Live Report: Kelela, All Together Now 2018

After her critically acclaimed debut album Take Me Apart in 2017 and an attention grabbing guest spot on Gorillaz's Humanz, Kelela once again proves she's the real deal with a top set on All Together Now's Something Kind of Wonderful Stage.

She emerged in darkness singing the first verse to single 'LMK' before a bright spotlight shone down on her as she burst into the chorus, sending the crowd into cheers. Throughout her set, the singer continued to play with light and performance, with gorgeous blue and pink colours and her sensual movements perfectly in sync with sexy R&B jams like 'Frontlines or 'Go All Night'. Her stage vibe and soft but powerful voice recalls FKA Twigs or Solange.

"I was once told not to do ballads at a festival. But if you don't like ballads you don't like an R&B," Kelela told the crowd, perhaps pre-attempting criticisms of her set lacking the type of banger that can send audiences into a frenzy. While it's true the singer's set didn't quite have that (although break-up tune 'Enemy' comes close), she is capable of eliciting that kind of reaction just by staring down the crowd with intensity during a sultry ballad.

While one wishes she had a live band backing her as opposed to a DJ - whose sound feels artificial particularly straight after seeing Booka Brass - one thinks Kelela will get an opportunity to do that on bigger festival stages in the future.