Cover Story
11 coffee-infused ways to kick-start your day (or night) in Detroit
Brunch isn’t all about Bloody Marys and mimosas. Sometimes you need a jolt of caffeine to make it to the table. Fortunately, plenty of metro Detroit bars and restaurants feature fanciful and bracing booze concoctions guaranteed to perk up your brunch. From nonalcoholic cold brews on tap to coffee-infused whiskey drinks, here are some of…
Indie duo Whitney heads to Detroit’s Majestic Theatre with Japanese punk outfit, Chai
Whitney, comprised of songwriters Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek, both of whom held membership in the dissolved psychedelic lo-fi outfit Smith Westerns, received a glowing feature in The New Yorker last fall in which the author claimed the band exceeded their expectations of what they referred to as “algorithmic indie.” Though Whitney’s sound is an…
Authors of ‘Rage Baking’ visit Detroit bakery to discuss ‘the transformative power of flour, fury, and women’s voices’
For decades, we’ve been taught to steer clear of politics at the dinner table, mostly so you don’t disown your Trump-voting family by dessert. But authors and bakers Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford have a different approach, which is why their groundbreaking cookbook, Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury and Women’s Voices, is…
The True Blue to perform at Detroit’s Magic Stick with Teddy Roberts & the Mouths, Dawning, and Jacob Sigman
As the True Blue, Christian Koo (vocals, keyboards), Ben Wilkins (guitar), Koda Hult (bass), and Jake Burkey (drums) craft slick, R&B-inflected indie-pop. Though the band has been around for a few years, it’s been making waves — last year, it played its first headlining show at the Magic Stick. Koo told WDIV the band has…
Serbian-American emcee Valid leads hip-hop lineup at Detroit’s Old Miami
It’s been a busy year for Valid. Last year, the Serbian-American emcee dropped Mihajlo, a DJ Head-produced effort that touched on topics like growing up the child of immigrants and trying to make it as a rapper. Valid follows with The Plum Brandy EP, a concept project using only producers and samples from former Yugoslav…
Comedian Mike Epps leads Fabulously Funny Comedy Festival at Detroit’s Fox Theatre
“Fuck the police, man,” says pretty much everyone always, but when comedian Mike Epps says it, we just feel it. The 49-year-old comedian got his start in 1995 during the Def Comedy Jam tour, and soon after landed a career-launching role as Ice Cube’s sidekick, Day-Day Jones, in Next Friday — a role he’ll reprise in the…
You can stream Detroit rock trio Shadow Show’s debut ahead of the release show at Outer Limits Lounge
Detroit rock ’n’ roll trio Shadow Show (and recent Metro Times-designated “band to watch”) is kicking it old school. Aside from nailing a groovy 1960s-inspired look and sound, the band, made up of former members of local outfit the Deadly Vipers, even has a sponsorship with a roller-skating company, Los Angeles-based Moxi Roller Skates. You…
Is it love or heartburn? Detroit’s American Coney Island will host Coneys by Candlelight event for Valentines Day
Anyone who has ever been in love — or fallen out of it — knows that it can get very messy. Like, chili, mustard, and onions with no napkins messy. Embracing love and all of its zesty, tangy sweetness is American Coney Island, which is once again hosting the ultimate romantic — and budget-friendly —…
Royal Oak’s Main Art Theatre to host screenings of Wes Anderson’s ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ for Valentine’s Day
A suicidal tennis star (Luke Wilson), a misanthropic wooden-fingered playwright (Gwyneth “Pre-GOOP” Paltrow), a neurotic widowed father (Ben Stiller), a family’s faithfully unfaithful patriarch (Gene Hackman), and a mescaline-loving Owen Wilson: These are but a few of Wes Anderson’s beautifully crafted — albeit dysfunctional — characters from the 2001 Helvetica-heavy, candy-colored, contemporary classic The Royal…
The DIA celebrates Black History Month with theatrical readings of Toni Morrison and James Baldwin works
When it comes to the canon of Black literature, Toni Morrison and James Baldwin are among its greatest pillars. The two met in 1973, when Morrison was an editor at Random House, and became fast friends. “Her gift is in allegory,” he once said of her. “… she’s taken a myth, or she takes what…
AC Hotel to be built next to Bonstelle Theatre
Roxbury Group plans to build a 153-room, 10-story AC Hotel in the vacant lot adjacent to the historic Bonstelle Theatre. The theatre, currently owned by Wayne State University, is being leased long-term to the Detroit-based development company, according to The Detroit News. Roxbury has signed an agreement with Marriott to build a hotel that connects…
Legendary singer and activist Mavis Staples to perform in Ann Arbor to raise funds for the Breakfast at St. Andrew’s
