On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, in-studio guests Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent, aka Shovels & Rope, play songs from their latest album “Something Is Working Up Above My Head.”

Also this week, a collection of in-studio duets, all from 2016 with Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle, Judy Collins and Ari Hest and more. Plus new songs from Samm Henshaw, Bonny Prince Billy, Mumford & Sons and Larkin Poe.

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for February 1, 2026

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Plastic Cigarette” – Zach Bryan
• “Changed” – Valerie June
• “They Keep Trying To Find You” – Bonny Prince Billy
• “Dime” – Silvana Estrada
• “Gentle On My Mind” – Billy Bragg + Joe Henry (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” – The Dandy Warhols
• “Two Wolves” – Shovels & Rope (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guest)
• “Colorado River” – Shovels & Rope (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guest)
• “Hair Down” – Samm Henshaw
• “Can You Get To That” – Funkadelic
• “Pharmacy” – The Black Crowes
• “Kiss Me Quick” – Iron & Wine + Jesca Hoop (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “River” – Selah Mooney (SongWriter Podcast preview)
• “Mr. Marketer” – Hayley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover
• “The Banjo Song” – Mumford & Sons
• “I Choose Love” – Judy Collins + Ari Hest (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Little Bit (acoustic)” – Larkin Poe
• “American Tune” – Leslie Odom, Jr.
• “Summer Boys” – Mark Erelli
• “Come What May” –Shawn Colvin + Steve Earle
• “Favorite Place” – John Gorka
• “I’d Be Lying” – Shovels & Rope (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guest)
• “love Song For A Dog” – Shovels & Rope (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guest)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music a couple cuts from a fascinating new album from Kronos Quartet and Mahalia Jackson, featuring her amazing singing and in conversation with Studs Terkel in 1963.

Also, new Detroit tunes from Dames Brown, The Legal Matters, another Nick Piunti preview, the duo Rosetta Pebble and more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for January 31, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “Against The Dying Of The Light” – Jose Gonzalez
• “(It Takes All Kinds) To Make A World” – Gail Ann Dorsey
• “The Stars Are Out Tonight” – David Bowie
• “Opening Night” – Arctic Monkeys
• “Hold On” – Mahalia Jackson & The Kronos Quartet
  
• “What Would You Do” – Dames Brown
• “Rendevouz” – Will Sessions + Dames Brown, Amp Fiddler
  
• “I Got You” – Tedeschi Trucks Band
  
• “I Wish You Love” – Frank Sinatra
• “Stay Away” – Charles Bradley
• “Can’t Hold Us” – Sampa The Great
  
• “Handshake Deal” – Nick Piunti
  
• “Get On The Right Thing” – Wings
  

• “Music Always” – AV & The Inner City
• “Perfect Day” – Al Green w/Raye
• “2Sided” – Arlo Parks
• “Sweet Love” – Stephen Sanchez
• “The Message” – The Legal Matters
• “Chicago” – Mavis Staples
  
• “In The Saddle” – Whitney
• “Practice” – Jamila Woods w/Saba
• “Your Old Stand By” – Mary Wells
• “Disco Life” – Say She She
• “Bend In The River” – Rosetta Pebble
• “Hair Down” – Samm Henshaw
• “Shapes & Sizes” – Joan Armatrading & The Kronos Quartet
• “This World Will Make You Think” – Mahalia Jackson & The Kronos Quartet

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, we’ll hear music from albums and artists having “Big O” birthdays this year, including classic albums from Stevie and Joni (both turning 50), Corrine Bailey Rae’s debut at 20, and lots of artists with big birthdays, from Zach Bryan at 3-0 to Buddy Guy turning 9-0!

Also this week, in-studio performances from Lou Barlow and Ben Folds (both 60), Peter Wolf and Loudon Wainwright III (both 80) and more.

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for January 25, 2026

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Shine” – Dolly Parton
• “I Need You” – Jon Batiste (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Snow” – Zach Bryan
• “Coyote” – Joni Mitchell
• “Stockings” – Suzanne Vega (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Hasten Down The Wind” – Warren Zevon
• “Weary” – Solange
• “Soul Meets Body” – Death Cab For Cutie (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Have A Talk With God” – Stevie Wonder
• “Not A Fan” – Ben Folds (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Holding Back The Year” – Lou Barlow (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “For No One” – The Beatles
• “Put Your Records On” – Corrine Bailey Rae
• “Give It To Me” – Peter Wolf (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Sunny Came Home” – Shawn Colvin
• “Guitar Town” – Steve Earle
• “Dilate” – Ani Difranco
• “Shankill Butchers” – The Decemberists
• “Greetings To The New Brunette” – Billy Bragg (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “I Love The Life I Live” – Buddy Guy
• “Cuyahoga” – R.E.M.
• “Whenever” – Beth Orton
• “Tuesday (Unerthd Version)” – Toro y Moi
• “My Moon My Man” – Feist (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “I’m Still In Love With You” – Al Green
• “Tear Stained Eye” – Son Volt (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “One Man Guy” – Loudon Wainwright III (Acoustic Cafe performance)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music a new album coming next month from Nick Piunti, Detroit rocker and restaurateur. Plus Lucinda Williams’ new album, a prescient 2014 track from YUSUF/Cat Stevens and more.

