There are changes afoot for this year’s Motown Meltdown. For one thing, the 12th annual edition of the Hitsville throwdown—happening at the Commodore on March 28—will benefit Seva, an organization dedicated to preventing blindness in the developing world. For another, producer Kendra Sprinkling is looking beyond Detroit.

“We want to keep it totally fresh, so it’s actually Motown to Memphis, New York, and beyond,” Sprinkling told the Straight. “There are purists out there, but people were asking, ‘Why not Aretha?’ Well, she wasn’t on Motown. So we’ve opened the door.”

Sprinkling promised we’ll hear Ms. Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” among the non-Motown standards. In all other ways, it’s the same old party, with Jim Byrnes, the Sojourners, and Ali Milner among those joining David Sinclair’s 12-piece band. Of the new faces, Sprinkling is especially hyped about a first-time duet between David Steele and his 14-year-old daughter, actor Olivia Steele Falconer.

“ ‘Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing’,” Sprinkling said. “I think that’s going to be a showstopper.”