug 22 Mick Flannery Linden Arden Stole the Highlights (7pm); The Henry Girls These Are The Days (8pm)
• Sun Aug 23 Martin Hayes Moondance (7pm); Cara Dillon Memory Lane (8pm)
• Mon Aug 24 Damien Rice Crazy Love (7pm); ROE Lifetimes (8pm)
• Tues Aug 25 Moncrieff Hungry For Your Love (7pm); Loah If I Ever Needed Someone (8pm)
• Wed Aug 26 Rosie Carney Gypsy Queen (7pm); Whenyoung Irish Heartbeat (8pm)
• Thur Aug 27 Mary Stokes Band Roll With The Punches (7pm); Wyvern Lingo Domino (8pm)
• Fri Aug 28 Beoga Scandinavia (7pm); Reevah Ballerina (8pm)
• Sat Aug 29 Luka Bloom Madame George (7pm); Conor Marcus Rough God Goes Riding (8pm)
• Sun Aug 30 David Lyttle feat. Liam Neeson On Hyndford Street (7pm); Paul Brady Cry For Home (8pm)

Each 'Rave On, Van Morrison' performance premieres every night on the Hot Press YouTube channel. To make sure you don't miss out on any of our upcoming videos, subscribe to our YouTube here!

Hot Press is also publishing a Van Morrison Special Issue, to coincide with ‘Rave On, Van Morrison’, featuring written contributions from the legendary likes of Sinéad O'Connor, Gary Lightbody, Tim Wheeler, Una Healy and David Keenan – who reflect on Van's music and influence. The issue will also look back at five decades of landmark Hot Press interviews with Van, in which he discusses everything from Ray Charles and his other musical heroes, to the inspiration behind the seminal Astral Weeks. Plus, you can expect exclusive photos from the archives, ten ways Van has changed the world, and much more. This historic publication is set to be a must-have for Van Morrison fans all over the world, and is available to pre-order now.