NOT even a heavy cloud cover which blanketed the sky Friday could stop the stars from shining brightly at this year’s renewal of the fund-raising event, A Starry Night.

Organised by the United Church to raise funds for the children’s homes it operates, Mount Olivett and Pringle Home, A Starry Night brought out hundreds to the sprawling lawns of Jamaica House to experi-ence a great night of music.

The brightest star was clearly the Bajan saxman Arturo Tappin. No stranger to Jamaica, he was in a no-nonsense mood as he took the stage paying tribute to his countryman, Rupee, blowing up a storm with Tempted to Touch. His set a mixture of genres and styles to suit the fans’ musical tastes.

His masterful set, which was brilliantly strung together, included Michael Jackson’s Bad; Miss Independent by Ne-Yo; John Legend’s Green Light; Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5; a soulful take on Marley’s Redemption Song; more Bajan music with Allison Hinds’ Roll It and Rihanna’s Hopeless Place; and the popular Gangnam Syle.

In between his nearly one- hour set, Tappin and his backing trio — drums, bass and keyboards — dropped in Christmas music with Do You Hear? and showed off his ‘okay’ vocal skills on the Stylistics’ Betcha By Golly Wow.

The other star, although not shining as brightly on this occasion, was Regina Belle.

She did not have a band and some of the power she is known for did not translate with backing tracks. She admitted: “I’m sorry I don’t have my band, there is so much more I could do for you.”

But she certainly did what she could, her voice still sounding like it did back in the 1980s when she burst onto the scene. Her tracks included For the Love of You, Make it Like it Was, Show Me, So Many Tears, This is Love, If I Could, and Baby Come

to Me.

As she promised in a pre-show interview with the Jamaica Observer, Belle infused gospel tracks, such as Make an Example Out of Me and He’s Mighty in Battle, in her set.

The night opened with renowned Jamaican musician and educator Ibo Cooper and Friends.

Cooper, former keyboardist with reggae band Third World, took the audience on a musical journey through the history of popular Jamaican music — an ode to Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence.

Along the way, stops were made with tunes made popular by Eric Donaldson, Marcia Griffiths, Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Yellowman, Shabba Ranks, Lady G, and Vybz Kartel.

The seamless transition from song to song made for great listening and elicited finger-snapping and even some movement from the generally laid-back audience.

The audio at the event could have been better. Cooper’s vocalists — Raquel Stephenson, Hector Lewis and Serena Constantine — came across shouting rather than effectively utilising their vocal capabilities.

The organisers can take a bow for presenting an entertaining event. However, being a Friday night, audience members seemed battle-weary by taking full advantange of the seats and did not move to enjoy the music. The fact that the chairs were far away from the stage — the front row being at least 10-15 feet away — also created a less-than- intimate setting.