In perfect voice, the R&B legend delivered an astonishing concert
Gladys Knight pulled her Midnight (soul) Train into the DC area Thursday (June 22nd) for a stop at MGM National Harbor.
The songstress wore a flowing butterfly-patterned gown as she belted out 19 of her hits. Knight was in perfect voice all evening. She encourages singalongs on “Love Overboard” and “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” before stunning the rowdy crowd into silence with a killer rendition of slow ballad “Oh! What a Love I Have Found.”
Backing Knight was a tight nine-member band, three of which were her backing singers. Those singers sat front and center stage and framed Knight as they grooved along to the music.
Knight was charming. She met the crowd’s boisterous energy by commenting on and encouraging it as she paced the stage. “You sing so good, I could be out there in a chair somewhere!” she joked early on.
The crowd would gasp in excitement at the start of each number. One such show of emotion came after Knight introduced “The Makings of You.” “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination “ had everyone dancing in their seat. “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” took the casino to church.
Of course, the night ended with “Midnight Train to Georgia,” a song full of equal parts soul, heart, and longing. It was a perfect way to end a night that flew by all too quickly.
It cannot be understated: there are people on the radio at 29 that do not sound half as good as Knight does at 79. And when she would release a roaring note or a long sustain? Stand back. This Masked Singer Bee can still sting with her voice!
