Detroit’s Armageddon Beachparty to host performances by Native Age, Bad Fashion, and Craig Garwood
Detroit’s ambassadors of psychedelia — Elena and Aubrey Smyth, aka Kozma and Motu — just so happen to run one of the cooler and under-the-radar venues in town, Armageddon Beachparty Lounge, and have curated an evening of tunes for indie music lovers. For starters, Warren-based four-piece the Native Age blends sounds of Neutral Milk Hotel, Noah…
Metro Detroit rock mainstay Pat Smillie releases first record in a decade at Token Lounge
Now with Bob Seger retiring from the road, it’s up to some other Motor City artists to keep the soulful multi-faceted rock flame a-burnin’. Leave it to longtime performer Pat Smillie, who will return with his first record in a decade, Lonesome for a Long Time, to do some heavy local lifting. The six-song record…
Detroit’s own Yoshi Flower returns home to support Skizzy Mars at El Club
Started from metro Detroit playing in a local Pot Belly’s, now he’s here. A name change, a move across the country, and a shiny new gold-encrusted smile and Yoshi Flower is, well, flowering. Since coming up Yoshi Flower, he’s toured with Dua Lipa, Elohim, and blackbear, and he’s collaborated with Rico Nasty, Quinn XCII, and…
MOCAD’s annual gala returns with art auction and ‘electric fantasy’ theme
MOCAD’s annual gala and art auction raises funds in support of the museum’s Department of Education and Public Programs, which provides arts education opportunities for Detroit youth. The night of festivities includes dinner from Bacco, “molecular cocktails” by Glyph, entertainment from Claude Young, and an auction curated by MOCAD executive director Elysia Borowy-Reeder and the…
Detroit’s Stacey Pullen will pull an all-nighter at TV Lounge
When Detroit techno innovator Stacey Pullen isn’t globetrotting through Ibiza, Milan, and Barcelona, he’s putting on kinetic and immersive sets for his hometown. For more than 20 years, Pullen has been concocting his interpretation of an array of influences and is one of the pillars of techno. Pullen pulls from fellow Detroit techno great the…
National Arab Orchestra kicks off 10th season at Detroit’s Music Hall
For 10 years, the National Arab Orchestra has been committed to the preservation of both traditional and contemporary Arab music in hopes of bridging social and cultural barriers. NAO returns to Detroit to open its 10th season with a presentation of “Layali,” which is defined as an “unmetered modal improvisation” and is the plural form…
Explosions in the Sky heads to Detroit with 20th anniversary tour
For 20 years, Texas-bred quartet Explosions in the Sky has been scoring films, television, and, at least for some of us, our most personally cinematic moments. (Like, say, going to second base in 2008.) After landing a song from their third record, The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, on the soundtrack for Friday…
Break out the tissues, ‘Rent’ returns to Detroit
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 525,600 (x 23) minutes since a little-known composer unleashed one of the most influential musicals in the history of American theater. Celebrating more than two decades, Jonathan Larson’s Rent continues to preach love, diversity, and creativity in spite of circumstance. The rock opera has scored a Pulitzer Prize…
Artist Annika Banko makes Michigan debut at Robert Kidd Gallery
For her latest exhibition — and her first in Michigan — Los Angeles- and Maui- based fine artist Annika Banko has created a body of large-scale works that brim with evidence of physicality titled Possession and Other Matters of Desire & Cruelty. The paintings, which span three to four feet, combine bold, dripping brushstrokes mixed…
Enlightened Soul Expo brings holistic healers and vendors to Southfield
For the first time, Michigan’s “largest indoor holistic-psychic event” is relocating to Oakland County from its usual circuit in the Ann Arbor area. The event features approximately 120 vendors selling items like aura photographs, crystals, essential oils, and more. There will also be more than 30 psychic readers, including tarot card readers, palm readers, astrologists,…
WWE’s Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts slithers through Detroit with stories beyond the ring
Long before Britney Spears got sexy with a big ol’ snake during her 2001 MTV VMA’s performance and, well, probably before the implementation of strict animal welfare laws, one man served as the reigning prince of pythons. That would be WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who famously battled many wrestling greats with…
Author Ann Patchett to visit Ann Arbor with latest book, ‘The Dutch House’
In her latest book, The Dutch House, author Ann Patchett keeps with her penchant for telling a story over decades. A follow-up to 2016’s Commonwealth, in which the New York Times bestselling author explores infidelity and its lasting effects on two families, The Dutch House examines abandonment after Elna Conroy leaves her family in posh…
3rd annual Fashion and Beauty Summit returns to Detroit to empower women’s sense of self
For its third iteration, Posh and Popular’s Fashion and Beauty Summit has tapped as one of its keynote speakers fashionbombdaily.com founder and author Claire Siobhan Sulmers, who made a name for herself by chronicling the fashion trends of women of color. In addition to keynote speakers, the event will host a breakout session, Michigan-based beauty…
