Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue brought the house down at Rock & Roots. (Yahoo! photo/Alvin Ho)
Earth, Wind & Fire may have been the headlining act of the 2012 Timbre Rock & Roots Festival, but the night belonged to Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
Don't get me wrong, the six-time Grammy legends gave a great show, but the band from New Orleans delivered a sterling performance of such high quality that it left fans in awe.
[View slideshow from the Timbre Rock & Roots Festival]
The night opened with Indonesian band Andre Harihandoyo and the Sonic People taking the stage for a 45-minute set.
The quartet from Jakarta, who won a poll with Yahoo! Indonesia OMG for the chance to perform at the festival, was delighted to be sharing the stage with music greats like Earth, Wind & Fire and Buddy Guy.
"Our set was amazing. We played our original songs and the energy was there from the band members and the audience," said 28-year-old frontman Andre Harihandoyo.
Andre and his band were followed onstage by Checkpoint Jam featuring Dasha Logan and local Singapore band The Goodfellas. The Goodfellas, better known for playing cover songs, concluded the set by playing a some of their original works for the first time in public.
After that, half-Thai, half-British singer-songwriter Hugo Chakrabongse Levy, better known as Hugo, took to the stage, dishing out his unique brand of blues rock. He drew the loudest cheers when he played his famous bluegrass cover of Jay-Z's "99 Problems".
Then the highlight -- the highly-anticipated performance of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
Dishing out arguably the most energetic performance of the two-night festival, Trombone Shorty, whose real name is Troy Andrews, charmed the audience with his charisma and unique brand of supafunkrock.
However, the night's proceeds were slightly dampened by a persistent problem with the sound system.
As technicians were furiously rectifying the situation, the band, led by Andrews, were sporting enough to march off the stage, instruments and all, to mix it with the audience with an impromptu, raucous version of "When the Saints Go Marching In".
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue march through the crowd. (Yahoo! photo/Alvin Ho)
Despite a few more technical glitches after that, their set ended on a high note, with the band showing exceptional talent and showmanship by swapping instruments with one another for their final song.
Then came the legends, Earth, Wind & Fire, led by the distinctive searing falsettos of main vocalist, Philip Bailey.
The set was filled with energy and dance moves reminiscent of the 80s, and it was truly amazing that all three frontmen -- Bailey, Ralph Johnson and Verdine White -- were still boogie-ing the night away at the age 60.
(L-R) Verdine White, Ralph Johnson and Philip Bailey still rocking out at 60. (Yahoo! photo/Alvin Ho)
The soul and R&B outfit and Hall of Famers did not disappoint at all with their performance, dishing out crowd favourites like "Boogie Wonderland", "After the Love Has Gone", "Let's Groove" and crowd favourite "September" that got the 3,800-strong crowd -- an eclectic mix of young and old, local and foreign-- jumping and dancing with abandon.
The crowd looked game to dance the entire night away, but with this set came the conclusion of the 2012 Timbre Rock & Roots Festival. The acts did not fail to disappoint and now fans will be crossing their fingers for another star-studded lineup at next year's event.
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