Incognito at Rochester Castle with Nile Rodgers & Chic

I headed up to Rochester last Thursday, to see Incognito and Nile Rodgers & Chic perform and I can say I was not disappointed. The day was warm, sunny and the vibe in Rochester was one where people were ready to party. The atmosphere was one of cool as cucumbers, getting ready for a drink or two and then, ready to get down. There was a feeling that something special was going to happen and it sure did.

The castle grounds was packed by the time myself and friend Rachel Baldwin from VesselNo9, one of our sponsors finally entered. There was a wonderful buzz in the air, one of excitement, anticipation and ready to party. Incognito came on first and wooed the crowd with something old, something new. It seemed to take the crowd a while to warm up, however Bluey (Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick Band Leader, Guitarist, Producer, Record Producer) whose keen eye from years of experience, as well as the love he has in his heart for his audience and for music, made sure to constantly engage with the audience, making sure they could hear the music clearly and that they were ok. A wonderful gesture, but then again that is Bluey all over. This was a wonderful start to what then escalated into some of my absolute favorites...'Always There', 'Still a Friend of Mine', 'Don't you Worry 'Bout a Thing'. The band, the vocalists were all dynamic in their own way, and created an exciting opening for Nile Rodgers and Chic.

The Build-Up: The Wait - Incognito

Nile Rogers & Chic

Then Nile Rodgers himself came on with Chic. The stage came alive, with colour and the background graphics and videos bamboozled the best of us. It was really now time to party. The crowd cheered and roared. Anticipation had been riding high and now it was time. As always Niles was cool as a cucumber on a summer's day, and then firebombed us all with his guitar playing. His base guitarist was on another level of hyper dope and I could feel myself getting dizzy with happy delirium.

THE END

By Esther Austin