It’s Valentine’s week, and nothing says love like Motown. The legendary 1960s Detroit pop/R&B label brought us such classics as “Baby, I Need Your Loving,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Without the One You Love,” “I Could Never Love Another,” “Sweet Love,” “This Love,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” and “I Found Love.”
Four Motown bands responsible for those songs and hundreds more are in Connecticut this week: The Four Tops and The Temptations are performing at the Oakdale Theatre and The Commodores and The Spinners are at Mohegan Sun Arena. Each of these groups have visited Connecticut dozens of times over the past half century or so, first in Motown package tours then as headliners on their own tours when they ruled the charts, then as nostalgia acts and now this week as the personification of love and passion.
Soul legends Melba Moore (Love’s Comin’ at Ya”) and Lillo Thomas (“Wanna Make Love”) are also teaming up for a concert this week at Southern Connecticut State University. Moore isn’t just a dynamic soul diva. She was also a bonafide Broadway star going back to the so-called love rock musical “Hair.”
The heart and soul do not stop there. One of the great writers of 1990s R&B gospel musicals, David T. Payton, is remembered with a new tour of his “When a Woman’s Fed Up.” You may know him from “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” which was turned into a movie in 2008. He wrote “When a Woman’s Fed Up” with Annette Campbell. There was once a lively circuit of gospel musicals that would play venues like the old New Haven Palace (now College Street Music Hall).
Is that enough soulful love and relationship drama to sustain you for Valentine’s week?
Trevor Noah
Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford
Fresh from his final time hosting the Grammys, Trevor Noah comes to the Stamford Palace. The former “Daily Show” host always has something on his mind, as his political commentary at the awards show showed. Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. $216.20. palacestamford.org.
‘Citizen James: or the Young Man Without a Country’
Trinity College, 300 Summit St., Hartford
HartBeat Ensemble brings back its production of Kyle Bass’ James Baldwin biodrama, directed by Joann Yarrow and starring James Alton. It is the first HartBeat show at Trinity College’s Austin Arts Center since the ensemble became the resident theater company there. Feb. 12-21. Performances are Feb. 12-14, 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 13 and 21 at 2 p.m. $30, $25 seniors and students. “No one turned away for lack of funds.” cur8.com.
Frank Caliendo
Funny Bone Comedy Club, 194 Buckland Hills Dr., Suite 1054, Manchester
A reliable name in the comedy club world for two decades, Frank Caliendo gets the sweet Valentine’s Day weekend gig at Funny Bone. He’s got four shows: Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 4 at 6 and 8:30 p.m. and Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. $37-$47. hartford.funnybone.com.
The Four Tops and The Temptations
Oakdale Theatre, 95 South Turnpike Road, Wallingford
The Four Tops and The Temptations have been found touring together off and on for the past 60 years. With the passing of “Duke” Fakir in 2024, all the original Four Tops are gone. One of the founding members of The Temptations, Otis Williams, still performs with the group, which is remarkable since they formed in 1961. Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. $41.25-$185.25. livenation.com.
‘When a Woman’s Fed Up’
The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford
The Rev. David T. Payton, who died in 2011, was one of the main forces behind the gospel musical theater trend of the 1990s. His first and most enduring contribution to the genre, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is on a new all-star tour. While there is a clear statement that the cast “may vary depending on show dates,” promotional materials feature R&B vocalists Shirley Murdock and Lenny Williams, Michael Jerel, “The Voice” Season 18 contestant and current keyboardist for Tower of Power making his acting debut, Terrell Phillips from the 1990s group Blackstreet and Patrice Lovely from the Madea “Boo!” movies. Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. $73-$108.50. bushnell.org.
The Commodores and The Spinners
Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville
With dozens of hits between them, The Commodores and The Spinners were two of the finest R&B/funk bands of the 1970s. Both were founded in the 1960s and both recorded for Motown as well as other labels. Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. $68.45-$217.10. mohegansun.com.
‘La bohème’
Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven
Yale Opera performs the Puccini classic “La bohème,” which became one of the inspirations for the musical “Rent.” The opera, set in France, is performed in Italian with English supertitles. Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. $17.90-$76.20. shubert.com.
Belinda Davids
Foxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket
South African pop vocalist Belinda Davids will be singing at Foxwoods’ Premier Theater backed by the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. $49-$114.45. foxwoods.com.
The Spinners are at Mohegan Sun Arena with The Commodores on Feb. 14. (Courtesy of Mohegan Sun)
Nightmare of You
The Webster, 31 Webster St., Hartford
New York indie band Nightmare of You is on tour marking the 20th anniversary of the release of its first EP. Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. with Nite Sports as the opening act. Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. $31.15, $91.15 VIP meet & greet. thewebsterct.com.
The Black Heart Procession
Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden
The Black Heart Procession, one of the cooler moody West Coast slowcore bands of the early 2000s, is at Space Ballroom Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. and the opening act is a member of one of the cooler moody East Coast slowcore bands of the early 1990s, Codeine drummer Chris Brokaw. $32.34, $26.69. spaceballroom.com.
Jimmy Green Quartet
The Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme St., Old Lyme
The great Connecticut-based saxophonist Jimmy Greene and his quartet made up of recognized greats from the Hartford jazz scene like pianist Zaccai Curtis, bassist Matthew Dwonszyk and drummer Jonathan Barber are at The Side Door Jazz Club for three shows Feb. 13-15 at 8 p.m. The Saturday show is already sold out. $65.04-$70.34, $33.27 students. thesidedoorjazz.com.
Loe Shimmy
The Webster, 31 Webster St., Hartford
Young rapper Loe Shimmy, whose eight albums since 2020 include “Zombie Land,” “The Z Files,” “Z End” and the new “Rockstar Junkie,” is at The Webster on Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. $39.15-$49.15, $528.15 VIP booth, $1,053.15 VIP suite. thewebsterct.com.
The long-lived Eat Coast jump swing/blues outfit Roomful of Blues is at The Kate on Feb. 14. (Sonja Lemoi)
Roomful of Blues
Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook
Roomful of Blues has been one of the reigning East Coast jump swing/blues/roots acts since the 1960s, though there have been umpteen lineup changes. The band has visited Connecticut hundreds of times. Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. $45. thekate.org.
‘American Idiot’
Park City Music Hall, 2926 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport
The community-based Fairfield Center Stage company performs “American Idiot.” Not the musical theater version of the Green Day album, but the original album recreated in its entirety sung by multiple vocalists and a live band. There are two shows on Feb. 14, at 4 and 7:30 p.m. $29.75 seated, $19.75 standing. parkcitymusichall.com.
Melba Moore and Lillo Thomas
Lyman Center, 501 Crescent St., New Haven
Both Melba Moore and Lillo Thomas had soul hits in the 1980s, she with “Keepin’ My Lover Satisfied” and “Love Me Right” and he with “I’m in Love” and “Sexy Girl.” Moore was also active for years before that as a recording artist as well as in Broadway shows from “Hair” to “Purlie” to “Les Misérables.” Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. $69-$89. tickets.southernct.edu.