Singers like Russell Thompkins Jr came up in an era when artistes gave their best even when the venue was not packed. That’s what he and The New Stylistics did recently at Mas Camp, where they headlined the Love & Togetherness show.

The Love & Togetherness was initially scheduled for Hope Gardens but was relocated to Mas Camp at the last minute.

Thompkins Jr’s patented tenor held a sparse audience of 300 enthralled for over 90 minutes, as he sang the classic songs made famous by The Stylistics during the 1970s.

Patrons sang along lustily to tracks like
Stop, Look, Listen To Your Heart; You Are Everything; You Make me Feel Brand New; Break Up To Make Up; People Make The World Go Round, and Betcha By Golly Wow.

But for a technical glitch that affected the sound early in their set, Thompkins, Raymond Johnson, and Jonathan Buckson gave a flawless performance, backed by an eight-piece orchestra from Philadelphia, their home town.

Backed by Lloyd Parks and We The People Band, Wayne Wade, Kashief Lindo, and Richie Stephens set the pace with energetic, well-received sets. It took a while before the audience warmed to Wade, best known for the 1996 hit,
I Love You Too Much, but Lindo and Stephens got them dancing to a mix of ska, rocksteady, and lovers’ rock songs.

Lindo, born in Kingston and raised in South Florida, showed no sign of ring rust. His set included the original
No Can Do, the much-covered
The First Cut, as well as renditions of The Chi-Lites’
Coldest Day of My Life, and
Sho Be Do Be by The Clarendonians.

Dressed in white with a yellow fedora, Stephens was typical high-energy. He had patrons engaged from the start with
Fight Back, Pot of Gold, Tom Jones’
Delilah, a rousing ska medley that included The Wailers’
Simmer Down and The Blues Busters’
Wings Of A Dove. He closed with a gospel medley capped by the traditional
Amen.

Heather Cummings-Williams, who was billed for the show, did not perform.

— Howard Campbell