The Canaries’ summer music festivals are under way with the first of the big events taking place in Las Palmas.
The Granca Live Fest kicked off last night in the capital’s football stadium with a stellar appearance by Will Smith, once best known for his acting but also an accomplished rapper and stage performer.
The American has released a host of studio albums, compilations and singles during a long solo career which was launched in 1997 with the release of «Men in Black», the theme song for the legendary film of the same name.
He treated the thousands of fans who turned out at the stadium to a night full of surprises, with pictures on giant screens of his career and personal life forming the backdrop to songs performed to the accompaniment of backing vocals and a group of dancers kitted out in the 1990s style reminiscent of his heyday as the Prince of Bel Air.
Smith invited various fans up on stage for impromptu conversations in Spanish and to join him for a rendering of the Carlton Dance, the famous dance that Carlton Banks often did in the hit TV series while listening to the Tom Jones classic «It’s Not Unusual».
It was not all about the past, however: Smith also engaged with modern-day trends such as a TikTok-style performance of “Anxiety” and a host of other routines that delighted the big crowd, who he split into two to form a male vs female backing choir to help him with a sequence of his best-known hits.
He rounded off proceedings with songs such as “Bad Boys”, “Wild Wild West” and, needless to say, “Men in Black”, for which he was joined on stage by dozens of dancers dressed in the film’s iconic black suits and ties.
The festival – now in its fourth year – continues until Saturday, when Enrique Iglesias brings the curtain down on the three nights of music and partying in Las Palmas.
