Kaz Hawkins is a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer and songwriter signed to Dixiefrog Records in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France and Earlybird Records in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Career

Hawkins was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

but now lives in a rural part of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and sang in cover bands for 20 years before she began creating original material. Hawkins has released 6 studio albums, two EPs (no longer available), and three live albums (one no longer available). She has also released one compilation album exclusively on vinyl. Upon signing with ''Dixiefrog Records'', an anthology of her back catalogue called ''My Life and I'', was released. A seventeen track CD and double vinyl was released in 2022. In 2023 ''Until We Meet Again'' (2023) and Live In Brezoi (I) (2024) was also released on the Dixiefrog label. In 2025 A French documentary called
"My Life And You"
' that was made about Hawkins early traumatic years by

France Televisions France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

was released and is now currently streaming online by France.TV. This production was produced by French film company Oxymore in partnership with Festival Éclats d'Émail Jazz in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, France where Hawkins now lives. Collaborations with other artists have helped her enter other genres. The latest in July 2024 with English DJ

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2 ...

featuring Hawkins song "Shake" on his album
Trunk Of Funk Volume 3
(2024).'' In January 2024 a duet called "''A Place Like Home"'' with French soul artist Thomas Kahn ''.'' In December 2023 Hawkins featured on a gospel single "''Life Is A Road"'' with Italian duo Superdownhome. In 2019, she featured on French

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

Dj Eugène de Rastignac's single "''Won't You Save My Sou''l" released on SPACE PARTY Records. In 2020, ''On The Little Island'' was released as a duet with German composer Mathis Richter-Reichhelm ( Swimming The Nile) on Early-Bird Records in Germany. Hawkins was invited to

Florence Academy of Art The Florence Academy of Art is an American art school in Florence, in Tuscany in central Italy. It was started by Daniel Graves, an American painter, in 1991. Teaching is in the traditional style of the old masters. The school is a branch of ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, to join in a various artists album ''Something In The Water'', to help highlight children not having access to arts in Alabama. The album included one of the original

Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or a ...

David Hood David Hood (born September 21, 1943) is an American musician, hailing from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, He is known for playing the bass guitar and trombone, and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Early life and education Hood was b ...

and musicians Clayton Ivey and Will McFarlane - supporting a line up of international artists covering songs recorded in Alabama. In April 2022, Hawkins was given the honorable title of ''Godmother of the oldest blues'' festival in France. Cahors Blues Festival asked her permission in front of gathered press at the launch of the 40th anniversary of the festival. She accepted the honour of 'Marraine du festival'. She joined

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram Christone "Kingfish" Ingram (born January 19, 1999) is an American blues guitarist and singer from Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States, who became a well-known performer as a teenager. His debut album, '' Kingfish,'' was released in May 2019. ...

Popa Chubby Popa Chubby, (pronounced POP'-uh) stage name of Theodore Joseph "Ted" Horowitz (born March 31, 1960, in The Bronx, New York City, New York), is an American singer, composer, and guitarist. Life and career At age thirteen Horowitz began playin ...

and Kirk Fletcher as festival headliners in July 2022, in the town of

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

, France. Hawkins has regularly been invited by the Irish composer and

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

nominee Brian Byrne, to perform in Ireland and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on his compositions. She joined an international cast including

Fra Fee Fra Fee (born 20 May 1987) is a Northern Irish actor and singer. He is best known for playing Courfeyrac in Tom Hooper's 2012 film adaptation of ''Les Misérables'', and for his role as Kazi in the Disney+ series ''Hawkeye'', which is set in ...

Joe Rooney Joseph "Joe" Rooney (born 1 October 1963) is an Irish actor, comedian and singer-songwriter from Drogheda, County Louth. After four years fronting Dublin-based band Guernica in the mid-1980s, Rooney became better known for his acting and in ...

Adele King Adèle King (born Adèle Condron-King, 4 April 1951) is an Irish entertainer better known as Twink. She is from Dublin. She is the mother of singer Chloë Agnew RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is a professional radio orchestra in Ireland and is part of RTÉ, the national broadcaster. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra has grown from a small studio-bas ...

for the launch of the production of ''Angel of Broadway'' in Dublin. In 2017, Hawkins reached the semi-finals of The

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs t ...

International Blues Challenge which then led to her winning th
European Blues Challenge
in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

representing the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was the first time the UK had an artist win at the challenge, beating 21 countries. In the same year, Hawkins began presenting a blues show on

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster is a Northern Ireland, Northern Irish national radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. Acc ...

, called ''Kaz Hawkins Got The Blues'', produced by Ralph McLean. As of 2024, a total of nine series have been recorded by Hawkins for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

Awards

*Winner - Best Album for ''My Life And I'' - Innocent Award. Berlin, Germany (2022). *NI Music Prize nominee in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2022 *Winner - Northern Ireland Blues Act of the Year - UK Blues Award (2018). *Winner - European Blues Challenge in Denmark (2017). *Semi-finalist -

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

(2017). *Winner - UK Blues Challenge (2016). *Winner - Pure M Magazine Awards - Ireland Best Female and Best Video for "This Is Me" (2016). *Winner - Barry Middleton Memorial Award for Emerging Artist at the British Blues Awards (2015).

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Get Ready'' (2014) * ''Feelin' Good'' (2017) - Kaz Hawkins Band *''Feelin' Good'' (2017) (US Version) *''Feelin' Good'' (2018) (reissue) * ''Don't You Know'' (2017) * ''Until We Meet Again'' (2023)

Live albums

* ''Live at The Park Avenue Feat. Sam York'' (2018) *''Live at La Traverse'' (no longer available) (2020) *''Live in Brezoi (I) (2024)''

Compilation albums

* ''The Collection on Vinyl'' (2018) *''Memories Of'' (2020) *''My Life And I'' (2022 Remastered) Dixiefrog Records *''My Life And I (Special Edition Vinyl Picture Disc (2025) Dixiefrog Record

'

Singles

*''"On This Little Island" (2020) - Mathis & Kaz (Earlybird Records, Germany)'' *''"Slow Down" (2024)'' *''"Sail On (Orchestral Version)" (2024)'' *''"Sail On (Acoustic Version)" (2024)'' *''"My Mountain" (2025)''

Appears on

*''"Shake" (2014) Track 4 on Various – The Best Of 2014 (The blues magazine of Classic Rock (magazine), Classic Rock later renamed

Louder Sound ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 196 ...

)'' *''"Let it Be" (2015) Track 6 on Simon Murphy - Let it Be'' *''"Won't You Save My Soul" (2019) Single - Eugene De Rastignac'' *''"Something in the Water" (2019) Various Artists - Florence Academy of Fine Arts (FAFA), United States'' *''"Life Is A Road" (2023) Single - Superdownhome'' *''"A Place Like Home" (2024) Single - Thomas Kahn'' *''"Shake" (2024 Remaster) Track 13 on

–
Trunk Of Funk Volume 3
'

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Kaz 1973 births Living people Musicians from Belfast Blues singers from Northern Ireland Women singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland 21st-century singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland BBC Radio Ulster presenters 21st-century women singers from Northern Ireland British women radio presenters Soul singers from Northern Ireland Jazz singers from Northern Ireland