Time Warp – Boyz II Men, Destiny’s Child deliver hits at Montage Mountain

July 21, 1998:

Some 6,000 people filled Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center for a night of rhythm and harmony from Philadelphia’s own Boyz II Men.
Before the Boyz took the stage, though, up-and-coming groups Next, Uncle Sam and Destiny’s Child performed.
R&B group Next was an made up of R.L. Huggar, T-Low Brown and Tweety Brown and was best known for the hit 1998 song “Too Close.” R&B singer Uncle Sam, meanwhile, was known for his popular song, “I Don’t Ever Want To See You Again.”

TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Boyz II Men’s Mike McCary, Nathan Morris and Shawn Stockman perform at Montage Mountain on July 21, 1998.

At the time, Destiny’s Child simply was a female group from Houston featuring the voices of the not-yet-legendary Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and Le Toya Luckett. They’d made a name for themselves with the song “No, No, No.”
Once the Boyz took their turn on stage, they hit they crowd with their well-known harmonies on such songs as “Baby Come On,” “On Bended Knee,” “End of the Road” and an a cappella version of the New Edition song “It’s So Hard to Say Good-bye to Yesterday.”

TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Mike McCary and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men perform at Montage Mountain on July 21, 1998. Times Shamrock Archives

Tony Zaragosa of Philadelphia took in the show with his family and told The Scranton Times that they had just seen the group on July 4 but had to see it again.
“They’re good boys and great singers, and just listening to them makes you happy,” Zaragosa said.
Another concertgoer, Dave Lewis of Hazleton, called Boyz II Men’s love songs “perfect for snuggling.”

TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Boyz II Men performs at Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center on July 21, 1998.

This wasn’t the first time that Boyz II Men performed at Montage. The group, along with Montell Jordan, played there before a crowd of 10,000 on Aug. 31, 1995.
On May 24, 2003, Boyz II Men’s Michael McCary was the principal speaker at Lackawanna College’s spring graduation ceremony at Mellow Theater in Scranton.

Brian Fulton

Brian Fulton has been the librarian at The Times-Tribune for the past 15 years. On his blog, Historically Hip, he writes about the great concerts, plays/musicals and celebrity happenings that have taken place throughout NEPA. He is also the co-host of the local history podcast, Historically Hip. He competed and was crowned grand champion on an episode of NPR quiz show “Ask Me Another.” Contact: bfulton@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9140; or @TTPagesPast