Raw Promotions have been putting some cracking gigs on at The Flowerpot this year, with quite a few selling out some time ahead of time, and Kezia Gill's appearance on the start of her latest tour most definitely is up there with the best of them, and, make no mistake, this local lass is destined for the big time.

Kezia Gill has a incredible on stage presence reserved solely for the greatest stars and is backed by a thoroughly competent band and a sound engineer who clearly knows what he's doing. Those lucky people who'd grabbed tickets for this sell out gig witnessed a phenomenal performance which set the place alight from the moment she stepped on stage.

The Brian Collins Band who'd come over from The States to accompany Kezia on the tour, kickstarted the evening in grand style with a well received set. Brian Collins is a highly acclaimed country star in his own right, playing with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Marshall Tucker Band among others, and is a sure pointer to how well Kezia Gill is regarded by the industry over there if Brian Collins wanted to tour with her.

Kezia played a stunning set including some of her own and others material, lasting around an hour and a half to a very well behaved and utterly appreciative audience, many of whom sported Kezia Gill tee shirts, so the security guys had very little to do apart from keeping an eye on the crowd whilst enjoying the music.

I really liked the driving beat of the bass and kick drum on some of the songs which was made even more pleasurable with the overall sound quality: I particularly liked the opening song 'Adventures Of A Travelling Mind' as well as 'House of Cards,' and her cover of the Bob Dylan classic 'Forever Young.' As you might guess there were sustained shouts and much applause for more after the last number which was 'Whiskey Drinking Woman.' This led to the inevitable encore with The Brian Collins Band joining Kezia for a spellbinding version of The Beatles 'With A Little Help From My Friends.'

The merch stand surely had a busy time keeping up with the fans insatiable demand for anything Kezia: I particularly liked the 'House of Cards' tee shirt that many people were sporting. Kezia clearly hasn't any ego issues and very kindly freely mingled with the many fans around the merch stand after the gig, happily posing for many photos, including my one of her posing with a copy of Mick Moonshine's Derby Gig Guide.

That highly respected mouthpiece of country music, Maverick Magazine, were spot on with their gushing praise of Kezia Gill where they are quoted as saying that 'She is no doubt one of Britain's finest, soon to be one of the World's finest,' a sentiment with which many of those present at this gig, myself included, would wholeheartedly agree with!.