The annual Picnic at the Pops presents “Dancing in the Streets: The Music of Motown.”
The legendary hit-factory of the Motor City will take center stage on Sept. 7 at the Gallo Grounds, 600 Yosemite Blvd., Modesto.
The grounds open at 5 p.m. for picnicking and the concert starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $75 for adults and $20 for youth for reserved lawn seating, and $45/$12 for general lawn seating.
In 1959, songwriter and entrepreneur Barry Gordy founded a record label in Detroit that would go on to establish a sound all its own. A sound that became known to the world as the Motown Sound.
And in a town known for its automobile factories, Motown very quickly became a hit factory. The Motown Sound is credited as being a source of inspiration for the Beatles and other “English Invasion” bands of the mid-1960s.
The Beatles’ second album “With the Beatles” features covers of three Motown classics: “You Really Got a Hold On Me,” “Money,” and “Please Mr. Postman,” originally performed by the Marvelettes and which went on to become the first Motown record to top the charts. Brian Holland is credited as one of the songwriters of “Please Mr. Postman.” He, along with brother Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier, comprised one of the most productive songwriting teams of the 1906s. Known collectively as Holland-Dozier-Holland, the trio’s songs topped the U.S. Billboard chart on 13 separate occasions (“You Keep Me Hangin’ On” was a No. 1 hit for The Supremes in 1966 and for Kim Wilde in 1987).
This year’s Picnic at the Pops features 29 well known standards from the Motown catalog: “Dancing in the Street” (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas); “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles); “It’s a Man’s World” (James Brown); “Reach Out I’ll Be There” (Four Tops); “Touch Me In the Morning” (Diana Ross); “Just to See Her” (Smokey Robinson); “How Sweet It Is” (Marvin Gaye); “A Song for You” (Donny Hathaway); “Superstition” (Stevie Wonder); “Let’s Groove” (Earth, Wind and Fire); “I Got You” (James Brown); “My Guy” (Mary Wells); “My Girl” (Temptations); “Endless Love” (Lionel Richie, Diana Ross); “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” (Spinners); “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (Thelma Houston); “All Night Long” (Lionel Richie); “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” (Stevie Wonder), and a Jackie Wilson medley featuring pieces of “Higher and Higher,” “I Don’t Need You Around,” “I’ve Lost You,” “Those Heartaches,” “Soulville,” “Open the Door to Your Heart, ”I’m the One to Do It,” “You Can Count on Me,” “I Need Your Loving,” “Somebody Up There Likes You,” and “When Will Our Day Come?”
Picnic at the Pops! presented by the Modesto Symphony Orchestra is an annual event that is held on the grounds of the E. & J. Gallo Winery and has been a community favorite since it began in 1995. The event attracts thousands of guests from Modesto and the neighboring communities for an evening of orchestral pop music, and dancing.
Concert attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket, pack a picnic, and enjoy the outdoor space. Outside alcohol is prohibited; wine and an assortment of beverages are available for purchase, with all proceeds benefiting the MSO.
For those not wanting to pack their own picnic, patrons may pre-order meals or purchase food on-site from local food trucks and vendors.
For this concert, you will need to bring printed tickets for admission and to enter the ground’s parking lots. It is highly recommended that you pick up your printed tickets from the Gallo Center ticket office prior to the concert. Ticket office hours are Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.
Any printed tickets left over will be available at will call at the event.
