Cover Story
In Detroit, a poetry workshop gives high school students freedom to be themselves
After munching on rectangular slices of Pie Sci Pizza, the high schoolers sit behind long, wooden tables as the poet laureate of Michigan glides across a dimly lit room inside the Scarab Club in Detroit, keen to deliver lessons on a cultural tradition so ancient it predates the birth of Christ by more than two…
Benefit planned for Detroit’s upcoming Moondog Café
If you’re a music and art lover, this event may be for you — either to get some new stuff for yourself, support Detroit artists, or both. Tons of music equipment and 400-plus records will be on sale to raise money for upcoming local business Moondog Café. The new coffee shop, music venue, and listening…
Neglected Detroit-area dog ‘Reggae’ finally gets a haircut
A local stray dog dubbed Reggae was picked up by Dearborn Animal Control on Friday, Dec. 1, after being found with extremely matted hair that looked like locs. The soaking-wet 90-pound dog was brought into Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit, where 11 pounds of “heavy, wet, and matted hair” was shaved off of him…
Initial 2024 Electric Forest lineup announced
The Electric Forest festival is set to return to the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury June 20-23, with organizers announcing its initial lineup on Tuesday. Headliners announced so far include Pretty Lights, Everything Always (Dom Dolla + John Summit), Subtronics, Excision, Nelly Furtado, Ludacris, John Summit, Psyren (Clozee + Lsdream), Charlotte De Witte, The Disco…
Thanedar blames hack for social media post that called Israel a ‘terrorist state’
U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar said early Tuesday that he was “hacked” after a message calling Israel a “terrorist state” was posted on his X account. “I was just hacked, and a misleading tweet was sent from my account,” the Detroit Democrat said on X, formerly Twitter, around 2:15 a.m. “I have deleted the tweet and…
Family of Israeli hostages to join Detroit’s Hanukkah ceremony
Family members of Israeli hostages held by Hamas will help kick off Hanukkah festivities in Detroit by lighting the giant 26-foot menorah downtown. The Menorah in the D event is set to begin at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7 at Cadillac Square, located at 662 Woodward Ave. The event’s special guests this year are…
Detroit rallies around Amp Fiddler with more fundraising events
Got a Detroit music tip? Send it to music@metrotimes.com. Detroit continues to rally around Amp Fiddler: An incredible group of people in the Detroit creative community have all joined forces for a week of fundraising, volunteering, and donating their time and talents to help the legendary funkmeister Amp Fiddler pay off medical bills. On top…
‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’ puts a spin on the Christmas classic
The Hip Hop Nutcracker, featuring a cast of a dozen dancers, a DJ, violinist, and one of hip-hop’s founding fathers, MC Kurtis Blow, is coming to Fisher Theatre for two performances on Saturday. The show is a remixed and reimagined version of the classic, fusing Tchaikovsky’s score with infectious hip-hop beats. The contemporary dance spectacle…
Embattled ex-state lawmaker Jewell Jones gets PR job at recycling company
Jewell Jones, a former state lawmaker who was busted for a drunk-driving incident in April 2021 and was later stripped of his committee assignments for allegedly sneaking a key into a Livingston County jail, has landed a new job. Jones, 28, is serving as the director of public relations for Midwest Recycling Inc., the Inkster-based…
The Crofoot expands with a Christmas-themed Creepy Cheapy Holiday Treat event
The Crofoot has expanded its popular Halloween Creepy Cheapy costume party with a Christmas edition. As with the spookier version, costumes are encouraged, but instead of cover bands this time music will be handled by the Strangers Unlimited performing holiday pop favorites (Danny Runey, Jeff Hughes, Billy Harrington, Bob Mervak Matt Martinez, Tyson Haynes, Andrew…
Lapointe: Rosalynn Carter did many good deeds and so did her husband
On a trip to Georgia last month, it felt like a good time to visit the Carter Center in Atlanta. Former president Jimmy Carter had recently entered hospice care. Soon, his wife, Rosalynn, would join him. She died last week at age 96. Her husband — 99 years old and physically diminished — attended her…
At heated public meeting, state commission green-lights Line 5 tunnel
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Interlochen Public Radio and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. During a heated public meeting full of emotional testimony, Michigan’s top energy regulator has granted Enbridge a permit to build a tunnel under the Straits…
The limits of Netflix’s ‘Stamped from the Beginning’
At the onset of Stamped from the Beginning, the Netflix documentary based on Ibram X. Kendi’s 2016 book of the same name, a question is posed to viewers and the participating scholars: “What is wrong with Black people?” The answer, unsurprisingly, is “nothing,” one respondent concludes. But it begs another question: “What is wrong with…
Motown Museum hosting job fair to fill various open positions
Detroit’s Motown Museum has been going through a massive expansion over the last few years, and now’s your chance to be a part of it. The museum is hosting a job fair to fill open positions from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at Hitsville NEXT, the educational center of Motown Museum’s newly expanded…
