The combination of John Legend and Beres Hammond was genius and exceptional.
History was made in Guyana during the wee hours of the morning of January 05, 2014 when nine-time Grammy award winner, John Legend, walked onto the stage at the Providence Stadium and greeted thousands of screaming fans.
As the gentleman you would expect him to be, Legend was decked out in a sleek, black suit and wore a charming smile, enough to create tremors at the venue once he stepped on stage. Taking his position at a handsome piano, the singer/songwriter sent the instrument to life with his slender fingers, opening with ‘Made to Love’, the second single off his latest album. Ecstatic fans could not contain their enthusiasm and screamed wildly, mesmerized by Legend’s occasional glance at the audience. He then went into 2012 single ‘Tonight (Best you ever had)’ further sending the crowd (mainly the female fraction) into frenzy.
Still playing the piano, Legend spoke about his journey to Guyana, having to travel through a storm and arriving in rainy weather but recognized that the night was made perfect and offered to set the mood just right with his music. This offer was cheerfully accepted with thunderous applause.
John Legend took his Guyanese fans on a musical journey that night with songs from Get Lifted, Evolver, Wake Up, Love in the Future and his most loved singles. During one hour of exceptional music, Legend captivated his audience with songs like ‘Used to Love U’, ‘So High’, ‘Wake Up’, ‘Good Morning’, ‘Can’t be my Lover’, ‘Who do we think we are’, ‘Green Light’, ‘Ordinary People’ and more intriguing, Legend belted out his version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’.
Continuing to woo his fans with an attractive smile and dazzling eyes, John expressed his appreciation for Guyana and his desire to revisit.
At about 1:30am, Legend bid his audience farewell and left the stage. This created quite a stir as the audience chanted “We want more, we want more!” continuously until the singer returned to the stage. Again met with loud cheers, Legend once more took a seat at his piano and fulfilled the request of the majority. Dubbed the ultimate love song of 2013, ‘All of Me’ was effortlessly sung by the artist who wrote the track in dedication to his wife, Chrissy Teigen, to whom he wedded in September, 2013. Teigen sat comfortably across from Legend behind the speakers on the corner of the stage, only partially visible to the audience.
Legend definitely saved the best for last and during his performance of this final track, engaged the crowd as they sang along pleasantly while the artist continued playing the piano with a smile plastered on his face. Before leaving the stage, he said goodbye and took a bow then briskly walked away.
It was not long after that Guyana welcomed back Reggae icon Beres Hammond who entertained the crowd with his legendary voice and tunes. This soulful crooner appeared on stagesporting denim jeans, a colourful shirt (which later exposed a black vest) and his trademark hat.
Hammond, who greeted his fans over the microphone by yelling “Family!”, emerged youthfully skipping on to the stage, proving that he still is a very energetic performer.
The Jamaican artist wasted no time in getting in to his list of hits including ‘Rockaway’, ‘What one dance can do’, ‘They gonna talk’, ‘I feel good’, ‘No disturb sign’, ‘Tempted to touch’. ‘Can’t stop a man’, ‘Sweetness’ and many more!
As expected, the audience rocked to the Reggae vibes and sang merrily as they held their friends and loved ones close, a natural reaction when Hammond takes a stage. The 58-year-old did not disappoint the thousands who remained to enjoy his music and performed for a whopping two hours!
Hammond brought the curtains down on the Night of Love concert at just about 4:15am, leaving behind a trail of satisfied revelers.
Prior to these main acts, there were performances by K.I. and the JMC 3Veni Band, Jumo Primo and Mingles Sound Machine.