Music fans make their sweet dreams a reality at Morristown, NJ’s MPAC this Sunday, September 20, 2026 evening by attending the A Matter of Time Tour performance by the world-famous pop duo, Air Supply.
Comprised of guitarist/songwriter Graham Russell from England and vocalist Russell Hitchcock from Australia, the two members of Air Supply met in 1975 while performing in the Sydney version of Jesus Christ Superstar. After creating their duo, the pair appeared in clubs and coffee houses in Australia prior to touring the United States and Canada with Rod Stewart.
In 1979, Russell and Hitchcock recorded Life Support, an album featuring “Lost in Love,” which climbed the charts in Australia and ultimately found its way to music executive Clive Davis in New York. Davis signed Air Supply to Arista Records and, in 1980, “Lost in Love” became the fastest selling hit single in the world leaping straight up the U.S. charts.
Seven top-five singles later, Air Supply managed to equal The Beatles’ run of consecutive top-five singles. Their albums also sold millions of copies and, since then, several of the duo’s songs have gone on to achieve millions of plays on the radio and over three billion total streams on Spotify.
Inside the MPAC auditorium, the lights dim as keyboardist Mirko Tessandori, bassist Doug Gild, and drummer Pavel Valdman take the stage with electric cellists Jessika Soli and Carolyn Regula. The spotlight shifts from drums to cellos to keyboards to bass as the ensemble’s ethereal sounds waft over the crowd.
Concertgoers cheer when guitarist Graham Russell, 76, and vocalist Russell Hitchcock, 77, enter the stage. Opening with a powerful rendition of their 1981 Top 5 power ballad, “Sweet Dreams,” Hitchcock starts off singing lead — his voice sounding as clear and powerful as ever — while Russell plays guitar left-handed. The pair croons together in harmony on the song’s mystical “Close your eyes I want to ride the skies in my sweet dreams” chorus before the arrangement builds in intensity under colored lights.
Music lovers hoot and holler and Hitchcock exclaims, “Good evening!” as the duo launches into a high-energy rendition of their 1982 Top 5 hit, “Even the Nights are Better.” Lights flash while four-part harmonies fill the MPAC auditorium and Hitchcock and Russell sing to one another in front of the cheering crowd.
Moving on to the group’s 1985 Top 20 hit, “Just As I Am,” heads bop and fans sing along with Hitchcock and Russell on the slow rocker’s melodic “And you say you love me just as I am/You always treat me the best that you can” refrain before Jessika Soli and Carolyn Regula are featured on electric cellos.
Fans sway their arms back and forth as Russell and Hitchcock trade off singing lead on “Every Woman in the World” and the audience happily joins the pair in singing, “You’re every woman in the world to me/You’re my fantasy, you’re my reality,” on the group’s 1980 Top 5 hit.
After Hitchcock earnestly reveals, “We take nothing for granted — we sincerely appreciate you coming tonight,” the duo performs “Here I Am.” Legato strings and strong harmonies support Hitchcock’s soaring voice as he croons, “Just when I thought I was over you/And just when I thought I could stand on my own,” on Air Supply’s 1981 Top 5 smash.
Russell takes over the mic announcing, “TIME magazine called us the “most romantic band in the world,” before adding, “Tonight we are yours and, in return, you are ours!” Here, Russell plays the twangy 12-string acoustic guitar intro to 1980’s powerful “Chances,” a number which features Jessika Soli on cello before Hitchcock holds out a long note on the arrangement’s dramatic coda.
Russell switches over to electric guitar for “Goodbye,” an emotional power ballad which is sung by both “Russells” — Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock.
Hitchcock leaves the stage to songwriter Russell who explains how he waits for lyrics to come to him before reciting a poem entitled “Never Too Soon.”
Russell tells the story about meeting Hitchcock at a choir practice in Australia 51 years ago and becoming best friends, revealing, “We’ve never had an argument in all these years,” as Hitchcock enters and the crowd cheers for the two colleagues. Here, the pair performs their 1980 Top 40 hit, “Two Less Lonely People in the World,” where their voices harmonize on the tuneful ballad.
The audience sings along before Russell is featured on a rhythmic acoustic guitar solo where he strums on the strings playing harmonics prior to tapping on the body, creating a symphony of sound which excites the crowd and inspires whistles and cheers.
Concertgoers sway to the rhythm of Air Supply’s 1981 #1 smash, “The One That You Love,” and stand as they join Hitchcock, Russell, and the ensemble on the song’s ubiquitous “Here I am/The one that you love/Askin’ for another day” refrain.
Following energetic applause, the group moves on to its 1980 #3 hit, “Lost in Love,” the enraptured crowd singing along and clapping to the song’s appealing “Lost in love and I don’t know much” chorus before Jessika Soli and Carolyn Regula are featured playing fast and furiously on their cellos.
Pavel Waldman pours water on his snare which dances under the lights as he pounds it. Then, Mirko Tessandori’s keyboard introduces the group’s 1983 #2 smash, “Making Love Out of Nothing At All,” which has fans enthusiastically singing along with Hitchcock who croons with feeling as this classic ‘80s power ballad builds to a crescendo. Audience members cheer on their feet and Hitchcock responds, “Thank you so much!” before he and the rest of the ensemble leave the stage.
After concertgoers chant, “One more song!” the musicians return and Hitchcock exclaims, “You guys are awesome! This evening, we would not be here without you!” At this point, the ensemble launches into an encore of Harry Nilsson’s “Without You” where Hitchcock sings in his lower register before switching over to his high register and dazzling the audience with his powerful and emotional performance.
After Hitchcock and Russell thank the group’s sound, lighting, production, and crew personnel, they also thank their band members as well as all of the veterans in the audience. Here, Russell launches into Air Supply’s 1980 #2 hit, “All Out of Love,” singing, “I’m lying alone with my head on the phone/Thinking of you till it hurts,” while accompanying himself on guitar.
Soon, Hitchcock picks up the song’s famous melody, his words ringing out through the auditorium, “I’m all out of love/I’m so lost without you/I know you were right believing for so long,” as the ensemble builds and swells to a crescendo.
Hitchcock announces, “Thank you so much — you guys rock!” before he, Graham Russell, and the band exit the stage to animated cheers and applause.
To learn more about Air Supply, please go to airsupplymusic.com. For information on upcoming performances at MPAC — including Toad the Wet Sprocket on October 21, Art Garfunkel on November 6, Don McLean and Lee Greenwood on November 15, and Judy Collins on November 22 — please go to mayoarts.com.
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