Scottish singer and songwriter Isla Grant opened her heart and soul to a nearly packed Regent Theatre on Wednesday evening and by doing so she smothered the audience in warmth and nostalgia.
Grant left no heart string unplucked, no emotion untouched as she professionally and skilfully led the audience through the parts of her life that have left her both hurt and joyful.
The show was so professionally done that it was not until the end that most of the audience realised how cleverly they had been led on a journey of her life.
What a star performance, by any standards.
Simple songs, with a simple message but sung with such emotion and passion.
Singing about her grandfather, her parents, her sons and grandchildren, Grant left nothing in the changing room.
She gave it all.
From the opening number - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - through to the two finale songs - Aotearoa, written especially for her "friends" in New Zealand, and My Homeland, written about her "beloved" Scotland, Grant captivated the theatre.
Three hours of entertainment went in a flash for the mainly elderly audience.
Interplay between Grant and her husband Al Grant had the audience in fits of laughter.
Not many marital secrets were left untold.
And when Al Grant performed a Jim Reeves/Marty Robbins bracket, the applause was wild.
The musicians were professional, the banter hit just the right level, the jokes were just naughty enough to not offend sensibilities and Grant used her voice in that achy, breaky way that allows female country artists to sing about pain, love and life in a convincing way.
The loudest applause came from a surprise appearance of Dunedin artist Bevan Gardiner, who sings John Denver songs.
His duet with Grant on Back Home Again hit the spot.
