Amelia Meath, left, and Nick Sanborn electrify the Crofoot crowd Sunday night as Sylvan Esso.
Surrounded by thick smoke and neon lights, Sylvan Esso’s pulsating beats electrified a sold-out crowd at The Crofoot Sunday night in Pontiac, Mich.
The Durham, N.C. indie synthpop duo played a 75-minute danceable set featuring 16 songs from their 2014 eponymous self-titled debut and their latest album, “What Now.”
After opening with “Sound,” Nick Sanborn addressed the duo’s overdue stop in the Detroit area.
“Sometimes, when you’re in a band this thing happens where you put up any dates at all, and then inevitably, someone is like, ‘Come to Brazil,’ and you’re like, ‘It’s so hard to go to Brazil,’ so it’s a common band thing,” he said. “And the one place every time somebody says ‘Come to Detroit,’ you guys are like the only ones that get to complain. We’re so sorry, this has been a long time coming.”
Rahbi Hammond, aka Rah the Son, pumps up the crowd at Detroit LIVE.
A blend of Motor City sunshine, art and music formed a new creative and collaborative vibe during the inaugural Detroit LIVE at the Heidelberg.
That vibe pulsated throughout Heidelberg Street as more than 2,000 attendees enjoyed family, friends, festivities, food and fun at the free Aug. 26 block party near the city’s iconic art installation.
“This Detroit LIVE event at the Heidelberg is a collaboration,” said Jenenne Whitfield, CEO for The Heidelberg Project. “It’s a celebration of all the cultures in the city of Detroit and of all the grassroots initiatives. I want a party in the middle of the street. I want to show Detroit how it’s really done.”
Donna Kassab, POWER Entertainment owner and Detroit LIVE creator, joined Whitfield to reflect on the event’s strong creative community.
“Everyone’s here to celebrate each other as well as music and art,” she said. “Let’s have some fun.”
Nine artists continued to spread that vibe musically as they showcased Detroit’s best hip-hop, techno, R&B, classical and indie rock before curious and engaged attendees.
For three Detroit-based artists, the Motor City brings a promising musical future backed by a powerful legacy.
Clear Soul Forces, John Jammin Collins and Rah the Son will represent some of the city’s best musical talent and lead the inaugural Detroit LIVE at The Heidelberg Project Saturday.
Together, they’ll showcase emerging and established hip-hop, techno and other music during the free block party hosted by POWER Entertainment and The Heidelberg Project.
From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at 3600 Heidelberg St. in Detroit’s McDougall-Hunt community, attendees will hear seven other rising musical acts as part of the Detroit LIVE. There also will be an open mic session for other performers interested in demonstrating their talents.
“We want to build a sense of community while featuring Detroit talent and celebrating The Heidelberg Project’s 30th anniversary,” said Donna Kassab, a POWER Entertainment owner and Detroit LIVE creator.
Kassab is hosting the event in conjunction with Jenenne Whitfield, CEO of The Heidelberg Project, near the city’s iconic outdoor art installation. Detroit LIVE is part of Thirty Months of Heidelberg, a series of special programming in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of The Heidelberg Project.
Sound will be provided by the Audio Rescue Team. Detroit LIVE also will feature open mic sessions for other interested artists to showcase their talent.
Donna Kassab, POWER Entertainment owner and Detroit LIVE creator, has joined forces with Jenenne Whitfield, CEO of The Heidelberg Project, to host the free event near the city’s iconic outdoor art installation from noon to 8 p.m. at 3600 Heidelberg Street.
“The Heidelberg Project is one of the most visited cultural destinations in Detroit, so we wanted to bring a lot of people together around art to build a sense of community,” Kassab said. “Detroit LIVE is all about the spirit of collaboration through arts and entertainment.”
Middle Kids perform at Detroit’s Mo Pop Festival on July 30.
Mo Pop festivalgoers received a delicious second helping of emerging alternative music at Detroit’s West Riverfront Park on July 30.
They sank their musical teeth into the sounds of Michigan-based acts Heaters and Stef Chura. Hailing from Grand Rapids, Mich., Heaters divvied up their psychedelic sound for Mo Pop’s early arrivals and played tracks from their latest release, “Baptistina.”
Detroit’s Chura grabbed the Michigan musical torch from Heaters and shared her ‘90s-inspired lo-fi sounds from her debut album, “Messes.” Her signature garage rock resonated with Mo Poppers as they snacked on the best local musical cuisine.
Over on the Grande Stage, Louisville, Ky.’s White Reaper played garage punk and power pop from “The World’s Best American Band,” including “Judy French” and “Little Silver Cross.” Bassist Sam Wilkerson recognized his brother, drummer Nick Wilkerson, during the band’s Mo Pop set.
Mondo Cozmo performs Saturday at Detroit’s Mo Pop Festival.
Saturday served up the perfect dish of music, weather and crowds for day one at Detroit’s Mo Pop Festival.
The festival included a delectable sampling of 11 emerging alt rock, indie pop and hip-hop acts at West Riverfront Park on a dry, bright summer day.
To kickoff day one, Michigan-based acts Humons and Michigander provided tasty summer electronic and pop entrees to early arrivals.
As Humons, Detroit producer Ardalan Sedghi performed dream house tracks from “Spectra,” his five-song EP, and briefly transformed the park into a mini outdoor daytime dance hall for festivalgoers – the ideal way to start any Motor City music festival.
Humons’ dance club was quickly transformed into an intimate rock club when Kalamazoo’s Michigander took the Captain Pabst Stage for his set. Led by Kalamazoo-based Jason Singer, Michigander eagerly welcomed fans with several musical indie pop gems, including “5 a.m.” and “Nineties.”
