September 7, 2026

MOTOWN GOLD IN HUNTSVILLE SATURDAY NIGHT WITH BEST OF MARVIN GAYE, GLADYS KNIGHT, STEVIE, MICHAEL, TEMPTATIONS AND FOUR TOPS, ‘MY GIRL’ AND ‘HEATWAVE’

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HUNTSVILLE — Motown Records still makes and releases music today from its headquarters in Los Angeles where new owners Universal Music Group works out of the famous Capitol Tower. The label focuses on modern hip-hop and R&B with artists like Vince Staples, Lil Yachty, and Lil Baby.

A far cry from Motor City, where “Hitsville U.S.A.” at it’s original 1959 house studio headquarters in Detroit produced hundreds of memorable hits at its record factory before moving to L.A. in the 1970s.

Motown beat, legacy live on and on …

But the original sound carries on.

And Rudy Salerno of Rudy and Angel Wings, is the backbeat — and back bone — of a sizzling Motown Gold show coming back to Muskoka at the Algonquin Theatre Saturday night, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m.

“Motown Gold” will have the crowd singing along, clapping their hands in rhythm and even getting up to dance to the infectious Motown groove with songs including “My Girl”, “Stop! In The Name Of Love”, “Heatwave”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, “I Can’t Help Myself”, “ABC”, “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, and amazing duets like “It Takes Two”, and “Endless Love.”

In May Salerno with lead singers Malia Love and Gavin Williamson sold out at the Gravenhurst Opera House.

**Rudy Salerno, centre, and his Angel Wing Band featuring Malia Love and Gavin Williamson return to Muskoka Saturday night. PHOTO Motown Gold**

Salerno’s determination to keep alive the label sound is not only seen but felt by his driving drum set beats and crashing cymbals.

“Like the Funk Brothers, who were the guys that were the session players who did a lot of the music for those artists,” says this show’s producer. “You gotta have a tight rhythm.”

Salerno knows, he’s been busy this summer playing a “huge ‘Three Kings’ Elvis show” in Niagara Falls, featuring award-winning tribute artists James Gibb, Brazilian Diego Light and Bill Cherry covering the best three era’s of Presley’s career.

“And creating my own stuff, including my own Elton John and Neil Diamond productions.

“But my main one, of course, is Motown Gold.”

“We’ve added a couple of new songs, some that at least changed it up a little bit. But I mean it’s pretty much the same.

“You want to keep a tight and consistent. But sometimes we change like a medley or a couple of songs to keep it fresh.”

**Malia Love spreads her wings and embraces some Motown’s greatest singers including this time Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia.” PHOTO Angle Wing Productions**

Lead singers Malia Love, Gavin Williamson

“Working on Motown Gold has been an incredible experience creatively, especially blending different personalities, vocal textures and energies,” says Malia Love.

“It deeply shaped my musical journey and identity as a vocalist and performer. My uncle, Tony Bailey, worked within Motown circles and spent time around legendary artists such as Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross. So that sound, culture, and musical excellence were always close to me growing up.”

She said: Throughout my career, I’ve also had the honour of opening for legendary acts including The Temptations, Regina Belle, Percy Sledge and Freddie Jackson among many others in the industry. Experiences like these have helped shape my understanding of soul music, storytelling, stage presence, and vocal interpretation.

“To me, Motown means the world. It’s in my blood, it’s in my veins and it lives in the strength and emotion of my voice every time I step onto a stage. The music carries history, struggle, joy, elegance and power and performing it is always an honour,” she said. “Celebrating timeless music that continues to connect generations.”

I caught up with Love again on the weekend while she was on the road in New York and Nashville.

“My role in the production is female lead singer,” she said in an email.

“However my professional background and involvement in music extend well beyond my role as a lead vocalist. I am an international award-winning singer-songwriter, recognized professional vocalist and songwriter, musician, vocal coach, arranger, producer, and bandleader. My career has allowed me to work across many areas of the music industry, both on stage and behind the scenes.”

She said music education and vocal development are also an “important part of my professional work. I am the founder and owner of RTL Vocal Coach, my professional vocal training school, where I work with aspiring and professional singers to develop vocal technique, performance skills, artistry, confidence, and stage presence. I have also pursued formal studies in voice, music theory, and musicianship, including studies through Berklee College of Music.”

A busy artist and performer, Love expanded saying “I have extensive experience developing and contributing to live productions, including vocal arrangements, repertoire development, staging, performance preparation, and helping shape the overall artistic presentation of a show.

