High praises at Hi-Pro show
The inclement weather did not deter the crowd from gathering at Hi-Pro Denbigh Gospel Extravaganza at the Denbigh showground on Sunday night.
The show, which started on time at 6:00 pm, saw patrons moving to the beat of the island’s gospel stars with umbrellas and a soggy underfoot.
Among the performers were: Carlene Davis, DJ Nicholas, Rondell Positive and Kevin Downswell. They were joined on stage by visually impaired Courtney Cooke, 13-year-old Simona Saure, Anishca Judah and Kimola Brown Lowe. They were all backed by the On The Shout Band. Ity and Fancy Cat kept the crowd amused as they carried out emcee duties.
With her powerful voice of praise, Judah brought church to Denbigh and the people loved every minute. The teenaged singer Saure had the crowd mesmerised with her cover of Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All and her original Love & Harmony. So inspiring was her set that Ity invited young patrons to come on stage to match Simona’s singing, which got the crowd excited.
Carlene Davis did a blistering 45-minute set which had the crowd blowing their vuvuzela horns to show love of such songs as Precious Lord, One Handful of Salt, Nothing But the Blood, and Days of Elijah.
Rondell Positive, who returned from the Cayman Island that night, was as energetic as ever and ended his performance with the ever popular Keeping Me Alive.
DJ Nicholas delivered the controversial hip hop track Shotta Man, featuring Dunamis, who joined him on stage. The crowd couldn’t contain their excitement when he put them through the exercises in the Holy Ghost Gym.
But the ‘man of the last hour’ was Kevin Downswell, who did such numbers as All the Way, Goodbye World and If It’s Not You.
Downswell introduced Brown Lowe — whose album I Choose drops this week — before performing his ‘anthem’ You Make Me Stronger. At the end of his set the audience refused to move, so he was welcomed back on stage for a worship segment and altar call, with Nadine Blair leading in prayer.
