Last Wednesday, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (a Knight Arts grantee) hosted the second installment of Drive-in Radio Theater, a performance in MOCAD’s parking lot that involves piping a live broadcast hyper locally into the assembled cars. The previous installment showcased the theater group, The Hinterlands Ensemble, as well as a variety of music […]

Promotional poster for the show, “Map of Forgotten Places.” If you haven’t made it to the current show up at StArt Gallery, “Map of Forgotten Places,” do yourself a favor and get there immediately (or at least before July 21, when the show comes down). The work on display is an awe-inspiring technical and aesthetic […]

This past Sunday, the Detroit Institute of Arts (a Knight Arts grantee) hosted Gustafer Yellowgold as part of their Sunday Music Bar Series. The show is a combination of storytelling, live musical performance and illustration, following Gustafer Yellowgold, who leaves his life on the sun to live in Minnesota. The show is loads of fun […]

Summer has officially hit Detroit. With near-record high temperatures baking the city this weekend, it might be a good idea to find your way to an art gallery or museum to cool off and soak in some local culture. There are plenty of options this weekend. Opening tonight, July 6, is the debut of “Sculptural […]

This past Sunday — a balmy summer day I spent biking and sightseeing around Detroit — I happened across the newest addition to the Lincoln Street Art Park: Uncle Frank the Dinosaur, a towering construction of recycled materials found throughout the city. The sculpture was created by Kelly Kaatz, Janice Polzin and Matt Pawenski for […]

There are simply not enough superlatives available to properly laud the work of Access Arts Detroit, the group behind the Belle Isle Public Art Exhibit up now through June 29. The current exhibit features 11 installations — each one site-specific — as well as performances, artist talks, workshops and a panel discussion, all encouraging and […]

This past Saturday, I was fortunate to be on hand for “Cinema Barbeque VII,” the first event of Corktown Cinema’s summer barbeque series, where I had the pleasure of enjoying two cult classics — “They Live” and “Parents.” Featuring a screen hung on the back wall of a former brass foundry just off Michigan Avenue […]

Detail from “Rock Star Plan.” Image courtesy Re:View Contemporary As a young boy growing up in America, it seemed patently obvious that I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, and even though what I wanted continually changed — shifting from fireman to soldier to NFL player and eventually rock star — my […]

Summertime and jazz  go hand in hand here in Detroit, and this past weekend was no exception. Now in its ninth year, Jazzin’ on Jefferson — sponsored by the Jefferson East Business Assocation (JEBA) — once again brought the community together for two days of jazz performances by artists from Detroit and beyond, along with a host […]

Just yesterday, as I was biking through downtown on a perfect summer day, I had the pleasure of stumbling on a noontime jazz performance at Lafayette Greens, a gorgeous urban garden in the heart of Detroit. The garden is a recent and marvelous addition to the urban landscape, and well worth taking the time to […]

The musical heritage most closely associated with Detroit is pop music; namely the breathtaking success of the young acts emerging from the Motown Records scene. How exciting it must have been in the heyday of Motown to wonder what new talent would be discovered and go on to represent the sound of Detroit in the […]