Cover Story
How Detroit became a Caribbean food town
(See photos of Southwest Detroit’s weekly Caribbean softball game and party here.) At two Southwest Detroit ball diamonds on a recent Sunday, Yala played Chapiadores, and Los Pandas faced Quisqueya in what at first glance appeared to be standard “beer-league” softball. In the parking lot before the games, the players — many of whom are…
Fall under the spell of gothic blues singer Adia Victoria with her free Ann Arbor performance
Thanks to Ann Arbor’s Sonic Lunch summer concert series, you can take your lunch break with Adia Victoria, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter who will make you rethink the way you hear the blues. Victoria’s whispery vocals wield a sense of power against dark and demanding blues-infused instrumentals. Earlier this year, she dropped her sophomore album, Silences…
The best movie about a rug, ‘The Big Lebowski,’ heads to the Redford Theatre, man
A word of warning — never ever call him Mr. Lebowski. It’s Duder, His Dudeness, El Duderino, or simply The Dude — and trust us, The Dude fucking abides. One of the most quoted, beloved, and whacked-out cinematic slacker misadventures of our time, The Big Lebowski ignited a joint that has never really gone out.…
Corktown Cabaret promises burlesque under the stars at the Trumbull and Porter Hotel
Roses are red, violets are blue, we’re feeling naughty, how about you? Producers behind the famed Dirty Show have partnered with the Trumbull and Porter Hotel to deliver the first in a series of tantalizing performances from some of metro Detroit’s most delectable dames. The previously rained out Corktown Cabaret will take place under the…
The incomparable Grace Jones is coming to Detroit and we’re not worthy
Before Lady Gaga took to the red carpet draped in raw meat, or Björk made waves for wearing a swan dress, and long before queen Beyoncé would unleash her visual masterpiece Lemonade, there was Studio 54 and the androgynous art-pop icon Grace Jones. The 71-year-old Jamaican-American supermodel, actress, singer, and style legend is gracing Detroit…
New Zealand trio, the Beths, to bring heady pop to El Club
Think of all the missteps, mistakes, and heartbreaks we could have avoided if only we considered how our future selves would feel about it. “There’s something about you/ I wanna risk going through,” the Beths sing on “Future Me Hates Me” — the title track from the band’s 2018 sophomore record. Hailing from New Zealand…
Jazzin’ at the Vanity celebrates revitalization of the historic venue with a free 2-day festival
What do Duke Ellington and the Velvet Underground have in common? Both performed at an Aztec-themed venue on Detroit’s east side. Opened in 1929 and shuttered in 1958 and again in 1988, the Vanity Ballroom remains a historic fixture along the Jefferson-Chalmers business district. To celebrate the heritage of this Detroit neighborhood, the Jazzin’ on…
Legendary Blue Bird Inn stage taking a road trip to Ann Arbor for jazz jam
The historic Blue Bird Inn was purchased by the Detroit Sound Conservancy earlier this year, and the stage that once supported performances by legends like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Elvin Jones is getting a second chance — and local jazz musicians are getting a special opportunity to make their own historic footprint. The Blue…
Old Man, Greg McIntosh, and Ben Collins keep it chill at Ann Arbor’s Lo-Fi Bar
“Old Man take a look at my life, we want to go to bed at a reasonable hour.” OK, so these may not be Neil Young lyrics, but it might as well be the mantra for this low-key evening with a trio of sonic heavy-hitters at a new-ish hotspot. Tapping into new material from his…
Detroit’s Best Exes plot their return at Outer Limits Lounge with Book Lovers and Career Club
You’re not crazy — Linda Jordan, Jim Cherewick, and Eric Allen of Best Exes have been MIA for the past year or so. Well, they’re back and they’ve got a new drummer, Evan Eklund, and some new songs that they say absolutely do not call to mind Canadian children’s music performer Fred Penner, “if he were to…
Unleash your inner heathen for a night of art punk with Timmy’s Organism at UFO Factory
There are rare moments when life just so happens to imitate art, and other times art imitates life. When it comes to Timmy “Vulgar” Lampinen (Human Eye, Clone Defects) and his demonic basement sludge via Timmy’s Organism, life fucks art, and art, in turn, spits blood on life, and good god it’s the sonic equivalent…
Grosse Pointe votes to close Poupard, Trombly elementary schools
The Grosse Pointe Board of Education voted Monday to close both Charles A. Poupard Elementary School and Robert Trombly Elementary School, in a move to save money due to shrinking enrollment numbers. The 5-2 decision is a controversial one because Poupard, on the north end of the district, has a majority Black student population, is located…
