A performance by the Jacksons punctuated a festive opening Saturday, Oct. 25, at Detroit’s glistening new Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.
The Motown-bred band once known as the Jackson 5 served up a 65-minute set of nostalgic hits as crowds packed the DTE Foundation Summit, a hillside area on the west end of the 22-acre riverside park.
The Jacksons, part of a four-stage music lineup set to run through Sunday, Oct. 26, were headliners for Ralph Wilson Park’s inaugural weekend as the site celebrated its grand opening after eight years in the works.
By late Saturday afternoon, the park was closing in on 30,000 first-day visitors, said Detroit Riverfront Conservancy CEO Ryan Sullivan.
For the Jacksons — now helmed by brothers Jackie, 74, and Marlon, 68 — the gig was a chance to be part of history in Motown’s backyard.
“When they called us to come do this event, we said: ‘Detroit is our second home. Of course we’ll come!’” Marlon Jackson told the audience.
The infectious boogie of “Can You Feel It” launched a set that spanned the group’s catalog of pop-soul and rock-tinged funk, as the brothers delivered bursts of slick moves and choreography tightly honed through six decades of stage work.
Fans in vintage Jackson 5 jackets and Motown apparel became dancing machines of their own, screaming to the brothers as if it were 1970 at Olympia Stadium once again.
The show included a retrospective video set to “Gone Too Soon” by late brother Michael Jackson before a salvo of early career hits — “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” “I’ll Be There” — revived the upbeat tone that dominated the performance.
A pair of vocal accompanists handled the bulk of the Michael parts for a set that ultimately wrapped with an extended workout of 1979’s “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).” The group’s five-piece band was highlighted by Tommy Organ, a Detroit guitarist and longtime Jackson family collaborator.
The Jacksons’ appearance was part of a lively opening day at Ralph Wilson Park, where metro Detroiters streamed in for a first look at the $80 million site and its opening-weekend array of family attractions, food trucks and Halloween activities.
The park, backdropped by the Ambassador Bridge on one end and the downtown skyline on the other, is an impressive site and seems destined to quickly assume status as an iconic Detroit locale.
While Ralph Wilson Park won’t be competing for the sorts of major concert events hosted down the riverfront by Hart Plaza and the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, the conservancy does hope to present regular music programming at the site, said chairman Matt Cullen.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
The free grand opening festivities will continue Sunday at Ralph Wilson Park, including another round of music on four stage:
Summit Main Stage
Michigan Lottery Southwest Stage
Soaring Eagle 8th Street Stage
Coffee House
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Jacksons cap a grand opening day as Ralph Wilson Park impresses Detroit
Reporting by Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
