Fans of Justin Hayward gathered at St David’s Hall for a rare musical treat on Sunday evening as the legendary voice of The Moody Blues gave a solo concert with musicians Mike Dawes and Julie Ragins.
With over 5 decades of material to choose from, this was a great opportunity for Hayward to play a selection of solo songs including the theme to a new film The Wind of Heaven, as well as a few lesser known Moody Blues songs.
Relaxed and informative, Hayward played from a variety of acoustic guitars used on his recordings and regaled stories about many of the songs were created.
Accompanying musician, Mike Dawes also had chance to shine with two mini solo sets. The young finger style guitar virtuoso who has made an art out of multi layered guitar playing, having both the personality and talent to command his own audiences with renditions of Gotye’s Someone I Used to Know and his own composition The Impossible, keeping the Cardiff audience entertained with two mini solo sets during the show.
Following an acoustic solo rendition of Eastern Sun, Hayward was re-joined on stage by Dawes and Ragins for renditions of Question (which included the audience helping out with the second line of the chorus on Hayward’s request) and meticulous performances of the classics Forever Autumn and Nights in White Satin.
The memory of this autumn evening of vibrant upbeat and beautiful music will no doubt endure forever for all those in attendance.