Wayne State detects elevated levels of legionella in Old Main
Wayne State University officials have discovered elevated levels of legionella in Old Main and have turned off the building’s cooling systems for the next few days to prevent an outbreak. Legionella is a dangerous bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially deadly lung infection. People can get sick by inhaling mist or vapor, often…
Republican lawmaker faces calls for resignation for opiate use
The Grand Traverse Democratic Party is calling for the resignation of state Rep. Larry Inman after he admitted he was addicted to opioids. The Traverse City Republican is facing federal charges for alleged extortion, bribery, and making false claims to the FBI. House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, asked Inman to resign in May after federal…
They want to narrow Woodward Avenue in Midtown and nobody is really talking about it
Earlier this month, officials announced plans for “Detroit Square,” the winner of an international design competition to reimagine Midtown. The proposal comes from French architecture firm Agence Ter in collaboration with Detroit-based design groups, and beat out 44 submissions from 10 countries. The plan has been touted as “transformational,” and certainly would be — linking cultural institutions like…
Michigan legislature debates warning labels for pregnant women on marijuana packages
Last week the state legislature debated putting a warning label for pregnant women on marijuana packages. The Republican legislative package called for the words “Warning: Use by pregnant or breastfeeding women, or by women planning to become pregnant, may result in fetal injury, preterm birth, low birth weight, or developmental problems for the child” to…
Detroit Zoo says goodbye to beloved gray wolf, Wazi: ‘We are heartbroken’
The staff at the Detroit Zoo and thousands of visitors are mourning the loss of a majestic 11-year-old gray wolf named Wazi who passed away earlier this week. The announcement, which was made Monday afternoon via the Detroit Zoo’s Facebook page, states that Wazi died due to cardiac arrest during a surgery to remove a…
New proposal: Raise taxes on corporations, heavy trucks for road repairs
In March, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed a regressive .45-cent-per-gallon gas tax that would raise $2.1 billion for the state’s much needed road repairs. We pointed out that the tax would hit the state’s poorest residents the hardest, and the proposal comes after Michigan cut business taxes by about $2 billion over the last eight years…
U-M scouted racially diverse players and is now competing in the College World Series finals
While college baseball teams are almost entirely made up of white players, the University of Michigan made it a point to seek out racial diversity — and the team is now playing in the College World Series championship. “We just think our roster should look like the United States of America,” U of M coach…
Second annual Kindred Music and Culture Festival announces lineup
Returning for a second year to celebrate and promote Detroit’s Black creative community is the Kindred Music and Cultural Festival. The festival will return for a single-day festival on the grounds of Michigan Central Station at Roosevelt Park on Saturday, Aug. 10, starting at noon. “I hope that Kindred can allow people who otherwise move…
Palace of Auburn Hills to be demolished, ending an era of Pistons, music
The Palace of Auburn Hills is about to be a goner. The former home of the Pistons, which doubled as a popular concert venue, has been sold to a joint venture and will be demolished in the fall to make way for a mixed-use office park, the Pistons organization announced Monday. Detroit Pistons owner Tom…
A voice of less complicated times, Avril Lavigne announces tour with Detroit date
The year was 2002. Ben Affleck was named People Magazine’s sexiest man alive, the first-ever cellphone with a built-in camera hit the market in the U.S., and one of the biggest news stories of the year belonged to Michael Jackson, who notoriously held his 9-month-old baby over a balcony in Berlin. It was also the…
The Detroit Podcast Festival returns for a second year
The Detroit Podcast Festival returns for a second year to bring podcasting and storytelling events to venues and recording studios all around the city. The festival programming begins on Thursday, June 27, and will continue throughout the weekend. Co-producers Joy Mohammed and Erin Allen are expanding upon last year’s event by showcasing a list of established…
CVS Pharmacy now has time-delay safes for drugs in all Michigan locations
