Album Recorded Live at Willowfield Church, August 2018.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime event – a warm, early August evening, Ken Haddock and his top-flight band, in the beautiful acoustic setting of Willowfield Church in Belfast, with The Arco String Quartet. It turned out to be one of the most memorable and moving gigs of the year – and is now one of the finest albums of the year.

Blessed with one of Northern Ireland’s most powerful and emotive voices, Ken is renowned as an interpreter of classic songs. But this concert, specially recorded for the EastSide Arts Festival, gave him a chance to showcase his own beautiful compositions, like ‘Diamond Girl’, ‘One Woman’ and ‘Delirious’, in front of an enraptured audience. And there were classic cover songs there, too, including a stunning version of ‘Losing My Religion’ and an inspired, lump-in-the-throat revisiting of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now’ – both featuring the shivers-down-the-spine sound of The Arco String Quartet.

Acclaimed producer Alastair McMillan caught the whole occasion on tape, and the resulting album – One Night in Willowfield – offers a chance to celebrate one of our brightest stars - and a magical one-off performance.

Also available to purchase from EastSide Visitor Centre, 402 Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 1HH