In September 2001, Michael Jackson threw himself a party for the ages. To mark 30 years since he first stepped into the spotlight as a solo artist, he staged two enormous concerts at Madison Square Garden, packed with superstars who came to honor the King of Pop.
But the moment fans still talk about was not about the guest list. It was about family.
On stage that night, Michael reunited with his brothers, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy, the boys he had started out with all those years ago as the Jackson 5. Together again, grown men now, they tore through a medley of the hits that had made them famous, the same songs that had turned five kids from Gary, Indiana into a global phenomenon. For a few electric minutes, the brothers were young again.
Nobody in that arena knew they were watching the end of an era.
Watch the brothers together one more time:
The Jacksons Medley – Live at Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary
That performance, on the second and final night, turned out to be the last time all six Jackson brothers ever shared a major stage together. After decades of music, that medley was the final bow for the brothers as a group.
And there is one more thing that gives the night a weight nobody could have predicted. The final show took place on September 10, 2001. The next morning, just a few miles away, the September 11 attacks changed New York and the world forever. That triumphant, joyful celebration of music and family was, without anyone knowing it, the last great night before everything changed.
Looking back now, 25 years later, the footage feels almost sacred. It captures the Jacksons at their most joyful, brothers laughing and dancing and singing together one final time, with the whole world still intact for one more night.
Press play and watch the last time the brothers who started it all stood side by side.