Dancing in the Street: Music of Motown

The Kansas City Symphony opens its 2026/27 Pops Series at Helzberg Hall with Dancing in the Street: Music of Motown, a tribute to the Motown era that runs from Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18. It's three shows over one weekend: evening performances on Friday and Saturday, and a matinee on Sunday.

The program pairs a full orchestra with guest vocalists to work through the songbook of Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Temptations and Stevie Wonder. You'll hear titles like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "My Girl" and "Superstition," the kind of songs that defined the Motown sound. The arrangement puts the orchestra behind the singers, so these tracks get a fuller, symphonic treatment than the original records.

Guest conductor Stuart Chafetz leads the orchestra, and the vocal parts are shared among three singers: Chester Gregory, Darren Lorenzo and Crystal Monee Hall. With three voices on stage, they can cover a good range of the Motown catalog across the different artists the show pays tribute to.

Since it's the start of the Pops series, this is one of the first symphonic dates of the new season. It runs Friday, October 16, Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 at Helzberg Hall, with evening shows on Friday and Saturday and a matinee on Sunday.