Krystle Dos Santos's lifelong love of soul gives powerful voice to A History of Motown
In her vibrant new show, the Vancouver singer illuminates and performs the timeless, barrier-breaking music that built Berry Gordy’s sonic empire
Krystle Dos Santos. Phoro by Rebecca Roberts
A History of Motown runs at the Firehall Arts Centre from April 2 to 13
TWELVE YEARS AGO, singer-songwriter Krystle Dos Santos embarked on a journey to discover the true inspiration of her love for soul music. Dos Santos had been passionate about soul from a young age, influenced by such icons as Aretha Franklin and Etta James. But having grown up in Edmonton, decades after the height of those soul icons, Dos Santos experienced imposter syndrome—questioning whether her voice was authentic enough to do justice to the genre.
And so Dos Santos visited cities with renowned histories in the world of soul, including Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and New York. In the end, she discovered that she did in fact possess the authentic voice she was seeking—and it had been inside her all along.
“I’ve had all the influences that I’ve ever needed, and that voice has always existed. I just needed to find it for myself,” she tells Stir.
Empowered by this self-realization, Dos Santos has since been using music to bring the stories of Black history to centre stage. In addition to releasing three solo albums, Dos Santos has conceived and starred in cabaret-style shows such as BLAK (celebrating Black Canadian women in music and politics) and Hey Viola! (about Canadian civil-rights trailblazer Viola Desmond).
Krystle Dos Santos. Photo by Jason Benson
Now Dos Santos is preparing to bring her latest show, A History of Motown, to the Firehall Arts Centre. Through the works of such legends as the Supremes and Stevie Wonder, Dos Santos will draw audiences into the history and cultural context in which many timeless Motown-era songs were created.
“I like to tell all these stories and then sing a song that’s attached to those artists. And that’s why this show has a storytelling, historical vibe,” she says.
One of those tales will recount racial segregation in the music industry during the 1950s and ’60s. Dos Santos explains that Berry Gordy, founder of the Motown record label, wanted to create a universally loved sound that would elevate the artists on his all-Black label onto the pop radio stations—a space which at that point had been reserved for white artists.
“Berry and his artists were creating equality through music. They weren’t out there protesting per se or delivering overtly political messages—but they were proving that they were the most polished artists out there with the very best songs,” Dos Santos says. “On Monday mornings, Barry and Smokey Robinson would basically have quality-control meetings to make sure that every song coming through the Motown pipeline was going to be the hottest, best hit out there. And they really did achieve that. Diana Ross and the Supremes broke so many barriers, selling millions of records and becoming international superstars.”
Audiences can expect much more of this informative storytelling throughout Dos Santos’s 90-minute, two-act A History of Motown. In staying true to sharing her authentic voice, Dos Santos notes that she’s also added her own personal stamp to the show.
“I have one original song that I do in A History of Motown called ‘Feed My Soul’, which I wrote after my trip to New Orleans,” she says. “I sing about how I found inspiration in New Orleans through music, food, and culture—but what feeds my soul the most is being right there with the audience and sharing these stories.” 
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