TOURING in support of her latest album The Fifth Chapter, Beverly Knight arrived at the Bournemouth Pavilion and proceeded to blow the roof off the place.

The award-winning singer, songwriter and actress has a voice that effortlessly flows between soul, gospel, and blues and takes the sold out venue with her every second of tonight’s gig.

From the opening bars of Greatest Day you could tell that this was going to be one of the greatest nights the Pavilion has seen for a long while.

Beverly immediately got everyone out of their seats and dancing in the isles which is where they stayed through Made It Back, Systematic Overload, and the majority of the night’s set.

A short acoustic set that included the excellent Fallen Soldier and Cold World further showcased the versatility of the voice that has entertained millions of people the world over and won numerous awards.

It was soon back to the upbeat numbers that had everyone back on their feet and dancing.

In a set full of standout moments my personal favourite was Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda that received the biggest reaction of the night.

The five-piece band and three backing singers were excellent throughout and special mention should go to the sound and light crew who had everything perfectly balanced on a stage setup that would not have looked out of place in much larger venues.

Set closers Last One On My Mind and Come As You Are ended the show on a real high but of course the crowd were going nowhere and after a short break we’re treated to a three song encore that consisted of a Chaka Khan and a Prince cover and then Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

This was easily one of the best gigs I have seen at the Pavilion in the many years I have been coming here.

A great night from one of the greatest singers around at the moment.