On the night of January 30th, The Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall bore witness to the iconic grandeur of Solange Knowles, who with her live band and avant-garde ensemble, evolved the very state of live performance as we know it.
Bringing her live show titled Witness! to Australia for the first time, Solange captivated an entire audience with a slew of hits from her critically acclaimed albums When I Get Home and A Seat At the Table.
Completely composed and directed by Solange herself, this was only the second time that the performance has ever been presented in the world, and it was truly an R&B performance like no other.
Fusing the powerful arts of live jazz, harmonised vocals, avant-garde experimentalism, freeform instrumentation and even twerking, it was clear as day that Solange had captured something powerfully unique, and was ready to showcase it to the masses.
Opening up with ‘I’m a Witness’ and pouring into the hip-gyrating and slow-burning ‘Down With the Clique’, the stage was awash with bright white lights, and the crowd was immediately captivated, glued to the edge of their seats.
In a sudden act, Solange shouted “Let’s dance!” into the crowd of wide-eyed attendees, and ‘Stay Flo’ kicked in, with the entire crowd leaping to their feet. Appearing in the back upon a lifted stage was an incredible backup dancer who began to twerk as Solange hit every high note that lay in her path. Straight away the differences between this performance and Solange’s iconic visit during Vivid were clear – this time around Solange was bringing performance art directly to us, without the stage props and theatrics.
This time, things were more intimate. More powerful.
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Breaking into a ten-minute session of vocal echoes and moving jazz titled ‘Bridge-s’, Solange set the tone for the night immediately. This wasn’t going to be your average live performance – it was going to be an experience unlike any other.
‘Bridge-s’ was the ultimate showcase of Solange’s unabashed and unbridled sense of creativity. Wordless and with little movement, the stage became a platform for the live musicians to delve into the powers of freeform jazz, sweeping the audience away in a sea of superb sound.
Delving into songs that touch upon the black experience, like ‘F.U.B.U.’ and ‘Almeda’, Solange made an immediate connection with the people of colour in the audience. Holding hands and making held eye contact with these members of the crowd, it was one of the most powerful moments of the night, and further highlighted that within Solange’s music, people of colour have been made to feel safe, included, and most of all, powerful.
Closing out the night was the insanely danceable ‘Losing You’, which brought everyone back to their feet and dancing with pure, unrelenting joy. It was truly a gift to see, with people of all ages moving along. Some knew the words, some did not, but in a moment of pure bliss, nothing else mattered. We were together in the church of Solange, and we never wanted to leave.
All photography used in this article was taken by Daniel Boud at the Sydney show.