CVS Pharmacy announced on Monday that it has equipped all 318 CVS Pharmacy locations in Michigan with time-delay safes for controlled substances. The delay function on the safes aims to prevent robberies by deterring and delaying thieves. The safes electronically delay the time it takes for employees to be able to open the safes, and…
Tlaib: Deny ICE its request for more funding, abolish it
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib says she will vote against an emergency supplemental bill that would provide an additional $1.2 billion in funding to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes $128 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In a statement issued on Sunday with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), the…
‘Fuck ICE’: Michigan GOP headquarters targeted with graffiti
The Michigan Republican Party headquarters in Lansing was vandalized with a painted message: Fuck ICE. GOP officials discovered the graffiti Saturday and notified police. Laura Cox, chairwoman of the state GOP, said she believes the graffiti was “attacking” her because she was previously an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. “Over the weekend, @MIGOP was…
Sheefy McFly was arrested by Detroit police while painting a mural commissioned by the city
A popular street artist was arrested by Detroit police last week after he was initially believed to be vandalizing city property. He was actually painting a mural that he had a permit from the city to create. Sheefy McFly, whose real name is Tashif Turner, was working on a mural under a viaduct east of…
Appeal court rules against U-M in case to keep anti-immigration leader’s documents sealed
The Michigan Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled in favor of immigration attorney and advocate, Hassan Ahmad, who recently sued the University of Michigan to unseal the papers of John Tanton, a leader in the modern anti-immigrant movement. Tanton donated the archives to the university under the pretense that half of them would stay sealed…
Black Violin’s Kev Marcus on embracing stereotypes, meeting Obama, and why they might not pay a visit to the White House
Six years ago, Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste, of Black Violin, found themselves eating shrimp cocktail with Alicia Keys, and discussing Django Unchained with Jamie Foxx and talking about chord progressions with Smokey Robinson. The occasion? The 57th presidential inaugural ball honoring President Barack Obama’s second term as the first Black president in the history…
A Taste of Summer in the D bash brings a perfect blend of Detroit area restaurants to the Garden Theater
First, we survived the polar vortex. Then we suffered through an unseasonably wet spring. And only now is Mother Nature heeding our desperate pleas for warmth. The truth is, metro Detroit’s bars and restaurants have been heating up and keeping it cool all year. Welcome to A Taste of Summer in the D, Metro Times’…
Chemical Bank’s new headquarters will wipe out downtown building
Chemical Bank plans to demolish a 10-story building downtown to make way for a new headquarters. The $104 million, 20-story headquarters will tower over its neighbors, the Fillmore Detroit and the Fyfe Apartments along Woodward Avenue. Groundbreaking is expected to occur in the next 90 days, Tom Wennerger, the bank’s chief marketing officer, told the…
Detroit’s first Nepalese dumpling shop opens Friday in the Cass Corridor
A new Nepalese dumpling shop specializing in momos — dumplings filled with meat or veggies that are common in the Indian subcontinent — opens today in the Detroit Shipping Co. Momo Cha made the announcement on Instagram. Diners choose a type of protein, chutney, and preparation method for their momos, and can choose from a…
2019 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients announced
Kresge Arts in Detroit has named 18 Kresge Artist Fellows and two Gilda Award recipients. The Detroit-area artists will share a total amount of $460,000 in grants and awards. Kresge president Rip Rapson said in a press release that the crop of new fellows and awardees is “poised to lift spirits, open hearts, stir our…
Michigan’s unemployment rate increases for third straight month
The number of jobless workers in Michigan increased for the third consecutive month, as the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in May, according to data released Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The department reported that the May count of 207,000 unemployed residents was the state’s highest total since April…
The Lonely Island guys might wag their boxed boners around at the Fox Theatre
Only once in a generation does a band come along that completely changes the way we experience music. The Beatles. Nirvana. Ashlee Simpson’s infamous 2004 Saturday Night Live performance. And speaking of SNL, don’t forget the Lonely Island. The comedic trio behind comedic club bangers “I’m on a Boat” (feat. T- Pain) and “I Just…
