Dec 12, 2025 By Stephanie Kalina-Metzger 3 min read

Tight harmonies, catchy melodies and choreography that keeps eyes riveted to the stage-the Motortown All-Stars promise these things and more when they arrive at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg on Monday.

Drawing inspiration from Motown groups like The Miracles, The Temptations, and The Contours, the All-Stars will help fans ring in the Christmas season with a little something for everyone. With holiday favorites like “The Christmas Song,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Frosty the Snowman,” they usher in the festive spirit, while timeless Motown hits like “My Girl,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” and “Ooo Baby Baby,” tap into a deep well of nostalgia wrapped in unmistakable Detroit soul.

Show promoter Charlie Pappas describes it as a high-energy production that has become a holiday tradition around the country.

“The Christmas show has been touring for 14 years now and is playing in 26 cities across the country this year,” he said.

Reflections on a career

Group founder Glen Raby, a Detroit native, has been obsessed with music since he was a toddler. “I owned a little record player when I was 4 or 5 and my uncle took me to the five-and-dime store in the Detroit area. I had a hard time choosing between ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Wake Up Little Susie.'”

Raby ultimately chose the former. Piano lessons followed, then keyboards, then the Detroit music scene.

“I got to know folks, and in the music business you run into the same people a lot of times,” Raby said. Over the years, he worked with a number of different acts and Hall of Fame inductees from the 1960s and early 1970s, including The Contours, where he served as musical director. “The Contours are best known for ‘Do You Love Me,’ which saw a resurgence when ‘Dirty Dancing’ became a hit movie,” Raby added.

When Raby left the Contours in late 2012, he decided to take advantage of his industry connections to assemble a super group of sorts-four vocalists which he refers to as his “dream team.” The lineup includes Charles Franklin, formerly with Ali Woodson’s Temptations group; Danny Friendly of the Edsels; Antonio Dandridge, who performed with Mary J. Blige, and is the godson of Martha Reeves; and Leon Franklin, of the Contours, the Miracles and the Dramatics.

“The idea was to do a season of holiday shows and soon it mushroomed into a full-time job,” said Raby.

Raby is now the road manager for the Motortown All Stars and wears many hats-hiring musicians, handling advances, playing keyboard, guitar and more.

Today the performers spend about 200 days a year on the road, doing about 50 shows-most of them during the holiday season.

“We recently performed 27 one-nighters in about five weeks,” Raby pointed out.

Raby is always tickled when the younger generation attends his shows. “Last night a young guy in his early 20s introduced himself as a musician. I asked him how many of the songs he knew and it was most of them, surprisingly,” he said.

Raby said that the group is always looking forward to playing in Western Pennsylvania. “Their dedication to music is phenomenal,” he said.

For Raby, the work hasn’t lost its luster. “When you do what you love, time flies. When I signed on with the Contours, I owned a business and music was secondary. I thought to myself, how am I going to balance these things? Then I ran away and joined the circus and here we are 30 years later,” he said with a chuckle.

Showtime is at 7 p.m. For more information, go online to westmorelandculturaltrust.org.