Widely regarded as one of the most significant talents to emerge in the world of Irish traditional music, award-winning musician Martin Hayes has shared stages with Sting and Paul Simon; received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland Galway;  performed for President Barack Obama at the White House; and founded the acclaimed Irish/American supergroup The Gloaming.

 * * * * *

"My own musical journey is centred on instrumental playing and I thought that 'Moondance' was a very interesting tune melodically. It is the kind of melody that could have a life as a jazz standard or maybe even an Irish jig."

Read more in the upcoming Van Morrison Special Issue of Hot Press, and watch Martin Hayes perform 'Moondance' below:

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

• 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.