Michael Kiwanuka at Brudenell - 18th February 2012

The Brudenell is already at full capacity when The Staves take to the stage, no one wanting to miss a minute of this night. The Staves are three sisters whose voices are as beautiful as they are, with brunette hair tumbling around their shoulders the way emotion tumbles gracefully out of their songs. There is a gentleness about them, from the way they play their instruments (guitar, ukulele and tambourine) to the folk music that seems to float out of them, and they have the audience spellbound.

As Michael Kiwanuka appears there is a flash of humbleness in his eyes that all these people are here to see him sing. Only twelve months ago he was a session guitarist and now he has millions of fans eagerly awaiting the release of his debut album. As soon as he launches into his first song you can hear what all the fuss is about, his voice so warming and smooth it wraps itself around you.

The upbeat numbers like Tell Me a Tale so thick with funk they are practically sticky, the slower numbers set in a dreamy rhythm of soul. His set is laden with songs that even though you are hearing them for the first time they sound familiar. All of them carry an undercurrent of sadness but it doesn’t stop them at the same time being euphoric and joyful. There are flickers of his Ugandan roots in his intonation and the use of a Hammond organ at times gives his set a gospel feel.

Near the end of the set he plays Rest, a song that just makes you want to be close to the one you love, lie in bed all afternoon and just enjoy the simpler things in life. For someone that is only at the start of his musical journey his performance holds a maturity that if developed 
properly could well cement him alongside the soul legends he is compared to.






Published in Yorkshire Evening Post