Live Review: Beverly Knight dazzles at Royal & Derngate

Knight was originally due to headline the Northampton venue last October as part of her 50 tour and Fifth Chapter album however the show was postponed due to the temporary closure of the theatre.

And while a sold-out Derngate may have had to wait almost an entire year for the show to head to town, what they finally got to enjoy on Thursday night was a musician loving every minute of being on stage.

Joining Knight at Royal & Derngate was pianist Okiem and DJ Munro.

Flanked by musicians on violins, cello and double bass, Okiem superbly warmed up the sold-out crowd with a set of instrumental cinematic classical songs.

Knight’s arrival on stage was preceded by her backing band, all dressed in white and elevated towards the rear of the Derngate.

As they kicked into the opening track, Knight appeared from the middle of the platform, walking down steps onto the stage.

Dressed in a sparkling black and silver jumpsuit, it was impossible to take your eyes off Knight – whether she was striding back and forth around the stage or, during some of the slower parts of her set still at the mic.

Knight’s set featured tracks from last year’s new album, but also hits from across her career, showcasing her forays into neo-soul, R&B and pop.

Early on, fans were treated to the likes of Systematic Overload, A Little More Love and Not Prepared For You – the latter written by Darren Wilson for Knight.

Mid set, Knight joked about being a year late and a year older, before adding, “it’s been the privilege of my life to do this for 30 years”.

Knight took fans back to the start of her career for Flavour Of The Old School from her debut album The B-Funk and to 2002’s album Who I Am for Gold.

In a pause between songs, someone in the crowd shouted, “you’re killing it girl,” and a short exchange followed before knight added, “The exchange of joy I get onstage and from you guys - I wish I could take my heart out and show you how much I love doing this. It means everything.”

It’s at this point in proceedings Knight and her band performed a run of songs acoustically.

Ahead of the first, Fallen Soldier, Knight paid an emotional tribute to close friend and musical director Paul Reid who died on Christmas Day in 2020, saying: “Every time before we come out to play we have a moment to remember ‘Reidy’. He loved when we broke it down and got intimate.”

Following the acoustic interlude, fans got back on their feet for I’m On Fire before Knight’s own take on Radiohead’s Creep.

From there on in, it was hit after hit with the likes of Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Come As You Are and an encore which included a cover of Chaka Khan’s I’m Every Woman and set closer Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.