There are very few times that I feel inspired enough to write a review at 1.07 a.m., but Lionel: "You did it!"

The Bermuda Music Festival on Thursday night was a fantastic movement of genres, which took me from the sweet old sultry sounds, to a bit of reality and loss with Ray Charles and Dame Lois Browne Evans, punch lines that spelled racial differences and similarities, to well, what can I say, to a man with his rich tapestry of song.

I could see and hear that I was not alone in my pleasure, my enjoyment, and my passion, as the crowd, and I sang along.

And I was not the only one that was moved to scream: "More, more, more!"

The night started out with the Bermuda Mass Choir, which reminded me of where what followed had come from, and then we were moved on to what I heard as a fathomless depth of, with new artiste, and she will be a great artiste, Chrisette Michele.

Her "Best of Me" touched me. Before interviewing her, I had listened to her music over the Internet, but there was very little that could have prepared me for her live performance, of songs that I had only recently become acquainted with.

Well done Miss Michele, well done!

Onto Tommy Davidson, who wowed the crowds with his humour, dance and song. You made me laugh, you made me think about things in a way that I hadn't done before. Cheers, mate!

Dan Dunn was a laugh a minute, while injecting reality into all of us about how short life is. Now you might think for half a second that this is depressing, but no, it's just the way of life – the way life is – if you are born, then you must die.

And Mr. Richie, well one word could describe you, but there are so many that come to mind at 1.26 a.m., as I sit here in true reporter fashion.

Thanks for taking us back to your days as a Commodore, with "Three Times a Lady", with the crowd joining in for "you're once, twice, three times a lady''.

He said: "There is the new school singing the old school, with the old school just hanging on!"

Lionel Richie was doing more than hanging on, he was bringing it.

This was then followed by "Sail On", another Commodores classic.

"Say You Say Me", "Dancing On The Ceiling" and the disco era-"Lady (You Bring Me Up)" all took older audience members back to the 1980s, and I am sure many slow danced to "Just To Be Close To You".

Mr. Richie tried to leave the stage after the funky "Brick House," but the crowd wasn't having it, and mine was only one of the voices that screamed for him to return.

To our pleasure, he returned to the stage and said: "I thought you all wanted to go home early."

Nos screamed back at him.

"The crowd has taken over the show," he smiled, and isn't that what every performer wants?

After this, he gave me goosebumps, with "Hello", which got the audience joining in.

This led to other hits, of which on of my all time favourite had to be "All Night Long," where he had the audience singing and dancing together with him.

Lionel Richie was one of the most successful artists of the 1980s with five number one hits and 13 consecutive top ten hits in the US.

Thursday night shows he has not lost a thing. The audience danced through the ages – through memories long since forgotten – we remembered who we danced with when one of those songs was the hit of the day.

To say the night "went well" would simply be the understatement of the century. It was off the hook!

Now, the only question is how will Earth Wind and Fire, Smokey Robinson and the rest of the stars here for the Bermuda Music Festival top that?

More pictures, page 13