Report: Rockfeedback @ iTunes Festival Night 25 Beverley Knight, 25/7/09
4/5
By: Stephen Maughan
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This year, Rockfeedback is delighted to be the official blog partner for the rather exciting iTunes Festival, taking place at London’s Roundhouse every night in July. Over the course of the festival, we’ll not be missing a night, delivering morning-after reports on everyone from Oasis and Bloc Party to Franz Ferdinand and Kasabian playing intimate sets to fans lucky enough to have won tickets to the shows.
The British queen of soul, Beverley Knight, delighted fans with a swan song of her greatest hits (including a crowd pleasing ‘Made it Back’), cover versions (‘Take Another Little Piece of my Heart’), and new material from her forthcoming album 100%. Beverley Knight is one of those artists that have developed throughout the years, but has maintained a unique and bewitching voice which was shown off with ease and sophistication to a relaxed crowd of all ages, where even the most introvert observers were, due to her pure energy and enthusiasm, dancing and waving their arms by the end of the night.
Beverley Knight, now 36 and dressed in tight red spandex trousers and a glittery top, told us she has been making music since she was 13. 23 years later it is obvious she still retains a passion and idealism missing in many other musicians who have been performing for as long as she has. The evening had a relaxed, upbeat atmosphere and the tribute to Michael Jackson kept in this mould, being neither tacky or emotional, yet respectful and dignified, much like Beverley Knight herself.
Five albums in - and also boasting an MBE for her services to music and charities (she is an ambassador for Christian Aid), and an honorary music degree from the University of Wolverhampton – there’s a new album on the horizon which on tonight’s evidence won’t disappoint. At 36, Beverley Knight has archived both critical recognition and commercial success on a level most of us can only dream about, yet watching her wow the audience with her fantastic voice, you wonder if things are only just beginning for this former radio-jingle writer.
(with additonal reporting by Lucy Preece)
Artists in this article: Beverley Knight
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