Tag: Detroit

POWER Surge — Motor City Talent Agency Hosts Launch Party, Prepares for Detroit LIVE Music Festival

POWER co-owners Kelly Adolph, far left, and Donna Kassab, fourth from right, gather with members of SIAS and Quantum Split during the April 20 launch party at CLUBHAUS Detroit. Photo by Brian Stratton

A new talent and events agency is powering up Detroit’s arts and entertainment scene.

Known as POWER Events | Entertainment, the Detroit-based agency hosted a launch party April 20 at CLUBHAUS Detroit to showcase emerging music, modeling, acting and athletic talent in the Motor City.

About 200 guests attended the launch party hosted by POWER co-owners Donna Kassab and Kelly Adolph and watched a fashion show featuring models wearing casual, modern styles with a bohemian flair from UnitedFront. Draped in hues of gold, cream and light blue, models sashayed down the runway to dance and hip-hop tunes spun by Detroit-based DJ Kobra Kinney.

Attendees also munched on appetizers by Detroit Catering Company and JusNCredible Eats and drank Hawthorne Vineyards wine served Brut Detroit and signature cocktails by Top Shelf Bartini.

“We received positive feedback about our plans to bring more events and entertainment to the city,” Kassab said. “I kept hearing, ‘thank you, this is so fun.’ There was a lot of excitement in the room.”

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Staying POWER — New Events, Entertainment Agency Showcases Detroit Talent at Tonight’s Launch Party

SIAS will perform at tonight’s POWER Events | Entertainment launch party in Detroit.

Detroit-based entrepreneurs are ready to shine a spotlight on the Motor City arts and entertainment scene.

Donna Kassab and Kelly Adolph are celebrating the official launch of POWER Events | Entertainment, a new Detroit-based talent and event agency, tonight at CLUBHAUS Detroit, 6540 Antoine St., in the city’s New Center district.

Kassab and Adolph started POWER in October to showcase emerging music, modeling, acting and athletic talent in Detroit and introduce that talent to local entertainment professionals and businesses.

The two entrepreneurs met at another company in metro Detroit and have spent nearly two decades working in the entertainment industry.

“There really isn’t anyone doing this in the city of Detroit,” said Kassab, POWER co-owner. “We love Detroit, and we want to help people get started. We look for undiscovered talent and provide a platform so they can be on stage.”

That stage will be set for tonight’s free launch party and include a fashion show featuring models wearing designs by Detroit-based clothing store UnitedFront aand music by Detroit artists SIAS and DJ Kobra Kinney as well as New York City-based rock, soul and hip-hop infused band Quantum Split.

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Tennis Revives 1970s Dream Pop at March 10 Ferndale Magic Bag Show

Tennis’ Alaina Moore performs at The Magic Bag in Ferndale.

This past Friday, I returned to the 1970s.

My visit was brief – about four and a half hours – but I traveled through the shimmering, dreamy soft rock tunes of Denver-based indie pop band Tennis.

Tennis created a 1970s sonic feel by featuring pre-show music from Hall & Oates, Minnie Riperton, Bob Welch and other artists from my favorite decade.

Led by wife and husband duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, Tennis played a sold-out show to an energetic crowd of 400 at Ferndale, Mich.’s The Magic Bag, one of my favorite music venues in southeast Michigan.

In a sense, Friday’s show also served as an informal release party for Tennis’ fourth album, “Yours Unconditionally,” which dropped that day and features a 1970s-inspired pop sound. The album’s cover includes a faded close-up shot of the duo that’s reminiscent of 1970s era vinyl album covers.

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‘Sainthood’ – Tegan and Sara Indie Pop Gem Still Sparkles 7 Years Later

Tegan and Sara perform on Oct. 26 at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, Mich. during the “Love You to Death” tour.

Editor’s Note: Brian Stratton writes about one of his favorite Tegan and Sara albums from the Canadian sisters’ catalog.

We all have a certain song or album that we associate with a band. It might not be the artist’s biggest hit or a critically acclaimed release, but nonetheless it strongly resonates with you.

That is the joy of music, finding a way to personally connect with the art and discovering your own meaning behind it.

For me, I can’t think about Canadian sister duo Tegan and Sara without their 2009 album “Sainthood” crossing my mind.

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King Arthur’s Reign — Blind Guardian, Grave Digger Fall Tour Pays Homage to Legendary Ruler

Editor’s Note: My husband Brian writes his second post for The Stratton Setlist about the Sept. 20 Blind Guardian and Grave Digger show at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Mich.

King Arthur, the Once and Future King, briefly returned to the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Mich. on Sept. 20.

He didn’t come from England, but instead arrived from Germany accompanied by bards singing of his deeds. In this case, the bards were power metal bands Blind Guardian and Grave Digger.

