Music / Review
Review: Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Lloyds Amphitheatre – ‘Rodger’s smile and attitude were completely infectious’
Set against the harbourside on a beautiful summer’s evening, Lloyds Amphitheatre came alive for the disco/funk/soul/R’n’B legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC. In partnership with Bristol Beacon, the event has been postponed for the last two years due to Covid and fans have been eagerly awaiting this event ever since.
With support from Amahla, the singer/songwriter who was nominated for the Ivor Novella Award: Rising Star award and subsquently being mentored by Nile Rodgers, her stunning voice kicked off the night perfectly.
It wasn’t long before the headline act took to the stage to a monstrous applause. It truly was a party from start to finish with the band delivering banger after banger. Rodger’s smile and attitude were completley infectious, the audience loving every minute of it.
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The leading man was the star of the night but the band surronding him were nothing short of exceptional. With a bass player, trumpet player, saxophonist, keyboard player, drummer and two singers who led many of the songs, it was as though we were watching a family perform, their bond and intimacy on stage palpable from below.
Each band member shined throughout. Credit Guilia Spadafora
You’d be forgiven if you didn’t realise several of the songs performed were written and produced by Rodgers; from Madonna’s Material Girl to Duran Duran’s Notorious, his back catalogue is endless. Bookending the performance with classic CHIC hits such as Le Freak, Everybody Dance and Dance, Dance, Dance, it’s no wonder the band are still going 46 years later.
It was a night we won’t forget anytime soon, a truly special evening with Nile Rodgers proving that while he’s alive, disco will never die.
Main photo: Guilia Spadafora
Read more: Review: The War on Drugs, Lloyd’s Amphitheatre – ‘The band took us on a journey of wanderlust’
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