Motown music fans inside New Brunswick’s historic State Theatre New Jersey auditorium get ready this Sunday, October 18, 2026 evening for a concert by The Four Tops and The Temptations.
The lights dim and the curtain rises to reveal a stage filled with musicians on guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, and horns who play an instrumental medley of Four Tops hits before the audience hears the announcement, “This performance — and every Four Tops performance — is dedicated to the memory of Lawrence Payton, Renaldo ‘Obie’ Benson, Levi Stubbs, and ‘Duke’ Fakir.”
The crowd cheers as the current members of The Four Tops — Lawrence Payton, Jr., Ronnie McNeir, Michael Brock, and Theo Peoples — take the stage and Payton announces, “Buckle up your seatbelts! We’re going to take you on a journey to 2648 West Grand Boulevard, the home of Motown, in Detroit, Michigan!”
Here, The Four Tops launch into the group’s 1964 million-seller “Baby, I Need Your Loving” where they dance with synchronized steps, their voices showing terrific range and style as they sing the tune’s famous “Baby I need your loving/Got to have all your loving” refrain.
Payton, Jr. — the son of founding member Lawrence Payton, Sr. — asks audience members to shout out their favorite Four Tops songs before introducing his stage mates. The quartet breaks into a soulful rendition of the Tops’ 1967 Top 5 Billboard hit “Bernadette” where Payton looks on as Theo Peoples wails and pleads, “Keep on loving me, Bernadette/Keep on needing me, Bernadette.”
Moving on to a rollicking rendition of “It’s the Same Old Song,” concertgoers happily sing along with Michael Brock on the 1965 hit’s “It’s the same old song/But with a different meaning since you’ve been gone” refrain. The Tops follow up with a spirited version of 1966’s “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)” where Peoples croons with energy as the group dances and shimmies on stage.
Payton announces, “We’re gonna slow it down now,” as he talks about life in the ‘60s, and Ronnie McNeir is featured on “Main Street People” where he and the group sing, “Whatever happened to the days we met on Main Street/All we ever wanted to do is to sing and dance.”
Michael Brock is featured on the steamy R&B ballad “Still Water (Love)” before the group gallops into the Tops’ 1972 soul hit “Keeper of the Castle.” The men follow up with a sharp rendition of Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” where Ronnie McNeir delivers a cool jazzy lead, Peoples takes over backed by the sound of horns, and Payton adds his own gravelly Louis Armstrong imitation.
Peoples’ smooth and lyrical voice stands out on the rhythmic R&B tune “One More Mountain.”
Fans get out of their seats and dance to The Tops’ 1981 disco-style hit “When She Was My Girl” before Peoples sings lead on the Tops’ 1973 Top 5 hit “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I’ve Got,” backed by tight harmonies and stylized dancing by Payton, McNeir, and Brock.
Payton shouts, “It’s party time!” and the performers follow up with a dynamic rendition of one of their signature songs — the 1966 #1 smash “Reach Out I’ll Be There” — where concertgoers clap, dance, and sing along with Peoples and Co. on the tune’s “I’ll be there with a love that will shelter you” refrain.
Following enthusiastic applause, the Tops keep the party rollin’ with a rockin’ performance of their 1966 Top 10 hit “Standing in the Shadows of Love” after which Peoples responds, “Thank you so much! We love you!”
The crowd hoots and hollers and Peoples asks, “Can we do one more song?” Fans joyfully sing along as the group presents a high-energy version of their 1965 chart-topper “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch).”
Audience members stand and cheer and Payton thanks the crowd announcing, “I can only hope and wish we touched your hearts!” as the group exits the stage and the curtain closes.
Following a short intermission, the curtain reopens and the band plays a short instrumental overture. Audience members cheer as The Temptations — Terry Weeks, Jawan M. Jackson, Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, and Tony Grant— take the stage.
The Temptations open with their 1966 Top 40 hit “Get Ready” where, as the vocalists cry, “So fee fi fo fum/Look out baby ’cause here I come!” music lovers nod their heads and tap their toes while they sing along with founding member Otis Williams.
The quintet follows up by segueing into a high-energy version of The Temps’ 1969 #1 single “I Can’t Get Next to You” where the guys take turns singing lead while dancing with stylized motions.
Ron Tyson’s high and effortless lead is featured on the group’s 1964 Top Ten hit “The Way You Do the Things You Do.” Animated dancing highlights The Temps’ 1966 Top 20 hit “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” where Motown fans enjoy the soulful groove coming from Tony Grant and his stage mates.
The men follow up with an electrifying rendition of The Temptations’ 1970 Top 5 record “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)” where the vocalists trade off singing lead and join in singing harmonies supported by Jawan M. Jackson’s deep bass voice.
The synthesized sounds of a thunderstorm highlight a dramatic rendition of 1967’s “I Wish It Would Rain” where Grant’s lead is deftly backed by the stylized harmonies of his colleagues.
After Tyson asks, “How’s everyone feeling tonight?” the crowd happily sings along as The Temps perform their easy-going 1971 #1 smash “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me).”
The Four Tops’ Theo Peoples joins The Temps singing, “Stay ’til the morning, baby,” on “Stay” before Terry Weeks croons the happy-go-lucky “Beauty is Only Skin Deep” and leads the quintet on 1966’s “Since I Lost My Baby.”
After founding member Otis Williams reveals, “On the 30th of October I’ll be 85 years old!” the crowd cheers and sings “Happy Birthday” to him, to which he responds, “Without you there would be no Temptations, no Supremes, no Taylor Swift, no nobody!”
In his clear falsetto voice, Tyson chants, “Try to remember the kind of September/When life was slow and oh, so mellow,” on an emotional rendition of “Try to Remember” from The Fantastiks.
Grant gets the crowd clapping along on The Temptations’ 1973 #1 hit “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” where The Temps sing and dance with style and energy to lively cheers and applause.
Jawan M. Jackson asks, “Can we keep the party going?” as he and the guys ease into what he calls “the Temptations’ national anthem” — their 1965 chart-topper “My Girl.” Audience members happily join in on the song’s “Hey, hey, hey” refrain before Grant chooses several music lovers to come up on stage and sing the song.
After concertgoers Tiffany, California, Ian, and Ava perform, The Temptations conclude the number to a standing ovation and the group takes a well-earned bow before presenting an encore of 1984’s “Treat Her Like a Lady.”
Following a segue into McFadden and Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” the Temps dip back into “Treat Her Like a Lady” where the crowd whistles and cheers and the group members take a well-deserved bow before exiting the stage.
For more information about The Four Tops, please go to facebook.com/FourTops. To learn more about The Temptations, please go temptationsofficial.com. To find out about great upcoming performances at STNJ — including The Hip Hop Nutcracker on November 15 and Forever Motown Christmas on December 6 — please click on stnj.org.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2026
@ 7:30pm
State Theatre New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
@ 7:30pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
New Brunswick, NJ
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
@ 8:00pm
NJPAC - Prudential Hall
Newark, NJ
Thursday, October 29, 2026
@ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theatre)
Princeton, NJ
Thursday, October 29, 2026
@ 8:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center
Morristown, NJ