Plum Market to open in downtown Detroit on July 3
A new 8,000-square-foot Plum Market opens in downtown’s Ally Detroit Center on July 3. The space, which neighbors Townhouse, will also hold fast casual dining with beer and wine, a hot bar, a Zingerman’s coffee counter, a patio, and an event space. Like other Plum Market locations, it’ll offer higher-end local and national goods, but…
Detroit River Days relocates and celebrates with Motown and a fleet of food trucks
This year, the formal beginning of summer just so happens to fall on the start of Detroit River Days, which has served as the city’s summer kickoff for 12 years running. The 2019 iteration finds the weekend-long festival getting a bit of a makeover as it relocates to Detroit’s West Riverfront Park. The festival will…
Ditch the hangover with a sensory mocktail dining experience at Eastern Market
Ever wonder what that fancy cocktail would taste like without all that pesky alcohol? Are you a sobriety warrior? Pregnant? Or maybe you’re just over the age of 29 and hangovers now last days and oh my god getting old is hard. Well, thanks to chef Petro Drakopoulos of Republica and Brujo, mocktails are on…
Detroit’s Something Cold is celebrating 10 years of industrial wave and fog juice
Is it cold in here or is it just the 10-year anniversary of Detroit’s foggiest party in town? Both a social club and a record label specializing in minimal synth, post-punk, and coldwave, Something Cold has been filling Detroit’s sinus cavities with fog juice, and its ear cavities with broody industrial sounds, for a decade.…
Detroit’s Tee Grizzley will serve ‘Scriptures’ at the Crofoot
Tee Grizzley is taking us to church. Detroit’s rap wunderkind (the dude is just 25 years old) released his Timbaland-produced sophomore record, Scriptures, earlier in June, and it finds the former MT cover boy throwing jabs at Slim Shady and staking a claim on Detroit’s rap turf. The 14-track record is suggested to be divided…
Ferndale’s Front Porch fest returns for a day of sprawling front yard music
Listen — once you hit 30 it’s hard to justify leaving the house or staying out past 10 p.m., and it’s even more agonizing to entertain the idea of a friggin’ music festival (Netflix and chill, pah-lease). This is why Ferndale’s Front Porch festival satiates our homebody desires. Last year, the fest saw 57 artists…
Anti-abortion ballot drives to begin after petition language approved in Michigan
Groups trying to severely restrict abortions in Michigan have received the green light to begin circulating petitions to place the issues on the ballot. The Board of State Canvassers on Wednesday approved the language of the petitions, one of which would prohibit abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected. The second petition would ban a…
Fuzz off — Fuzz Fest returns to Ann Arbor with 33 bands who don’t give a fuzz
It doesn’t seem possible. We’ve crunched the numbers, looked at the lineup, and — holy shit — the folks at Fuzz Fest have done it again. For six years running, Fuzz Fest has thrown the biggest, baddest bash for metro Detroit bands who embody the fuzzy, give-no-fuckery fire forged by the likes of Iggy Pop…
Ford Fireworks amps up pyrotechnics for 61st annual showcase
Ford Fireworks is going above and beyond this year, literally. With this being its 61st year of celebration, the event — themed “Detroit. Ready! Set! Go!!” — will kick off in downtown Detroit at 9:55 p.m. on Monday, June 24, and will showcase a more vibrantly versatile display of fireworks. Sponsored by Ford Motor Company…
As Grosse Pointe weighs school closures, tensions rise in the community
At Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, Pastor Peter Henry prayed for each member of the city’s board of education by name during a service. Henry prayed, according to board trustee Christopher Profeta, because the board of education is nearing the end of a months-long discussion about potential district reconfiguration after 15 years of declining enrollment. On…
Wayne State to demolish problematic Helen L. DeRoy Apartments
Wayne State University’s 47-year-old Helen L. DeRoy Apartments, which has long been marred with sanitation and structural issues, is set to start demolition on Thursday. The decision comes after a 2015 condition assessment of the 15-story building, in which university officials determined that the cost of repairing the infrastructure was higher than the cost of…
Terry Crews brought to tears by Detroit Youth Choir’s performance on ‘America’s Got Talent’
During Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent, host Terry Crews was moved to tears by the Detroit Youth Choir’s performance. The choir, led by director Anthony White, performed a rendition of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us,” which included rapping and choreography, putting on a show that deviated from the typical choir performance. Crews,…