At 80 years old, activist and legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples has lived lifetimes, ones in which she has marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, performed at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, and, years later, for President Barack Obama, and has been inducted into both the Rock ’n’ Roll and…
Gov. Whitmer says it’s unlikely she will endorse a candidate before the presidential primary
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she’s unlikely to endorse a Democratic candidate prior to the March 10 presidential primary. The governor told Michigan Advance that, after discussing the issue with Colorado’s governor, Jared Polis, she concluded that her and other governors are “unlikely to endorse in a primary and highly likely to jump in once we…
Michigan doesn’t have enough funds to compensate even one wrongfully convicted man
According to a recent report from the National Registry of Exonerations, wrongful convictions aren’t as rare as one might think. In fact, 2018 was a record-setting period, with 1,639 combined years lost to prison by the innocent. And Michigan was one of the top states for exonerations, with nine reported in 2018, following Illinois (49),…
Enormous art installation begins taking shape on Detroit’s east side
Detroit is building walls, but not to keep people out. City officials are teaming up with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to create one of the largest municipal art installations in Detroit history. Fifteen-foot-high canvasses that stretch 1,500 feet long have been erected near Beniteau Street and Kercheval Avenue across from Southeastern High School on the…
Rage Against the Machine is heading to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena
Rage Against the Machine is coming to an arena near you. The band announced a headlining tour that includes a stop at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Monday, July 13. It’s the band’s first tour since 2011. Hip-hop duo Run the Jewels is also on the bill. Tickets go on sale Thursday, Feb. 13, at…
Wayne County Judge David Parrott charged with assaulting his girlfriend
A Wayne County district judge was charged Monday with domestic violence after police arrested him Saturday night following a dispute with his girlfriend at their Van Buren Township home. Judge David Parrott of the 34th District Court in Romulus is accused of assaulting the 55-year-old woman, causing a bump on her head, a cut on…
Detroit to outperform Michigan in job growth, study says
Detroit’s recovery will continue with relatively strong gains in household income, employment, and labor force participation through 2024, according to a report by the city and the University of Michigan. The city has come a long way since it filed for bankruptcy in July 2013. At the time, the unemployment rate was 18.7%. The rate…
Janet Jackson headed to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena in July
Janet Jackson is coming to Detroit in 2020 for her Black Diamond World Tour. The songstress, who just announced her North American tour dates, will descend upon Little Caesars Arena on Friday, July 24, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $49.95 and go on sale at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13. Tour dates for…
Eminem performed ‘Lose Yourself’ at the 2020 Oscars … and we have questions
And the winner is … Mom’s spaghetti. There are several takeaways from the 92nd Academy Awards, which went down last night, and were, once again, host-less — because who doesn’t love a meandering, identity-less award show? Anyway, director Bong Joon-ho made history when his South Korean dark comedy Parasite took home some of the ceremony’s…
Michigan is monitoring a new possible case of coronavirus in Oakland County
Michigan is monitoring a possible new case of novel coronavirus in Oakland County. The state sent a specimen to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta for testing. The patient has a travel history in China, but the state Department of Health and Human Services did not provide specifics. Michigan investigated four…
5 more Michigan dispensaries sold cannabis vape cartridges tainted with potentially deadly vitamin E acetate
Five dispensaries in Michigan were selling cannabis vape cartridges that were tainted with vitamin E acetate, the potentially deadly chemical additive linked to the vaping-related lung illness. The state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA), which banned vitamin E acetate on Nov. 22, announced a recall Friday on numerous varieties of vaping cartridges sold at the Green…
Buddy’s is offering free pizza in the Detroit area on Friday
Good news for frugal pizza-lovers: Buddy’s Pizza is giving away free pizzas on Friday. Buddy’s is offering free four-piece pizzas to those who live near the company’s 16 metro Detroit locations. A whopping 250 one-topping pizzas will be given out by entering code PIZZABUDDYS at checkout of the Doordash website or app. The order must…
