James West
Drivers on I-75 in Detroit will now be presented with this helpful reminder.
Production company Paxahau has removed and replaced the Movement billboard that stood at the Russell Industrial Center advertising the festival year-round to drivers along I-75.
We'd occasionally debated with vehicle passengers whether the annual three-day event necessitated an advertisement that stood in the same place 365 days a year. This writer had argued yes, as the countdown to Detroit's premiere electronic music festival always begins the day after Memorial Day, which is the day that it ends. For fans like us, the billboard provided a sense of comfort that at any time, the party was just around the corner.
But so long to the billboard bearing the signature Movement logo (you know that swirl, reminiscent of the shape ravers sucking on pacifiers created with their hands in the '90s). Now, with just 46 days 'til Ravesmas, the minimalist signage has been replaced with a well-known factoid, written in all caps: "DETROIT IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF TECHNO MUSIC." (The message is technically still an ad for the fest — if you squint, you can catch the Movement swirl wildin' out in miniature in the billboard's bottom right corner.)
We first noticed the change yesterday. Perhaps Paxahau was operating under the impression that most people planning to attend the festival have already purchased their tickets, and that the thousands of people coming into town for the event could benefit from a small history lesson.
Whatever the case may be, the change is a sign of good times to come. Check out this year's Movement lineup here.
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