For the Adelaide Festival Centre to bring some brilliant local and international artists through to play over their summer Sessions series this year, it’s meant that there’s been shows going down in this town with that eclectic flair that one would only expect to see at the height of our festival season. A good introduction to the sorts of bands and solo artists Adelaide will be playing host to during the Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival, Sessions has really been a treat to track the progress of.

Two stars of WOMAD 2011 were in the Space Theatre tonight, Asa and Féfé, both who are currently travelling the country on the So Frenchy, So Chic! tour. Kicking off at 6.30pm with Asa, the crowd tonight was excitable and diverse. Couples, teenagers, families and the odd person ready to practice their dance moves for WOMAD this year filled out the venue and as Asa’s band emerged, you could definitely see that people were beyond keen for this intimate performance.

Asa’s voice is one that you wouldn’t expect to come from such a small and dainty looking person. Strong and commanding, the diminutive singer took the crowd through performances of tracks from her Beautiful Imperfection record, making sure that we were singing along and interacting as we all should do during her show. Her band were more than just a bunch of backing musicians tonight, as they all were given moments to take over on their individual instruments, bringing excited applause from the people in the audience. As a collective, Asa and her band were everything you’d expect from a French jazz/soul group, from their onstage presence to the way they worked around the music. Asa’s voice when she was simply talking to the crowd was as velvety as it was when she powered through songs – there was a deliciously bitter quality to it that was really impressive to watch, especially when she demonstrated how large her vocal range was.

When the stage had been reset and the crowd had been given a chance to hit up the bar outside, it was time for a slight change of pace with Féfé. The French/Nigerian artist made a dramatic entrance after introducing his band and it wasn’t long before the first few rows of people, at least, were jumping up and down. Known for his work with the hip-hop group, the Saian Supa Crew, Féfé brought French swagger, charm and musicality to his set. The sounds were brash, yet the inclusion of acoustic guitars turned what could have been a typical hip-hop set on its head. With a cover of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” as a way of demonstrating his DJ’s technique of picking up women, Féfé cleverly drew the crowd in with this piece of universally known music. Eager to whip the crowd up into the same frenzy that he’d seen at WOMAD back in March last year, Féfé remained focused on involving everybody, whether it involved him getting amongst the crowd quite literally, or throwing out orders from onstage. Either way, everyone dug on the vibes he and his band were conjuring up; there wasn’t a period of time where the crowd’s enthusiasm lulled.

For a Thursday night, I wouldn’t usually expect that I’d be down this end of town, in such a venue as the Space Theatre, being treated to two acts as these. There were no expectations that what we, as a crowd, needed to adhere to; all that was required of us was our ears and an open mind when it came to dancing and singing along, even though it was plainly obvious that our harmony work was completely below par and not what the artists are used to! I enjoyed the night greatly and hope that the Festival Centre continue to run their next summer season in the same fashion, all their work clearly has paid off.