Lawsuit challenges Wayne County’s seizure practices
The Institute for Justice (IJ), a nonprofit libertarian law firm, filed a federal, class-action lawsuit alleging Wayne County’s vehicle seizure practices are unconstitutional. The lawsuit argues the practices violate the Fourth Amendment protecting unreasonable search and seizure, the Eighth Amendment’s protection against excessive fines and fees, and due process under the federal Constitution. “The county’s…
Detroit’s Pietrzyk Pierogi will do a limited run of paczki for Fat Tuesday
Chef Erica Pietrzyk will extend her playful take on Polish cuisine to the beloved paczki just in time for Fat Tuesday. Her Pietrzyk Pierogi shop in Eastern Market is now taking pre-orders. Some of her more inventive flavors include Strawberry Jalapeño, Apricot Pistachio Custard, and Rose and Lemon, but there are also more traditional fillings…
Detroit’s notorious slumlords and speculators slapped with wide-ranging lawsuit
It’s a perpetual cycle that has turned many Detroit neighborhoods into virtual ruins: Suburban, money-grubbing speculators and slumlords buy cheap, run-down houses and fail to make any improvements until the homes ultimately end up abandoned. On Thursday, the city of Detroit filed several lawsuits against “Detroit’s most notorious speculators and slumlords,” who have purchased more…
Tlaib urges EPA to investigate chemical leaks at Marathon Petruleum in southwest Detroit
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform are calling for a federal investigation into a pungent chemical leak that hospitalized at least two people at the Marathon oil refinery in southwest Detroit in September. “While there are conflicting reports about what occurred, there is reason to believe that this…
Hillsdale offers online history course it claims free of bias
Michigan’s Hillsdale College is launching an online history course that the nationally recognized purveyor of conservative and classical-liberal studies claims will present American history free of liberal bias. “The Great American Story: A Land of Hope” will launch Feb. 12. The classes will be taught by Hillsdale President Larry P. Arnn and Wilfred M. McClay,…
Bill passed to name Detroit post office after Aretha Franklin, our queen
We continue to honor our queen because she will always be our queen. The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3976, which renamed the post office located at 12711 E. Jefferson Ave. in Detroit the Aretha Franklin Post Office Building. The legislation was signed by all members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation, and the news…
40+ recreational marijuana shops licensed in first 2 months of legal sales in Michigan
Recreational marijuana dispensaries in Michigan have been legal for two months now, ringing up $17.7 million in sales and $2.9 million in new taxes. From Dec. 1 to Feb. 2, the state approved licenses for 43 recreational pot dispensaries, 18 growers, seven processors, and three event organizers, according to the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency. The…
Dead & Company headed to DTE Energy Music Theatre in July
Dead & Company — the Grateful Dead offshoot featuring Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, John Mayer, and Bob Weir, with Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti — will return to metro Detroit in 2020. The band announced its 17-date summer tour with a show at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22, at DTE Energy Music Theatre. Tickets…
You can’t always get what you want, but the Rolling Stones are coming to Detroit in the spring and that’s pretty good
If you notice the Rolling Stones trending on Twitter, do not panic. The 302-year-old band — that’s if you add up the ages of the unstoppable Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood — simply revealed their 2020 No Filter tour itinerary, which is sure to satisfy fans of the World’s Greatest Rock &…
Coffee Down Under, an Australian-style coffee spot, is coming to Detroit’s Financial District
If you want to know how people do coffee on literally the opposite side of the world, a new Australian-style coffee bar is headed your way. Coffee Down Under is set to open in downtown Detroit’s Financial District this spring. The 400-square-foot space is currently under construction and will be located directly under Brome Modern…
66% of adults incorrectly blame e-cigarettes for vaping deaths
A growing number of Americans are confused about the culprit behind the vaping-related illness that has killed nearly 60 people and hospitalized at least 2,600. The leading research points to vitamin E acetate — a substance used to dilute cannabis oil, typically in the black market — as the cause of the sickness. But according…
Gov. Whitmer disputes Trump’s claims of strong economy: ‘Strong for whom?’
