Book now: Brian Kennedy at Band on the Wall

Folk and country fans will enjoy a real treat when Van Morrison protégé Brian Kennedy visits Manchester. The Belfast balladeer has an astonishing career which has taken him from humble beginnings on the Falls Road to the glittering Madison Square Gardens. He started as singer with Van Morrison and has since competed for Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest, was a coach on the Irish version of The Voice, and has sung with Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker and, in an impromptu Ronnie Scott’s performance, with Stevie Wonder. He even did a lilting acoustic version of ‘Dry Your Eyes’ by Mike Skinner’s The Streets. Perhaps his biggest moment was singing ‘You Raise Me Up’ at the funeral of legendary footballer George Best – expect similarly epic ballads tonight.

Fri 17 Nov, Band on the Wall, 25 Swan Street, Manchester M4 5JZ. Tel: 0161 834 1786, 7pm, £20, www.bandonthewall.org