Solange at the Opera House review: Sister's time to shine
Vivid Live: Solange
Opera House Concert Hall, June 1
★★★½
Her sister Beyonce might be the bigger star but on this night Solange Knowles definitely had the bigger planet.
A massive white orb, suspended above an in-the-round stage and flanked by two white pyramids, was a fitting backdrop for this 70 minutes of otherworldly yet socially conscious soul.
Solange's third and latest album, 2016's A Seat at the Table, mixes electronica and jazz with R&B, so it was reassuring to see a full horn and rhythm section file on to strike up the fanfare of opener Rise.
That was temporarily drowned out as the 31-year-old herself appeared, harmonising and sashaying in effortless sync with her two backing singers.
It has been five years since Solange's last Australian tour and for many in this diverse crowd, most of whom remained out of their seats for the duration, it had clearly been a long wait.
She has a pure voice and really showed what it could do in the mini-aria at the end of Cranes in the Sky. Her best-known song deals with depression in a genre usually preoccupied with the bedroom.
The lyrics to many songs would have been lost on those that didn't already know them for, funky as they were, the kickdrum and bass kept burying Solange's upper register.
That didn't stop the racial pride infused in this music, mostly written as the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, from shining through.
Solange walked up the aisle to sing F.U.B.U (For Us, By Us) directly to a group of African-Australians.
Then when her all-black band were joined by a march-on of 40 women from communities of colour across Sydney for closer Don't Touch My Hair, the white stage props only made the statement of visibility more stunning.
Solange plays three more shows for Vivid Live on June 2, 3 and 4 at the Concert Hall.