‘My intention is not to imitate these artists’

“When I perform the music of the legendary artists featured in Motown Gold, I approach each performance as much more than simply singing a song. I immerse myself in the music, the lyrics, the emotion, and the energy of the artist until I become one with the material. I study the vocal phrasing, tone, musicality, emotional delivery, stage presence, and cultural significance behind each performance. My intention is not to imitate these artists, but to understand and embody the spirit of their music so that the audience can feel the authenticity, emotion, and legacy behind every song.”

Love reiterated “my connection to Motown is also deeply personal. My mother wrote Motown music, and my uncle worked with Motown music. That musical history is part of my family legacy.

“For me, this music is not simply something I learned for a production, it is something I grew up connected to. It is in my blood, it is in my veins, and it is part of my legacy.

“When I step onto the stage to perform this repertoire, I carry that history with me.

**Love channelled Aretha Franklin with incredible vocal performance in Gravenhurst that demanded “R-E-S-P-E-C-T!” PHOTO Mark Clairmont MuskokaTODAY.com**

“That personal connection allows me to approach the music with a level of respect, emotional understanding, and authenticity that goes beyond performance. I want audiences not only to hear these timeless songs, but to feel the soul, history, emotion, and energy that made this music so powerful in the first place.”

She said beyond her professional career, “giving back to the community is extremely important to me. I volunteer daily with seniors, using music and performance to bring connection, encouragement, and joy to their lives.”

For the past six years, she has also “led and performed with my own funk and soul band, Malia and the Love Machine. The band has become a respected and sought-after live entertainment act in Canada, known for delivering high-energy performances rooted in funk, soul, R&B, Motown, and timeless live music.

“Leading the Love Machine has allowed me to further develop my skills not only as a vocalist, but also as a bandleader, musical director, arranger, and live entertainer.

“I continue to develop original music and expand my career into the U.S. market, including an upcoming performance in Nashville later this month as I further develop my country-soul and crossover material.”

She concluded: “Ultimately, while my designated role in this production is female lead singer, I bring a much broader foundation of professional experience in vocal performance, song-writing, musicianship, vocal education, arranging, production, band leadership, and live entertainment.

“Most importantly, I bring a genuine personal and musical connection to the legacy of the music I have been entrusted to perform.”

Gavin Williamson and Love were the heart and soul of Motown Gold’s pulsating trubute to the ‘Hitsville U.S.A.’ record label that hit all the high notes of the amazing sound machine at the Opera House in May. PHOTO Mark Clairmont MuskokaTODAY.com

‘Spectrum of different eras,’ says Williamson

The show is full of seasoned solo, cover band and theatre performers working around Ontario based in Toronto spanning a “spectrum of different eras” and doing their own side gigs.

There are two back-up singers and a five-piece band.

Gavin Williamson, too, said his “summer was fantastic.”

The lead male singer did a “performance for the prime minister of Grenada in Vaughan. So that was quite a wonderful experience. I think he was in his 40s. So he dug our music.”

Williamson said in Huntsville there’s a “new twist. We’ve added some new Temptation songs I’m excited about. ‘Just My Imagination,’ ‘Get Ready’ and some others I’m going to engage with the audience. A little bit of a fresher, but I think most of it they’ll remember. A little bit more spice to it.”

“I know Malia is excited because she’s doing some wonderful new songs like Gladys Knight’s big song ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ that she didn’t do in Gravenhurst.”

As for Williamson: “I love David Ruffin of the Temptations and Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops.

“Because when I sing, I literally embody every artist whether it’s Stevie (Wonder), Marvin Gaye or Eddie Kendricks.”

What do you mean?

“You know, the character, the tone of voice, the diction, because I study these artists. And I love them in terms of how I manipulate my voice to sound as smooth as like David Ruffin.”

Williamson, 59, said Motown was the soundtrack of his home growing up.

He said while his roots are more Caribbean and Afrocentric, in his own shows he sings Anne Murray, country music k.d. Lang, Shania Twain, Brian Adams and Leonard Cohen — but not Michael Buble.

His favourite singer? “Nat King Cole.”

Williamson, who also loves Montreal’s Gino Vannelli, is starting his own Lionel Ritchie mini tour Nov. 2. A tribute to the Commodores’ 1970s co-lead singer and saxophonist.

And as for Love, “we’re co-stars. We just adore each other, especially when we get the chance to do duets. It’s probably one of my favourite highlights of this show. We just come together and give the audience a great performance. I truly feel our connection.”

The show plays Picton Saturday Nov. 7 at the Regent Theatre; Saturday Nov. 14 at the Town Hall 1873 Theatre in Port Perry; and Friday Dec. 11 at the Midland Cultural Centre.