Grave Digger's Axel Ritt, left, and Chris Boltendahl sing about Excalibur at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Mich.
Grave Digger’s Axel Ritt, left, and Chris Boltendahl perform at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Mich.

Together, Blind Guardian and Grave Digger told their mystical King Arthur stories through power metal, a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by melodies, speed and rousing choruses and lyrics inspired by fantasy, mythology and history.

It’s like taking the music of Iron Maiden or Dio from the early ‘80s and combining it with Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Power metal flourished from these musical roots in the mid-1980s and has thrived in Germany and other European countries ever since.

Back in Pontiac, the night opened with Grave Digger, led by the charismatic Chris Boltendahl on vocals. Boltendahl took us through a setlist of songs that celebrated heavy metal culture, the rebellions of the Scots against the English, witches and hangmen.

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The End – Black Sabbath Tour Returns to the Beginning before Bidding Adieu

Editor’s Note: My husband Brian writes his first Stratton Setlist blog post about Black Sabbath’s final Detroit area show in Clarkston, Mich. Wednesday night.

Black Sabbath displays “The End” tour logo.

“Is it the end, my friend?” sang Ozzy Osbourne during the opening song of Black Sabbath’s final show in metro Detroit.

Sadly, it was the end, but it’s hard to say goodbye, especially to old friends. Six years ago, I had to say goodbye to Ronnie James Dio, and last year, I most likely said goodbye to Rush. And now it was time to say goodbye to Black Sabbath.

I’ve been a fan of Black Sabbath since middle school. My brother had introduced me to Led Zeppelin and Rush, and I loved them both, but Black Sabbath was the first band I had claimed as my own.

They felt like a secret that my friends and I shared, and we had fun exploring and debating the different lineups. Was Ozzy era Sabbath better, or the Dio material? What about the Tony Martin incarnation of the band?

The truth was I loved all the lineups. Black Sabbath was like a saga that kept going on and changing over time, and they never disappointed.

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Stratton Setlist Snapshot: Mo Pop Day 2 Sizzles in Detroit

Scorching July temperatures and high humidity didn’t deter five hot acts at Detroit’s Mo Pop Festival on Sunday.

Mac DeMarco, Father John Misty, Matt and Kim, The Head and the Heart and M83 shined during the closing day of the indie rock festival with memorable summer sets at West Riverfront Park.

The Stratton Setlist captured the artists in action before thousands of sweaty, energetic festivalgoers.

 

Stratton Setlist Snapshot: Detroit Hosts Day 1 of Mo Pop Festival

The Stratton Setlist attended the first day of Detroit’s indie rock Mo Pop Festival at West Riverfront Park. Highlights included performances from Alex G, Bishop Briggs, Twin Peaks, Tunde Olaniran and Haim.

Stratton Setlist Snapshot — Brian Fallon & The Crowes Bring ‘Painkillers’ Tour to Detroit

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Brian Fallon performs at Detroit’s Saint Andrew’s Hall June 28.

DETROIT — Brian Fallon & The Crowes sang about red lights, long drives and lost loves during their 19-song set at Saint Andrew’s Hall on June 28.

The Gaslight Anthem frontman and his band played several tracks from his “Painkillers” solo album, including “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Steve McQueen,” “Red Lights,” “Long Drives” and the title track.

Early in the set, Fallon told the crowd about the “nice people” in Detroit and how Bob Seger’s 1978 classic “We’ve Got Tonite” conjures up images of Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper from “The Wonder Years.”

While reminiscing in between songs, Fallon also included several Horrible Crowes’ gems — “Sugar,” “Behold the Hurricane,” “Crush” and “I Witnessed a Crime” — from the band’s 2011 release, “Elsie.”

The biggest setlist surprise featured a cover of Katy Perry’s 2010 smash, “Teenage Dream,” which nicely complemented Fallon’s youthful themes about life, love and self-discovery.

Fallon & The Crowes will continue their “Painkillers” tour this summer with several European festival dates and additional U.S. shows through October.

‘Midnight City’ – M83’s Signature Single Pays Homage to Night People, City Life

Editor’s Note: I’d like to thank Soundtrack Alley’s “Plunge Into Oblivion” post for inspiring the latest song I’ve added to The Stratton Setlist.

M83’s “Midnight City” reminds me why I love being a night person.

In my mind, Anthony Gonzalez’s signature song conjures up images of crowded concerts, booming city streets and urban adventures.

It beckons me to visit the city, catch a show at a small club and seek refuge from my daily life.

One of the song’s iconic lyrics, “The city is my church/It wraps me in its binding twilight,” sums up my love of night life.

Each night, I experience a sense of renewal after 8 p.m. It’s the time of day when routines retire, creativity flares and thoughts soar toward future possibilities.

Continue reading “‘Midnight City’ – M83’s Signature Single Pays Homage to Night People, City Life” →