Les Amazones d’Afrique @ Saint Luke's, Glasgow, 2 Feb

From Nigeria to Mali, Benin to Côte d'Ivoire, all-female supergroup collective Les Amazones d'Afrique hail from around West Africa, and tonight they grace Scotland’s stage as part of Glasgow’s annual Celtic Connections festival. The supergroup’s maximalist ethos sees them fuse pan-African arrangements with contemporary pop, jazz and electronic elements throughout their discography of songs rooted in feminist empowerment and liberation. In other words, they wield in their arsenal all the ingredients for a compellingly fun live show.

Tonight’s on-stage arrangement is comparatively stripped back, a trio of vocalists from the wider collective (Mamani Keïta, Fafa Ruffino and Alvie Bitemo) accompanied by a live band of drums, keys and DJ decks. The set-up invariably blunts the impact of some of the more expansive instrumental arrangements across their recorded material, but what they lack in instrumentation they make up for in striking presence, adorned in stunningly vibrant dresses, their skilled vocal stylings and playful charm bouncing off one another and warming the crowd.

An undercurrent of joyful rebellion hums through tonight’s performance, a livewire sparking at scattered moments. One comes as vocalist Keïta takes her shoes off, banging them together in time with the beat. To rapturous cheer she rolls up the sleeves of her dress, flexing her muscles before leaning backwards, swinging her arms back and forth, her lime green silhouette a vision to behold. It’s those moments of unrestrained, free-flowing spontaneity peppered throughout tonight’s set that burn brightest.

Elsewhere a rendition of infectiously catchy recent single Kuma Fo – a call to women to seize their right to freedom of expression – is conveyed with downtempo cool, with light reflecting from the disco ball hanging above adding a glorious touch. When the energy flows, tonight is a jubilant celebration of self acceptance and liberation that feels spirit-affirming. However, there are moments here and there where the momentum wanes somewhat. Nevertheless, by the end of the show, when the trio are lured back onstage for a rousing extended encore, you’d be hard pressed to find a single person in the crowd not compelled to dance, cheer or sway along in collective, cathartic celebration.