Belle Isle’s Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory reopens on Wednesday
Belle Isle’s 115-year-old Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory reopens on Wednesday after being shut down for months for structural renovations. The Belle Isle Conservancy replaced steel trusses supporting the 85-foot glass dome, which houses thousands of exotic and rare plants from around the world. The $2.5 million project was funded by $1.5 million from the Michigan…
Why more demolitions won’t stop Detroit’s blight
Mari Kirkendoll lived in her Detroit home her entire life. Her parents were the first people to live there when it was built in 1950, and Kirkendoll planned to pass down her home to her three children, just like it was passed down to her. Now, however, she’s likely to lose her childhood home because…
The Gaslight Presidency
There are times when the White House’s torrent of bullshit seems almost inconsequential — another part of the Trump Circus to which we’ve somehow acclimated. Through June 7, The Washington Post had chronicled nearly 10,800 of Donald Trump’s lies of misleading statements since he became president, an average of more than 12 a day made…
Review: Detroit’s Cork and Gabel does the big three (Italian, Irish, and German, that is)
Joe Mifsud is probably getting sick of folks telling him how lucky he is: to own the building that houses the restaurant that lies closest to the old train station. In a few years, when thousands of Ford engineers make the station their worksite … ka-ching. Mifsud would no doubt prefer “prescient” to lucky. He…
George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic say ‘goodbye’ to the road and ‘hello’ to aliens
George Clinton is handing off the keys to the Mothership, but not before saying goodbye to his nation of disciples in true Dr. Funkenstein-style. Funkmaster Clinton will celebrate 78 earth years next month, and it appears as though he’s still living his funkiest and sober-est life. Clinton, who detailed his final tour with Parliament-Funkadelic in…
Voyag3r conjure vibrant soundtrack-inspired electro-rock
There’s a band in town that composes original soundtracks to movies that exist only in your mind. The varyingly pulse-raising or head-swimming soundscapes of Voyag3r can transport you into space nebulas, or to medieval times, or maybe into Tron’s grid, or Dune’s Arrakis, or even to the dark side streets of Haddonfield. Pronounced “Voyager Three”…
Review: ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ does its X-Women wrong
When the X-Men prequels were pitched to Fox (after the franchise’s false-positive conclusion with 2006’s The Last Stand), they were likely pitched as a Story of America, a series chronicling the Cold War era from the ’60s to its conclusive end. Charting the late 20th century’s social movements and shifting norms via the series’ ongoing…
Savage Love: My wife won’t give me blowjobs anymore — why?
I found your column after a Google search. I saw your email address at the bottom and was hoping for some insight. My issue is this: Two years into our 23-year marriage, my wife declared that she didn’t want to kiss me or perform oral on me. Several years ago, she had an affair and…
Horoscopes (June 19-25)
ARIES: March 21 – April 20 Everything is getting rearranged. You are clear that there’s no sense cementing your plans when life is playing “52-Pick-Up.” As you navigate within high levels of uncertainty, you know enough to “wait and see.” Others are in the same boat. If whatever you foresee hinges on their actions, there…
Why the Grow Off is a whole different type of cannabis contest
Pretty much anything that people like, they create contests to see what is the best. That stands true for horses, cars, produce, and so on. So of course there are contests cropping up around marijuana as it becomes more socially accepted. The biggest name in marijuana contests is the High Times Cannabis Cup. But that’s…
How to solve Michigan’s medical marijuana shortage?
It’s well-known that Michigan’s medical marijuana system is short on provisions. Simply put, there’s not enough stuff available for the near 300,000 medical marijuana patients in the state. One strategy has been to allow caregiver-grown cannabis to be sold into the system for a while. After several months of push and pull about that in…
Michigan Cannabis Industry Association hosts its first summer conference July 9-11
In a recent column, I identified the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association by the wrong name. As it turns out, the MCIA is holding its first Summer Annual conference July 9-11 at the Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire (not far from Traverse City). There will be sessions on stuff like insurance, branding, and analytics. There’s more…