Detroit Art Book Fair returns to Trinosophes with dozens of independent writers and publishers
Since 2013, the annual Detroit Art Book Fair has provided a platform for dozens of independent publishers, artists, and writers to display and sell their books, zines, and prints to those looking to avoid the Amazon trap or big-box store fatigue. The two-day festival features more than 4o exhibitors from throughout the Midwest and beyond,…
Detroit’s Third Man Records to host ‘Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement’ screening and Q&A
Part archival project, part documentary film, and part portrait of a national conversation of rebellion, rock ’n’ roll, and sociopolitical participation, Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement [in Washington D.C.] explores 1976-1983 D.C. through recently unearthed Super-8 film and commentary from the people who lived it: Henry Rollins, S.O.A., Bad Brains, the Slickee Boys,…
‘The Voice’ couple Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton fought over Flint singer
Flint-native Brennen Henson’s voice made musical couple Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton war over him on Monday’s episode of The Voice. The 20-year-old performed Vance Joy’s “Riptide,” and his performance impressed Stefani, who turned her chair around right away. Shelton turned his chair at the very end of the song. The couple then duked it…
‘SNL’ sad boy Pete Davidson will do something at Royal Oak Music Theatre
Where the fuck is Pete Davidson (and why do we care?) It might be because, for some damn reason, we’ve gotten swept up in his emotional tabloid journey filled with whirlwind romances (Ariana Grande and Kate Beckinsale) and heartbreak, mental health scares, tales of living with his mom, and his growing tattoo collection. The fact…
Betsy DeVos could face jail time for collecting debt from former students of a bankrupt for-profit college
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is in hot water after a judge found her department has been collecting debt from former students of a bankrupt, for-profit college — despite a 2018 court ruling ordering the department not to do so. “At best it is gross negligence, at worst it’s an intentional flouting of my order,”…
Blues legends Buddy Guy and Jimmie Vaughan head to Flint’s Capitol Theatre
Co-headlining tours have been having a major moment. This year saw the likes of Nas and Mary J. Blige and a partnership between Blink-182 and Lil Wayne, and next year Detroit will see the trifecta of “I forgot they existed” when Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer comes to town. But perhaps the only truly legendary…
Michigan transgender woman at heart of Supreme Court case on LGBTQ rights
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday is hearing three landmark cases, including one from Garden City, that seek to answer the question: Is it legal to fire someone for being gay or transgender? One of the three landmark cases involves Aimee Stephens, who was fired in 2013 from a Garden City funeral home after she…
Notes from a cannabis newbie’s first CBD harvest
It’s harvest season for anyone growing cannabis outdoors in Michigan. The hair-like strands in the flowers are turning golden, and the trichomes are getting milky. Growers are eyeing the colas, or the large clumps of buds at the top ends of the branches — the biggest, most potent flowers on the plant. Ann Arbor’s Bob…
Commercial Cannabis Conference & Expo to connect marijuana businesses at Detroit’s TCF Center
As Michigan continues to establish the marijuana industry in the state, the Commercial Cannabis Conference & Expo will be held to help business owners navigate the changing landscape. The theme of the event this year is “We Are the Future,” nodding to the fact that Michigan is building up the recreational marijuana market in the…
Historic building to be demolished in downtown Detroit for a whopping 12 parking spaces
The original headquarters of the now-defunct Detroit Saturday Night newspaper is set to be demolished to make way for 12 parking spaces. Developer Emmett Moten says he needs additional parking spaces to sell more luxury condos at the adjacent Fort Shelby in downtown Detroit. At 9 a.m. Tuesday, protesters plan to rally outside the 105-year-old,…
‘GQ’ names Southfield’s Beans and Cornbread a top ‘new classic’ restaurant in America
Southfield soul food hub Beans and Cornbread has been named one of America’s “new classic” restaurants on GQ’s 2019 list. The list specifically celebrates restaurants that are “too old to be new, too new to be institutions.” Beans and Cornbread, which opened in 1997, offers time-tested renditions of dishes such as smothered pork chops, fried…
Planet Ant’s Live Out Fest returns to celebrate all the queer things
Something beautiful happened on Oct. 11, 1988: National Coming Out Day was established. The day, which was selected to commemorate the 1987 march on Washington for Lesbian and Gay rights, is intended to encourage those in LGBTQ+ communities to use their voice — and their coming out — to empower others so that the fight…
Michigan resident dies from vaping-related illness as state remains silent about black-market THC
