London's Southbank Centre was packed on Sunday night for the 30th anniversary concert of the London Community Gospel Choir. The concert was the highlight of the 30 Choir Festival and was definitely the place to be for any music lover.
The impressive hall was filled with the passion and excitement of 30 different choirs who were already singing from their reserved seats before the concert had even properly got underway. The impromptu 'jam' put everyone in a great mood that we were to keep the whole night.
The LCGC started things soft with "Our Song" before stepping up the tempo with funky versions of "I've Found the Answer", "Fill My Cup" and "Call on Him".
Hosts for the evening were Magic FM DJ Angie Greaves and LCGC founder Bazil Meade.
"Gospel is not black or white, it is music of the soul for all, it is a gift from God, it's God's words and they reach us all," he told the audience.
"The message of gospel is to all 'soul sing' together in unity, in one love, God's love, and this is my mission, to bring gospel to everyone, young and old from all over the world."
The 2020 Children's Choir, comprised of seven to 18-year-old singers, delivered a dynamic performance before the legendary American soul singer Jocelyn Brown, who lives in London, took to the stage to deliver powerful versions of "How I Got Over", "My Soul Says Yes", and "I Go To The Rock".
But the man who brought the house down was without doubt special guest Jahmene Douglas, 2012 X Factor finalist.
He sang a gospel version of Emeli Sandé's hit "Next to Me" in which he added ad-libs like "When I've done wrong, God will set me right".
His soaring voice was every bit as thrilling as it appeared on TV, so good he could have thrown away the mic.
Another highlight of the night came when the LCGC and over 1,100 singers teamed up to break the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people in a gospel choir singing together in concert conditions.
The singers had the entire hall up on their feet dancing and clapping as they sang out an extended version of "Oh Happy Day" and "Keep Moving".
As the record was officially announced by the official Guinness World adjudicator, the musicians broke out into Bob Marley's "One Love".
This was definitely a great birthday party for the LCGC and after concerts like these, you feel the energy for days after.
