SINGER Karen Smith, backed by Desi Jones & Friends, was the icing on a very entertaining evening at Sunday’s Rhapsody in Steel: A Musical Feast at the Karram Speid Auditorium, St Andrew.

Prior to the songstress, there were performances by the Bethel Steel Orchestra and UWI Panoridim Steel Orchestra.

“It was successful as a sizeable crowd turned out to be well entertained,” Dr Audley Betton, chairman, fund raising committee — Church of St John the Evangelist, told the Jamaica Observer.

And entertained they were. The majority of Sunday’s programme was a musical back and forth between the two steel bands. Their friendly rivalry amped up their onstage action with the enthusiasm quickly spilling over into the audience.

While the song selection between the two stuck to the genres of gospel and reggae, it was clear which group was comfortable in their playing skills at either of the types. Bethel delivered pitch-perfect renditions of religious staples such as Psalm 3, If It’s Not You by Kevin Downswell, and the Grace Thrillers’ Raise Your Hand. UWI Panoridim’s opening pieceTry Jah Love by Third World set their tone as they flawlessly knocked out modern pop pieces like Uptown Funk, Nesbeth’s My Dream, and returning the core of steel pan music-soca closed off their time with Shurwayne Winchester’s Dead or Alive.

The two bands left a tough act to follow, but Smith was more than up to the task to keep the energy flowing, slowing down at the right times to allow patrons to catch their breath from singing and dancing along to her medley of Motown and Aretha Franklin covers, broken up by a quick tribute to bassist, Jackie Jackson.

“We’ve realised there’s a niche for this sort of entertainment and have been trying to secure a main sponsorship,” Betton added.

— Rory Daley