Unearthed letter from Lester Bangs to ‘Creem’ boss shows he was always like that
The late, great music critic Lester Bangs made a name for himself as editor-in-chief of Detroit-based Creem magazine, known for his gonzo writing style, sharp wit, and love of rock ’n’ roll. Apparently, Bangs brought the same energy to everything he wrote — even a 1976 office memo in which he unloaded on Creem publisher…
Detroit rapper 42 Dugg reschedules hometown show to January
Detroit rapper 42 Dugg has announced a rescheduled date for his postponed “42 Dugg & Friends Birthday Celebration” show. The concert has been rescheduled to Friday, Jan. 19 at Little Caesars Arena. The homecoming show was originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 25, announced just days after 42 Dugg was released from prison and dropped the…
Students, parents outraged by dismissal of beloved teacher in Livonia Public Schools
Juanita Francis is no ordinary substitute teacher. She calls her students “babies,” and they call her “Mama J.” She brings them home-cooked meals, gives them scholarships, and teaches them how to dance for free. She oozes with passion and positivity and greets every student with a beaming smile. Her mission, she says, is to help…
A touching new doc captures acclaimed composer Jon Batiste grappling with his wife’s cancer
Awards season is upon us, which means famous people winning Oscars and Grammys while we mere mortals watch from home and imagine that those shimmering humans have it all. Standing on that stage, gold statue in hand, must surely be a perfect moment. Yet in the poignant documentary American Symphony, filmmaker Matthew Heineman is there…
Rep. Aiyash to join hunger strike in D.C. calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza
A Michigan legislator will be among five state lawmakers from across the country participating in a hunger strike while demanding a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) says he will leave for Washington, D.C,. on Wednesday night to join the hunger strike with four other state lawmakers —…
Ferndale’s Coeur has a heart of gold
I’ve never thought it was a good idea to name your restaurant a word that people are unsure how to pronounce. Why introduce any hesitation into their decision to talk to their friends about going there? Few Americans, including me, can pronounce well this quintessentially French word (“cœur” means “heart”) — but that doesn’t seem…
MDOT wants to know what songs you’d include in a Detroit playlist
What songs would you choose if you had to create a Detroit playlist? Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under a Groove?” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect?” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” These are all options for the forthcoming Sounds of Detroit sculpture to be installed on the Cass Avenue bridge over I-94. The Michigan Department of Transportation and Cliff…
The UAW’s Big Three strike led to a surge in union organizing at other automakers
The UAW’s successful strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers has workers at more than a dozen other car companies interested in joining the union. The UAW says thousands of non-union autoworkers at companies including BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo have announced campaigns to organize their workforces. If…
MOCAD show highlights artists with developmental disabilities and mental health differences
Progressive Art Studio (PASC) will host its next exhibit of metro Detroit artists with developmental disabilities and mental health differences at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. Intimacy: The Artistic Community of PASC opens at MOCAD on Friday, featuring over 90 artworks from 30 artists. (An opening reception is planned from 5-8 p.m. on Friday,…
Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Holidaze’ stunt show coming to Detroit
Cirque du Soleil’s “Cirque Dreams: Holidaze” is bringing its whimsical performance to Detroit this weekend. The Broadway-style production, which features an infusion of contemporary circus acts, kicks off at Fox Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by performances at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.…
Whitmer signs climate change legislation setting 100% clean energy standard for Michigan by 2040
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a slate of bills Tuesday that take her proposals from the MI Healthy Climate Plan and make them into state law. Held at Detroit’s Eastern Market, the ceremony followed House passage earlier this month of a half-a-dozen pieces of climate change legislation from Democrats that address, among other issues, clean energy…
A monkey’s uncles
Chowhound is a weekly column about what’s trending in Detroit food culture. Tips: eat@metrotimes.com. One Christmas Eve when I was little, my Uncle Harry’s brother Joe nicknamed me “Magoola” — a drunken mispronunciation of “Magilla” — after a cartoon gorilla from ’60s television. The name stuck for years afterward, clinging embarrassingly like toilet paper to…
Free Will Astrology (Nov. 29-Dec. 5)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): As a child, I loved to go to a meadow and whirl around in spirals until I got so dizzy, I fell. As I lay on the ground, the earth, sky, and sun reeled madly, and I was no longer just a pinpoint of awareness lodged inside my body, but was…
