The performers at Classic Duets, held at the Redbones Blues Cafe, New Kingston, on Saturday, August 16th, put in spectacular performances one after the other. Following the group opening number, performed by past and present members of Ashe Performing Arts Company, duets were the order of the night. The first saw one of the beneficiaries, Rudolph Tomlinson displaying his talents as he and singer Kim Nain put in a good performance with Nobody Wants To Be Lonely. However, compared to other performances later in the night, theirs was on the weaker side.

Thankfully, Rosslyn Williams and Mahr Anto's performance managed to lift the momentum and the excitement never subsided from there. Their sultry rendition of Set the Night To Music sent the audience into a frenzy as they performed the song perfectly, creating obvious chemistry in the process. Celine Dion is rated as one of the world's greatest singers and her duet with R. Kelly packs some serious vocal power, so when Stratdon and Nickiesha Barnes took on I'm Your Angel, it was never going to be an easy feat. The two, however, managed to put in an impressive performance that would leave even Dion and R. Kelly satisfied.

Michael Sean Harris and Mario Evans gave the sole all-male duet of the night as they delivered Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's The Girl is Mine.

Stratdon returned to the stage with Nina Karle to put in another good performance, this time of Dolly Parton and Kenny Roger's Islands in the Stream, before Ifidel Williams and Sherida Sharpe's rendition of Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle's hit had the audience begging to journey to 'a whole new world' with the pair. Other standout performances came from Aisha Davis, Stephanie, Ikaya, Antonio Campbell (the other beneficiary) and Duane Stephenson.

Though the night was mainly for singing, the organisers mixed things up and added variety with a dance number and an energetic instrumental performance. Just when one thought the night couldn't get any better, violinists Mijanne Webster and Darron Andrews proved it could. The two put in a high energy performance as they remixed Konshens' and Tarrus Riley's Good Girl Gone Bad. The audience could no longer stay in their seats and the duo ended their set to a standing ovation.

The night ended on its all-time high with Rosslyn Williams and deejay G Blunt's version of Deborahe Glasgow and Shabba Rank's Mr Loverman receiving resounding applause, as it resonated with the audience, which begged for more. However, wanting to end on time after a late start, the organisers did not heed the request.

Original Story by The Gleaner: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140819/ent/ent1.html