It was only a matter of time. In recent months, hundreds of people across the nation were coming down with a severe lung illness linked to black-market cannabis vaping products. About 25 of those cases were in Michigan. But as public health officials and lung experts across the country warned people to avoid illicit cannabis…
A lot on the line for Michigan in new trade deal
Congressional leaders are still trying to hammer out a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, and there’s a lot on the line for workers in Michigan. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would replace the 1994 agreement known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Exports within North America account for some 180,000 Michigan…
Nonprofit to offer free vet care to pets of Detroit’s homeless on Sunday
The Street Dog Coalition, a Colorado-based company offering free veterinary services to the pets of people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, will hold a pop-up event in Detroit on Sunday. In May 2015, the first Street Dog Coalition event was held in Fort Collins, Colorado. Twenty-five dogs and five cats were treated by…
Detroit bands to honor late singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston next month
Beloved Austin-based artist, singer-songwriter, and master archiver Daniel Johnston is going to get a Detroit tribute next month. Johnston, who was, by all means, prolific, died of a heart attack last month at the age of 58. Johnston was known for his incredibly endearing body of work as much as he was known for his…
Michigan finally warns about THC vaping as number of lung illnesses double
The number of Michigan residents sickened with a severe lung illness primarily tied to black-market cannabis vaping has doubled in the past 10 days, reaching 30 confirmed or probable cases. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued a health advisory Thursday, warning against using vaping products, “particularly those containing THC,” the psychoactive ingredient…
‘Joker’ is a forced laugh in the dark
There’s a first time for everything. In the case of Joker, it’s the first film fully dedicated to the beloved DC comic book villain. It’s also the first press screening where I had to go through a two-tiered security checkpoint before entering the theater. Expectations could not be higher for a film that took home…
Rep. Rashida Tlaib tells truth about racial biases in facial recognition technology and gets criticized
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib came under criticism Wednesday for sharing legitimate concerns about facial recognition software: The technology is significantly flawed when used to identify people of color. Citing research that shows people are better at recognizing faces from their own race, Tlaib suggested the optimal way to limit false arrests based on misidentifications is…
Woman shows up to Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak with gory zombie makeup, causes a scare
Zombies need medical care too. Jai Fears, a professional dancer, was getting zombie makeup done when she had a panic attack, and her look apparently caused quite a stir at Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak on Monday night. The zombie look Fears was sporting was part of a Halloween marketing campaign for Glam Gore — but…
Detroit’s Marble Bar to host 12-hour party with John Acquaviva and LTJ Bukem
If the idea of a 12-hour party doesn’t make your joints swell and eyes water with prospective exhaustion, then a 12-hour party led by Plus 8 Records co-founder and international beatmaker John Acquaviva and London-based producer LTJ Bukem is probably more valuable than a solid eight hours of shuteye. Voted best electronic music club by…
A new coffee shop from Green Dot Stables’ co-owners is coming to Detroit’s east side
A former Krispy Krunchy Chicken in Detroit’s east side Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood will soon have a new life as a coffee shop. Construction is underway for Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts, a new project from Green Dot Stables co-owners Jacques and Christine Driscoll along with Niko Dimitrijevic. Aside from coffee and house-made doughnuts, the spot will also have a…
Common to let the love in at the Fillmore in Detroit
On his latest record, 47-year-old emcee and author Common explores what it means to let love in. Like a damn crystal sitting on a sun-drenched window ledge, Let Love is a positivity prism that encourages reflection and the power of spreading the love by all means necessary. Detroit’s own J Dilla receives a few nods…
Michigan police chief charged with sexually assaulting woman on party bus
A western Michigan police chief is on paid leave after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her on a party bus during a trip to a Detroit Tigers baseball game. Fremont Police Chief Rand Wright, 48, was charged Wednesday with fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. A woman told Michigan State Police that the chief was…
Hot girl summer to White Claw winter — there’s a hard seltzer festival coming to Royal Oak
Looking back, a portrait of 2019 America might look something like this: Game of Thrones coffee cup-gate, 30-50 feral hogs, unlikely member of the resistance Nickelback is totally cool for the first time ever, and White Claw — the endangered species of sweet, fizzy, highly alcoholic nectar of the summer gods. Well, the spiked seltzer trend…
