Things To Do: Get down with Motown at the Houston Symphony this weekend

UPDATE: Capathia Jenkins is under sick leave and Valisia LeKae will perform in her absence for the "Ain't No Mountain High Enough: The Music of Motown" performances this weekend.

Ain’t nothing like the real thing…and by that, we mean the music from Motown. The Houston Symphony is bringing that big wall of sound and the unforgettable cultural impact of some of entertainment’s biggest acts this weekend with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: The Music of Motown . Special guest singers Ryan Shaw and Capathia Jenkins, along with background vocalists and the orchestra, will vocally and sonically shimmy and shake Jones Hall with the songs that defined an unforgettable time in the recording industry.

“The first word that comes to mind when I think of this show is nostalgia,” said Shaw. “For people who were around from that era who really were a part of making Motown the fabric of the soundtrack of this country, it is going to be a party.”

The set list is drool worthy. Everything from chart-topping hits of The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Gladys Knight and The Pips, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and The Jackson 5 will have audience members dancing in the streets – or in Jones Hall, rather.

This is something that resonated with Jenkins as she started preparing for the concert – something she thinks everyone can relate to.

“Motown is the soundtrack to my life, and it's one of those catalogs that everybody knows,” she said. “It's a celebration of the Motown era and all the groups and the hits that people know and love.”

The love and joy Jenkins mentions is something that she and her co-star have often brought to the Houston audience. People may remember Jenkins from previous performances with the symphony at “The Ella Fitzgerald Songbook” and “She’s got Soul.” Likewise, Shaw performed most recently at “R&B Mixtape” and the “Unforgettable: Celebrating the Nat King Cole Centennial.” They also performed together for the “Aretha: Queen of Soul” concert.

Everything Motown accomplished still remains in the collective memory of listeners to this day.

“The way Motown engineered most of the records were done with a rhythm section called the Funk Brothers. That rhythm section pretty much created a sound that kind of became synonymous with the brand Motown ... with that backbeat drum feel,” Shaw said.

The acoustic and rhythm section often took up one-fourth of the recording space's footprint when Motown was in its pinnacle – a trademark of the recording industry that is rarely replicated in current times.

Motown, aside from setting some of the greatest hits to be played on the radio waves, was also a catalyst in the Civil Rights movement. It was a Black-owned label that attained crossover success. Between 1960 and 1969, its artists reached an astounding 79 records in the top-10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Motown broke race barriers. People originally called it ‘race music’ when it first came out because it was part of the integration of the segregated dance floor, especially in the south,” Shaw said.

“When Motown [gained momentum], a lot of artists were very popular on the radio, but the [television producers] refused to play Motown music in some of the places unless the dance floor was not segregated. Socially, it changed a lot. A lot of that music was very joyful and very boisterous,” he added. “But it was also written during the during the Civil Rights movement, so it was a really dark time for Black people in this country, but we were able to overcome and actually bring some real joy.”

“Boisterous” is the word of the weekend when it comes to this concert, and perhaps the concert is reminiscent of the sounds of the days of yore, as Jenkins explains.

“When Motown was really hot and produced the hits of the day, it was just a different time. It was an extraordinary thing that they were able to crank out so many hits by so many different artists and so many different voices,” she said. “I think that when you hear this music today, it transports you back to that time.”

And transport, it does and will continue to do. Pull out the 60s vintage clothing, put enough hairspray to prevent a dent in the ‘do, and traverse any mountain, valley or ocean that might stand in the way of what promises to be a concert to remember.

The Houston Symphony presents “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: The Music of Motown” at 7:30 p.m. on September 28 and 2 p.m. on September 29 at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. For tickets or information, call 713-224-7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org . Tickets range $52-$130. A livestream option is available on September 29 for $20.