Belfast’s blues queen Kaz Hawkins announces long awaited homecoming tour

Kicking off on August 25, the tour will see the 49-year-old singer, who now lives in France, perform in Dungannon, Strabane, Coleraine and Belfast over the course of four days.

With a career in music starting at just age 12, Kaz was quick to establish herself in the rhythm and blues music scene. Taking inspiration from musical powerhouse Etta James, she spent her twenties performing across Northern Ireland in cover bands and establishing herself, and her dynamic energy, in the music industry.

After 30 years of great success touring every corner Europe has to offer, Kaz and her husband made the move to rural France in October 2019.

As her popularity continued to grow around central Europe, the move to France made more sense than ever. With the release of her remastered album ‘My Life and I’, it’s proved to be a step in the right direction.

Released in April 2022, My Life and I (2022 Remastered) has seen monumental success in France. Fnac, the French equivalent of HMV, declared Kaz their ‘crush’, instantly labelling her as a must-hear, must-see artist, and listed the anthology in the jazz/vocal Top 5 Albums of April.

Before official release, the record also hit Number 1 on Amazon France and UK respectively. More recent figures have shown that My Life and I (2022 Remastered) quickly rose to the Number 1 Best Selling Album in Fnac stores across France.

“The response has been crazy, it’s just blown my mind. The songs are so personal that, when you put it out into the world, you’re so afraid of not being accepted. But this has been a big validation for me,” shared the artist.

“I can’t wait to see my friends back home,” she added. “They’ve all just been watching how things have panned out in France from afar. Because of Covid nobody could visit so this is the first opportunity that we can all hook up again so it’s going to be quite a party - especially my Belfast gig at The Empire.”

“We’re going to spend a week on the north coast because all but one of my band members have never been to Northern Ireland before. I’m very proud to be Northern Irish and sometimes you have to come away to appreciate what you had.”

Kaz will be performing at The Craic Theatre in Coalisland on August 25, The Alley Theatre in Strabane on August 26, The Riverside Theatre in Coleraine on August 27 and Belfast’s Empire Music Hall on August 28.

She will be supported throughout the Northern Ireland tour by singer/songwriter Aidan Logan.

Tickets for Kaz’s Homecoming Tour are available from kazhawkins.com/tour