Grammy-award-winning singer Stephanie Mills took us all the way home from Stockbridge’s Vystar Amphitheater Saturday night like a free limo. The songstress closed out an amazing night of vocal stylings featuring Karyn White and After 7 with her classic hit Home.
A passing thunderstorm delayed the start of the concert for 40 minutes, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the patrons filing back into the venue. White took the stage first, looking every bit as lovely as she did when her self-titled album debuted in 1988.
The songstress announced during her set that she was happy to be back after an 18-year hiatus. Her vocals were fresh and clean. Appearing on the same stage as Mills may have had something to do with it. “Last night was a real full-circle moment for me,” stated White on her social media page.
Talent is undeniable. Show-wo-manship is learned. White delivered on both, working the width of the stage with the energy of a twenty-something star. She introduced her final song by acknowledging her close friendship with Atlanta’s own songstress Algebra Blessett.
After 7 kept the energy going when they hit the stage around 9:30-ish. Original member Kevon Edmonds, along with relatively new additions Wil Robinson (2023) and Trey Jones (2024), performed the choreography that was characteristic of early 70s R&B groups.
Midway through Whip Appeal, the audience lifted their voices, singing along with the trio word for word. They were rewarded shortly after as Edmonds, Robinson, and Jones disappeared from the stage and reappeared in the VIP section concluding the ballad surrounded by the audience. Audience interaction of that magnitude is largely a thing of the past (pre-1980) when artists and fans were wrestling with the economic disparities of a post-Jim Crow America.
The skies remained clear as Farad Mills, Stephanie’s son, announced his headlining mom. Mills didn’t sing every song from her gigantic discography that stands higher than she is tall, but her selection was impeccable. Then again, how could she go wrong with so many hits spanning 50 years? She sang all of this writer’s favorites, and apparently most of the audience’s, too.
Mills gave her background singers a moment to shine on her smash hit “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love”. Another custom from a bygone era of music – Roberta Flack featuring Luther Vandross – IYKYK. Mills introduced each singer in succession, and they ate, as the young people say. Well, maybe not after reading this.
The audience was in a full-on love-fest by the time the 69-year-old songstress uttered the first words of the monologue intro to the finale song of the Broadway hit The Wiz. Given the contextual meaning and timing of the song, it was absolutely the perfect selection to end the night on.
Well done VyStar Amphitheater at The Bridge. To see the 2026 concert lineup, visit the amphitheater website.