Paul Casey has announced Rea-magined, a tribute show for Chris Rea, set for May 5 at the City of Derry Jazz Festival.

The performance will take place at The Millennium Forum. Since Rea is no longer touring, this show presents a rare opportunity to hear his music live. Tickets are on sale now.

“Chris wrote music that was always supposed to be played live,” said Casey, his long-time collaborator. “It’s always been a thrill to work with Chris, and so putting together this initiative has been a brilliant experience. I want to continue his live legacy in the right way, because it’s all about playing in front of an audience, and for an audience. Otherwise, why do we do any of this in the first place?”

Rea spoke to Hot Press about his relationship with Casey last year.

“His first demos were absolutely amazing,” he said. “It was an eerie feeling for me because it was as if I’d played it. It was so accurate.”

“He’s got a really nice tone – a soft, Irish tone,” Rea said of Casey. “There's something very Irish in what he does. But there's something very Irish in what I do as well. He's like a younger brother. He's now been my inspiration to get some songs done. Paul’s a good friend. I think it's wonderful what's happened to him.”

Watch the teaser for Rea-magined below, and buy tickets here: