Motown Spirit Lights Up Dexter in Stevie Wonder Tribute Concert

Photo: (L-R) Khara Gilmore and Chris Joseph singing “All I Do.” Photo by Steve Sheldon

Dexter’s Encore Musical Theatre Company kicked off season 17 in grand fashion, celebrating the music of the iconic Motown star, Stevie Wonder. This concert was a reprise of a 2022 concert that featured the same band members and singers.

Singers Jason Briggs, Chris Jospeh, David Magumba and Gayle Martin were accompanied by band members R. Mackenzie Lewis on keyboard and music director, Mike Harrington playing guitar, Clifton Williams on bass and Daniel King-McDonald playing drums.

The concert highlighted the versatility of Wonder’s music and the vocal range of the singers’ voices. Again, the band was superb. The singers were, too. But the spotlight of the evening was stolen by a 14-year-old Ann Arbor girl, Khara Gilmore, who sang a duet with her uncle Chris Joseph.

Steveland Hardaway Morris, aka Stevie Wonder, became blind shortly after birth. In introducing the song “All I Do.” Joseph said his niece has said many times, “A lack of sight is not a lack of vision.” And that statement is how Ms. Gilmore lives her life.

Like Wonder, Gilmore too is blind. But that has not stopped her from setting and achieving goals for herself. As a 9^th grader at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, she runs track and cross country. She sings and arranges her own music. Joseph said the arrangement for their duet All I Do was arranged by Gilmore.

The pair sang a heartfelt version of the song, each taking on solo parts. During the solo parts for Gilmore, the audience applauded in approval. At the conclusion of the song, as Jospeh helped his niece with her bows and exiting the stage, the audience gave her a standing ovation.

Though the concert included twenty-one songs, plus two encore songs, there were still so many of the Stevie Wonder hits that couldn’t be included. Most of the songs had all four singing, with one taking the lead and the other three adding harmony. When Ms. Martin was belting out her numbers, the three gentlemen gave their best impression of Motown’s Temptations, dancing and moving with coordinated steps and hand motions.

When the guys took the lead, you could close your eyes and get lost in the music. Just like that, you were back in the ’60s and ’70s, clapping and humming along. The group excelled at doing the classics like “Isn’t She Lovely,” “My Cherie Amour,” and “Master Blaster.”

The group was especially effective when the tempo was upbeat. Crowd pleasing numbers “Superstition,” “All If Fair In Love,” “Overjoyed” and “Part Time Lover” just rollicked. In a poignant moment, Magumba, standing all alone in the spotlight, gave a heartfelt rendition of “Lately.” The number allowed his voice to hit all the high notes in a stirring song. The clarity and purity of his voice were just sensational.

Just like a Stevie Wonder concert, the group rocked the house as they were concluding the concert. “I Do I DO,” followed by a blended medley of “You Are The Sunshine of My Life” and “If You Really Loved Me’ that gave the audience goosebumps. The group concluded with “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and “Living For The City.”

Just when you thought it was over, the band kept playing, the group returned and gave the audience two more for the road. With the band rocking and the singers rocking, they closed the show with “Uptight” and “For Once In My Life.”

A fitting end to a Wonder-ful night. When it comes to tribute concerts, Encore knows how to put them on.

The Stevie Wonder Tribute concert runs through Sunday, September 14^th. Tickets can be purchased at the Encore box office or by calling (734) 268-6200.