Detroit A Gogo attracts UK soul fans

I'm at the start of another US trip, this time to Detroit with Dave Carroll for the Detroit A Go Go Northern Soul weekend. The journey via Chicago O'Hare (a painfully inefficient airport) was on time and we checked into the St Regis Hotel having taken an expensive taxi from Detroit airport. Soul fans are gathering from Wigan, Manchester, Bournemouth and elsewhere but there aren't many locals around so far. We spent the evening at the Northern Lights Lounge where Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey has  a regular gig on a Tuesday. He is a super guitarist as instrumentals such as 'Signed Sealed Delivered' and 'Just My Imagination' testified although vocals on 'Johnny B Goode' and 'Baby What You Want Me To Do' were unexceptional. He was joined on stage by Lady Champagne  who added some good blues to the evening, with 'Hey Bartender' and 'Further Up The Road' the highlights.
Next morning we took a long but chilly walk to Downtown and to the river, which borders Canada. There's a pleasant riverside walk past the memorial to the Underground Railroad, which helped slaves to escape, to the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, where top stars appear. After a drink and snack at Andrew's Corner Bar we took an Uber to Peoples Records, which has an impressive selection of soul 45s and LPs.
After an Afro Caribbean meal at a place called Yum Village the third annual Detroit A Go Go kicked off with a welcome party at the St Regis with music by the highy accomplished Drew Schultz and the Broken Habits and vocals by Trish Shandor. This year the festival is also marking the 60th anniversary of the foundation of Motown with two of the evenings branded Motown A Gogo and there were many artists associated with Motown and other Detroit labels in the house. Some of them joined the band for  a number or two, including Pat Lewis on 'Can't Shake Loose', Spyder Turner on 'Stand By Me' and Rose Batiste who got a great reception when she sang her 1966 Golden World record 'I Miss My Baby'. The Voice contestant Beth Griffith-Manley, daughter of Johnny Griffith of the Funk Brothers, who looked gorgeous in shiny red slacks, sang a couple of numbers. So too did Ms Cubie, a raunchy R and B singer in a tight fitting animal print dress who tweaked and belted out a couple of low down and dirty songs that earned her a standing ovation. The band itself did a mix of original songs and Northern Soul covers such as J J Barnes' 'Humdinger' which was much appreciated by the UK based audience and locally based artists alike. It was an excellent way to kick things off.