Court upholds Feds’ repeal of net neutrality; allows state protections
The Trump administration has the right to repeal Obama-era net-neutrality protections, according to a decision issued Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The ruling means internet service providers such as Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast will continue to have the legal right to block or slow down websites they…
Marijuana arrests increase nationwide despite legalization in more states, FBI says
Despite the fact that marijuana has been legalized in a growing number of states, new data released by the FBI shows that the number of cannabis-related arrests has increased nationwide. According to new numbers released by the FBI on Monday, there were 663,367 marijuana-related arrests in 2017 — an uptick from 653,249 arrests in 2016. That’s…
DIA’s Impressionist exhibition expands to 2020 thanks to near-record attendance
If you haven’t had a chance to behold the beauty of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ new Impressionist-era exhibition, there’s still time. The museum announced Tuesday that it will now run through Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020. The show, which opened in June, was originally supposed to come down in October. The museum says it made…
Bon Bon Bon’s Midtown location opens Tuesday
Those delectable little chocolate bons that metro Detroiters can’t seem to get enough of are coming to Midtown. Local chocolatier Bon Bon Bon will open its newest store on Tuesday. It’s located at 441 W. Canfield St., Detroit, next to Jolly Pumpkin and Third Man Records. It’s the company’s third location, following a downtown spot…
Michigan’s vaping ban goes into effect. Here’s what you need to know
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s controversial ban on flavored nicotine e-cigarettes and liquids went into effect Wednesday after a judge declined a last-minute request to halt the ban. Under Whitmer’s emergency orders, the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products is illegal and punishable by up to six months in jail. But there’s still hope for vapers. Court…
Robyn on why loving is the bravest thing she has done
Robyn has no idea if she’s a pop star or not. The 40-year-old Swedish icon isn’t being disingenuous. And she’s not fishing for evidence, either — of which there is plenty — when propositioned with the usual line of questioning designed for someone of her status, or for someone whose body of work serves a…
A brief conversation with the legendary Dionne Warwick
At 78 years old, music icon, activist, and hitmaker Dionne Warwick is still preaching the gospel of her 1966 collaboration with songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” “I wish we could saturate the world with it,” Warwick says of love during a brief phone call, during which she places…
Savage Love: I’m letting an attractive guy treat me like shit
I met a guy right around the time my boyfriend dumped me. I met him on a dating site, but he was really only interested in my boobs and me giving him head. I really like having him in my life and he’s very attractive, but he won’t do anything with me other than let…
Horoscopes (Oct. 2-8)
ARIES: March 21 – April 20: You keep so much to yourself, others have no clue what you’re up against. The fact is, you’ve been in a state of confusion for quite a while. As the fog begins to lift, the need to make adjustments is in order. Some of you will have a tough…
Telluride and other festivals shape autumn film schedule
For 140 years, the tiny Colorado town of Telluride has been shaping the future. Starting in the 1870s, it did so in gold, silver, and copper. And in 1974, after the minerals were exhausted, the city turned to celluloid. But the Telluride Film Festival, which I attended over Labor Day weekend, is not alone in…
‘Judy’ biopic doesn’t quite make it over the rainbow
Treating The Wizard of Oz as the lone noteworthy work in a lifelong screen career, Judy [as in Judy Garland] follows a screen idol on the run, escaping to London in her twilight days to attempt a sort of comeback revue. Its director, Rupert Goold, does so with a manner something like a PI, hoping…
It’s time for the Trump Show to end
You can take this to the bank: Before the year ends, Donald Trump will become the third American president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. The mounting, overwhelming evidence of his bad acts, the House’s constitutional obligations, and, frankly, Trump’s real-time, in-plain-sight meltdown — which has so far included calls for a whistleblower…
Some Michigan cows are contaminated with PFAS, but the state won’t test milk
Some Michigan dairy cows are contaminated with toxic PFAS, but the state agency charged with regulating farms isn’t testing their milk. At a June PFAS conference, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development toxicologist Kay Fritz revealed that the agency is aware of contaminated milk, but doesn’t want to test the animals or alert the…
Grosse Pointe Park’s the Charlevoix is more than a neighborhood bar
Eating at the Charlevoix was a happy surprise: It feels like a down-to-earth neighborhood place — when I went on a Monday, just the bar stools were occupied, seemingly by guys hanging out after work, no suits — but the food is better. When I spoke to bartender and co-owner Nick Arrigo afterward, he said…
