Luther Live & Velvet Voices

Luther Live & Velvet Voices comes to Victoria Hall on Saturday 28 November, a live theatre show celebrating the golden era of R&B. It's a tribute concert rather than a performance by the original artists, and the set leans on the 1980s and 1990s catalogues of Luther Vandross and Alexander O'Neal, with material from Marvin Gaye, Bobby Brown and George Benson woven in. The whole thing is backed by a live band.

Gamal John fronts the show, a Britain's Got Talent gold buzzer rule breaker who's spent his time on the BGT stage drawing reactions from the judges. Alesha Dixon called him an 'Absolute Superstar', Simon Cowell described it as a 'Masterclass', and Bruno Tonioli said he was 'gobsmacked and speechless'. It's that BGT background that puts him at the centre of the night, leading the tribute to Vandross and O'Neal and taking on the Gaye, Brown and Benson songs alongside the band.

The show is billed as a live theatre experience rather than a standard gig, so it's as much about the stage as the music. It runs for about two and a half hours, and the setlist pulls from the 80s and 90s R&B that Vandross and O'Neal helped define, with the other names filling out the mix. It's a tribute to that era, so the focus stays on the songs rather than the original artists themselves.

It starts at 7:30pm at Victoria Hall on Bagnall Street in Hanley, and tickets start from £32.50.