On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump gave his third — and hopefully, final — State of the Union address, where he touted what he has called a “blue-collar boom” for America’s middle class. “In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny,”…
Son confronts father’s ‘racist’ outburst at Michigan school meeting
Sometimes wisdom isn’t defined by age. That was made clear Monday when a young man called out his father for making a racist remark to a Mexican immigrant during a community conversation about diversity and race in Saline, a predominately white city in Washtenaw County. Adrian Iraola was talking about the racism his three children…
Matt Groening’s cartoons were published in Metro Times before ‘The Simpsons’ took off
As we count down to our 40th anniversary in October, we’ve been revisiting our archives to highlight Metro Times stories that resonate in 2020. 30 years ago in Metro Times: Film writer Sandra Ratliff interviews cartoonist Matt Groening, whose syndicated comic Life in Hell appeared weekly in Metro Times. Groening’s then-new TV show, The Simpsons,…
Ypsilanti’s St. Joseph Mercy Hospital nourishes its patients with farm-grown produce
If you’ve ever spent time in a hospital, you’ve probably noticed the tepid platters of irony known as hospital food. In these facilities, where patients receive the best care that modern medicine can offer, the importance of food is often overlooked. Only mom can make mom’s chicken soup. But more nutrients and fewer empty calories…
Hunting for a president
After 15 interminable months, God knows how many debates, thousands of campaign ads, a million polls, a billion VERY URGENT fundraising emails, frontrunners collapsing (sorry, Kamala), nobodies becoming somebodies (heya, Pete), flashes in the pan burning out (Beto!), should-have-beens never being (we’ll always have that housing plan, Julian Castro), and billionaires making TV stations rich…
Back to the roots: How to embrace your natural hair in Detroit
I grew up during a time when you didn’t get picked on for having “nappy hair,” but Toni Morrison wrote The Bluest Eye for a reason. Black people have felt pressured to conform to European standards of beauty for a long time. I remember how, as a little girl, I hated getting my hair pressed…
The Motels’ Martha Davis on surviving the ’80s, the subconscious art of songwriting, and the tragic side of motherhood
Farm animals have a friend in Martha Davis. The 69-year-old Motels frontwoman lives on a 72-acre farm outside Portland, Oregon, where she cares for alpacas, a squad of dogs, and chickens, one of which, named Ruthie, has found refuge indoors to escape her natural sexual predators. “Roosters are very rapey,” Davis says. “So I brought…
Berner’s new Detroit Cookies store shows that despite the emphasis on recreational marijuana, medical marijuana is still a big deal
While there are no recreational retail marijuana stores in Detroit, there are still lots of medical marijuana locations operating. In fact, another provisioning center opened up in Detroit last week with a bit of glamour attached to it. That’s because the Cookies-branded location on East Eight Mile Road is another step in the empire of…
Detroit’s Which Came First? presents a chicken and egg situation
Chef Phill Milton has discovered how to keep fried chicken squirtingly juicy while sporting a crisp, crisp crust. For this alone he deserves high praise. Though its name implies that Which Came First? is about the chicken and the egg, it’s really the bird that’s the focus here, so Milton has answered his own question.…
Horoscopes (Feb. 5-11)
ARIES | March 21 – April 20: You’ve gotten around your share of intensity. If you’ve come out of it with your soul intact, you’re better off than your cohorts who may have fallen prey to the impulse to go down with the ship. With the weight of tests that would overwhelm an elephant off…
Cult comic adaptation ‘Locke & Key’ struggles to open new doors
The superhero genre might be the first thing we think of when we hear the term “comic book adaptation,” but there’s a bumper crop of comic adaptations that don’t feature tights popping up on screens both big and small over the past few years. The most obvious example might be Riverdale and its spin-offs, which…
