The 'Princess of Soul' ruled on Saturday night with a sublime set to bring the Bermuda Music Festival to its close.

Alicia Keys was the hot ticket of this year's four-day event with a stellar line-up that included Beyonce Knowles, The Whispers, UB40 and Bermuda's own Collie Buddz. The sassy, sexy Miss Keys did not disappoint. The Grammy Award-winning artist had us all in thrall as she took us on a journey of human emotion – from love to pain, joy and celebration.

Wearing a lacy black belted dress with leggings and black tassle boots, Keys bounded around the stage with obvious enjoyment, her ponytail swaying from side to side as she encouraged everyone to dance, clap and sing.

The A-list singer-songwriter and pianist from New York may have won 11 Grammy Awards, 11 Billboard Music Awards and numerous other accolades, but she retains a humbleness towards her live audience that comes across in an open and heartfelt emotional interaction.

Accompanied by her flawless musicians and three backing singers, Miss Keys delivered a set approaching two hours, highlights of which included 'You Don't Know My Name', 'Like You'll Never See Me Again', and an inspired Spanish Harlem-tinged 'Karma'.

She told us what inspires her and what should also keep us strong. Introducing the crowd-pleaser Superwoman – which she dedicated to the audience, Miss Keys said: "If ever you feel like you need a bit of inspiration, then this song here is for you.

"Even when I'm in a mess, I still put on my dress with an 'S' on my chest, oh yes.

"This is for every woman who has felt the weight of the world on her shoulders."

Before the empowering 'A Woman's Worth', Keys then told us: "No matter who you are with, you've got to let them know how much you're worth."

Her final song 'Fallin'' with its cascading piano and that voice brought everyone to their feet, and kept us there for the encore of 'No One'.

Miss Keys seemed visibly moved by the warm reception the Bermuda audience gave her, telling us: "Thank you so much Bermuda. Thank you so much for coming out on such a beautiful night. We love you Bermuda."

But if Miss Keys crowned the 2008 Bermuda Music Festival, tributes should also be paid to the extraordinary tour-de-force of local talent that was on offer.

Opening the main stage at the National Stadium on Saturday, the voices of Larrita Adderley, Twanee Butterfield and Aimee Bento soared into the night sky with a range of popular songs backed by the brilliant Wall Street Band. Then it was time to slow things down, old-skool style, with the honeyed voice of Jamie Zuill. With an impassioned version of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On', Mr. Zuill reflected on the violence in Bermuda, singing the eponymous number accompanied by a moving montage of images on the big screen – from Police crime scenes to the funeral of Dame Lois Browne-Evans, to the Bermuda national football team and celebratory scenes from Cup Match.

Meanwhile, over on the Onion Stage, 16-year-old Lauren (Bunni) Easton sang like an angel, before some cool R&B and soul from NYC band Black Budda Fly.

Saturday night's festival crowd were truly spoiled with the range of musicianship on offer, and Aaron Neville and the Charles Neville Quintet really took the old classics to a different level with songs such as 'Stand By Me' and 'Ain't No Sunshine'.

And then there were the comic moments from comedians Steve Harvey and Dick Gregory. Mr. Gregory said: "I was out swimming today looking for those offshore banks. I didn't see no bank out there in that water."

After mistakenly calling Premier Ewart Brown "the Prime Minister", Harvey then proceeded to comment on the Island's population of chickens.

"Where the hell did all these chickens come from? Am I the only one who noticed there's a bunch of loose chickens walking around your Island? Is your economy doing that good when a barbecue chicken sandwich can just be walking around?," he asked.

"When I see all these chickens, I see a business opportunity – barbecue chicken sandwiches and jerk chicken," he teased.

"I didn't see one walkin' around Back of Town though. There must be some nervous-looking chickens around there."

Premier Ewart Brown described the festival as "overwhelming".

Dr. Brown, Minister of Tourism and Transport, told The Royal Gazette: "Every year seems to get better and better. I think the producers have done a fabulous job and fortunately tonight we will have a night without rain and I think this will just take it over the top."

Steve Harvey summed up the 2008 Bermuda Music Festival when he told the audience: "I've been to three festivals here and this is the biggest I've ever seen. The star power is crazy."

Saying that even in the US, this would be hard to pull off, he said: "If you get Beyonce and Alicia Keys in the same weekend, that is major business."