Bishop Briggs performs at the Mo Pop Festival in July 2016.
The hottest alt rock and hip-hop acts will perform at Detroit’s West Riverfront Park July 29-30 for the fifth annual Mo Pop Festival.
Other notable artists will include a few Michigan-based acts – Heaters, Stef Chura, Humons and Michigander – along with emerging artists Jay Som, Mondo Cozmo, Waaves, Middle Kids, Vance Joy and Arkells. The full lineup is listed below.
With the Detroit skyline, Windsor, Ontario cityscape and local riverfront serving the festival’s premier backdrop, this is the third year Mo Pop has called the Motor City home.
In 2013 and 2014, the former one-day festival took place at Freedom Hill Amphitheatre (now the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) in Sterling Heights, Mich. Mo Pop expanded to a two-day event in 2015 when festival organizers decided to move it to downtown Detroit.
Fireworks explode over Dodger Stadium after Fleetwood Mac’s performance at The Classic West.
LOS ANGELES – Brilliant-colored fireworks exploded over Dodger Stadium as Fleetwood Mac closed out their two-hour set for The Classic West Sunday night.
Hues of red, green, yellow and blue popped over the crowd while the legendary band performed a spirited version of “Don’t Stop.”
The “Rumours” hit single served as the perfect ending to The Classic West, a new two-day classic rock music festival based in Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium featuring the Eagles, Steely Dan, Journey, The Doobie Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Curated by Irving Azoff in response to last year’s profitable Desert Trip, The Classic West is the ultimate recipe for whipping up a memorable dish of music nostalgia – early 1970s classic and folk rock fused with jazz-inspired tunes, southern California harmonies, groovy R&B, disco and arena rock anthems.
It also served as the perfect time musical time machine for nearly 50,000 attendees and me. I was ready to board a mythical aircraft similar to the one featured on the cover of Journey’s 1981 album, “Escape,” and travel back to a bygone era.
Christine McVie, left, and Lindsey Buckingham perform at Detroit’s Fox Theatre on July 2.
It was time to leave, but something kept me there.
I turned around to catch a final glimpse of Mick Fleetwood. He saw me, smiled and blurted out, “Lindsey and Christine are going to tour this year. You should go see them!”
“I will!” I said. My emphatic response was my way of promising Fleetwood.
Fleetwood shared the perfect parting words as Brian and I left the reception room at the Hilton Austin Hotel on March 15. We had traveled to Austin to see Fleetwood discuss his upcoming book, “Love That Burns – A Chronicle of Fleetwood Mac,” at SXSW.
After the session, we attended a private reception hosted by Genesis Publications to meet Fleetwood and receive his autograph. It was a true honor to meet one of my five musical heroes.
Fleetwood’s comments were in reference to a recent announcement about Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie teaming up for a new album and tour as a duo.
I left the room smiling because my musical hero had ended the conversation on the right note — encouraging me to see the other members of Fleetwood Mac in concert was utterly perfect. For years, it felt like I had known Fleetwood. In that final moment, it felt like he knew me.
Four months later, I was ready to attend not one, but two Buckingham McVie shows – July 2 at Detroit’s Fox Theatre and July 6 at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Eaux Claires attendees battled intermittent heavy showers and the looming threat of severe weather to see Wilco, Paul Simon, Feist and other artists at day 2 of Eaux Claires.
Wilco played for nearly two hours despite Eaux Claires organizers moving the band’s set up in anticipation of severe thunderstorms. Main stage artists continued to perform while side stage acts were cancelled.
The distant lightning served as the perfect backdrop for one of Wilco’s most ominous songs, “Via Chicago,” which starts with a dark lyric, “I dreamed about killing you against last night.”
“We’re usually playing outside when it’s sunny, and this song really bums people out, but this is f**king perfect,” said Jeff Tweedy, Wilco’s frontman, regarding “Via Chicago,” from the band’s 1999 album, “Summerteeth.”
Wilco guitarist Nels Cline played an exquisite extended guitar solo during “Impossible Germany,” while fans relished singing along with the band to “Jesus, Etc.” and “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.”
Before Wilco took the stage as the night’s headliner, Paul Simon played a 60-minute set with yMusic, a New York City-based chamber ensemble.
Paul Simon reimagines Simon & Garfunkel classics with yMusic.
Together, Simon and yMusic put a refreshing classical spin on “America,” “Mrs. Robinson,” The Boxer” and “Sound of Silence.” Their show was worth the wait after heavy rains delayed Simon and yMusic’s new set time by about 30 minutes.
“It’s really a good omen when the crowd is wet and shivering, but the performers are dry,” Simon said to a drenched Eaux Claires crowd.
Before Simon took the stage, Feist played her new album, “Pleasure,” in its entirety for festival attendees earlier that evening. Wearing a bright pink dress with ruffles and strumming her guitar in front of an electronic fan, Feist made her live performance a pleasurable one for fans.
“For two years now, I’ve heard about you guys, and so today, we would like to do something special just for us to share this moment together in honor of these incredible clouds,” Feist said.
In the afternoon, attendees danced to the party rap and club music of Baltimore-based Spank Rock, who traded jabs on stage with Amanda Blank and opened and closed his set with the Midnite Express, a Native American musical troupe.
Other day 2 festival highlights included Appalachian-style folk music from Mountain Man, which features Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath, Molly Sarle and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and the indie pop of Perfume Genius.
The Stratton Setlist 