Steve Van Zandt hosts the second episode of his Virtual Roadshow Thursday, featuring Martha Reeves, the Motown star whose hits with the Vandellas include “Heatwave,” “Nowhere to Run” and “Dancing in the Street.” The show focuses solely on Detroit.
Reeves will also debut a never-before-released pro-shot video of her performance of “Heatwave” with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in 2003. Other guests include Alice Cooper, who will discuss his Detroit roots and his recent return to the city to record his Breadcrumbs EP, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer and more.
“We’re kind of winging it right now,” Van Zandt — who co-hosts the show with Drew Carey — told Rolling Stone ahead of the broadcast. “This was really a spontaneous idea just a week or two ago. We’ll see what develops into a real show.”
At this rate, it seems as though it will; the first episode aired last month, focusing on the Cleveland, Ohio, music scene to raise awareness for TeachRock, Van Zandt’s organization that provides online music appreciation courses to kids whose classrooms have been robbed of arts programs.
The show isn’t limited to rock & roll, though. On Thursday’s episode, hip-hop producer Nick Speed will also celebrate the legacy of J Dilla and discuss Detroit’s hip-hop legacy — and Cornelius Harris, founder of Exhibit 3000, the museum of Detroit Techno Music, will discuss the influence of funk and electronic music from Detroit around the world.
Says Van Zandt: “The basic idea of this Virtual Roadshow is to go from city to city exploring that region’s rich music history, talk with the musical and cultural influencers of the region and explore how the arts helped shaped and defined that city.”
In Detroit airs Thursday, August 6th at 8 p.m. ET. Register to watch now.
From Rolling Stone US
