Opening the Sydney show was Sydney-based soul singer and songwriter Michael Duchesne who took his short and sweet 10-minute set to remind through song that Australia has a lot to offer the world in terms of soul music. Soon after, the distinctively voiced Leela James burst on the stage with copious amounts of energy, gripping the audience with her performance from start to finish. James left an impression and set the bar high for the acts following her.
Luckily, the acts on the bill had no problems with making the most of this exciting event to showcase their superb skills and take the audience on a journey through soul and hip hop -- from the classic neo-soul of Angie Stone, who closed her set with "Wish I Didn't Miss You" to the futuristic nu soul of Australian artist Ngaiire, the throwback, clean cut sounds of Aloe Blacc and the high energy hip hop of Common.
Another artist who didn't let his early afternoon time slot deter him from heavily dosing his set with tonnes of soul was Anthony Hamilton, who took the audience hostage for his set. They had no choice but to captivated by his playful performance that didn't miss a beat. And while Sydney may have missed out on Mos Def (who was replaced by young Ghanian-Australian MC Miracle), Melbourne was treated to mighty Mos (now known as Yasiin Bey) at his best as he engaged the crowd in call and response on tracks like "Casa Bey" and kept things on the quirky cool tip as only he can. Meanwhile, Chicago MC Common was more hands on, literally jumping into the crowd and giving one lucky lady in each city an up close and personal show for the aptly named "Come Close."
