Dianne Reeves is to play at this year's Belfast festival at Queen’s, joining the already announced Neil Cowley trio on the bill. The jazz singer whose latest album is Beautiful Life is also playing this autumn’s Cork Jazz Festival and is to perform at south Belfast’s Elmwood Hall on 26 October, her first Northern Ireland appearance. Also for Belfast the great Detroit soul singer Bettye LaVette plays the city for the first time. LaVette proved herself one of the best interpreters of Van Morrison songs on the planet on tribute album Vanthology which came out just over a decade ago with her take on ‘Real Real Gone’ from Van's early-1990s album, Enlightenment.

Bettye LaVette, above. Photo: Stephen Fourie