Also, we celebrate 50 years of David Bowie’s “Station To Station” album at 50, and 70 years of Verve Records!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for January 24, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “To Love Somebody” – Al Green
• “Let’s Take Our Time” – Aaron Fraser & Durand Jones & The Indications
• “Ain’t That A Trip” – The James Hunter 6 ft. Van Morrison
• “Dead End – Snail Mail
• “I Am America” – Jeff Daniels & Thornetta Davis
  
• “Manic Monday” – Prince
• “Taste On My Lips” – Ya Tseen (w/Portugal. The Man and Meshell Ndegeocello)
  
• “Pride II” – Meshell Ndegeocello
• “Tanana” – Portugal. The Man
• “WAP” – The Claypool Lennon Delirium (coming to Meadowbrook 5/31)
• “Against The Dying Of The Light” – Jose Gonzalez
• “Get Back” – Samm Henshaw
• “You get the Feeling” – Squeeze
  
• “Hourglass” – Squeeze
  

• “Fall Moon” – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (coming to St. Andrews 4/29)
  
• “Site Unseen” – Courtney Barnett (coming to The Majestic 5/21)
• “Hold Tight” – Rozzi
• “Who’s That” – Brother Wallace
• “Big In Madrid” – Nick Piunti
• “Golden Years” – David Bowie
  
• “Blueberry Hill” – Louie Armstrong
• “Glory” – Dames Brown ft. Waajeed
  
• “I Was Raised In Babylon” – YUSUF/Cat Stevens
• “Freedom Speaks” – Lucinda Williams
• “Let’s Do It” – Ella Fitzgerald
• “Day By Day” – Samara Joy

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, our in-studio guest is Rhett Miller of Old 97s. Rhett’s music has been a part of Acoustic Cafe for over 30 years, from both the band and his solo work. His tenth solo record is “A Lifetime Of Riding By Night.”

We recorded our session with Rhett live at The Leon Loft in Ann Arbor.

Also this week, another SongWriter Podcast preview, and in-studio archives from Loudon Wainwright III, Tori Amos in 1996 and more.

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for January 18, 2026

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “The Thread” – Whitney
• “Shadows” – Bahamas
• “Godspeed” – Mavis Staples
• “White Ferrari” – Frank Ocean
• “Now It’s Now Again” – The Flatlanders (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Pegasus (acoustic)” – Arlo Parks
• “Come As You Are” – Rhett Miller (in-studio guest)
• “All Over Again” – Rhett Miller (in-studio guest)
• “In Your Ocean” – Iron & Wine
• “Music Always” – AV & The Inner City
• “I Know (A Little)” – Jacob Collier
• “Abbey Road” – Tori Amos (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Mr. Ambivalent” – Loudon Wainwright III (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Ordinary As Air” – Jamila Woods (SongWriter Podcast)
• “Against The Dying Of The Light” – Jose Gonzalez
• “Anniversary” – Brandi Carlile
• “Heavy Foot” – Mon Rovia
• “In Tall Buildings” – Cole Quest
• “Self-Made Man” – Rachel Baiman (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Run It Back” – Madison McFerrin
• “Wild Rose” – Ocie Elliott
• “Barrier Reef” – Rhett Miller (in-studio guest)
• “Question” – Rhett Miller (in-studio guest)
• “Where The Road Goes” – Rhett Miller (in-studio guest)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music the happiest of birthday wishes to Dolly Parton who turns 80 on Monday, plus the late Bobby Weir in various musical arrangements, new music from waterbaby, Mitski, Arlo Parks and more.

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for January 17, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “2Sided” – Arlo Parks
  
• “Holding On” – Disclosure w/Gregory Porter
  
• “You’ve Got What It Takes” – Ledisi w/Gregory Porter
  
• “For Real” – 
  Eric Hirshberg & Aloe Blacc
• “A Hazy Shade Of Winter” – The Accidentals
  
• “I Can’t Make You Love Me” – Prince
• “Feels Alright” – Spoon
  
• “Sugar Magnolia” – Grateful Dead
  
• “The Algorithm Song” – Jon Spear
  
• “Memory Be A Blade” – waterbaby
• “The Flood” – Ye Vagabons
  
• “When Love Comes To Town” – Slash, Shemekia Copeland, Myles Kennedy, Joe Bonamassa
  

• “Seven Bridges Road” – Dolly Parton
  
• “Wildfowers” – Trio
• “World On Fire” – Dolly Parton
• “Jolene” – Beyonce
• “Smoky Mountain DNA” – Dolly Parton & Family
  
• “9 To 5” – Allison Krauss
  
• “Only A River” – Bob Weir
  
• “Walkin’ Blues” – Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman
  
• “Where’s My Phone” – Mitsky
• “Deeper” – Disclosure w/Leon Thomas
  
• “Heart Inside My Head” – Nick Puinti
  
• “Hell In A Bucket” – Grateful Dead
  

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

A Hamtramck-based artist residency program has received a $175,000 innovation award for three years.

Entry Points is a program that offers housing and studio space for returning citizens who were formerly incarcerated juvenile lifers. The program began through the work of Hamtramck Free School, an alternative educational organization that facilitates creative writing and art workshops in Michigan prisons, working with juveniles who were sentenced to life without parole. 

Entry Points Artistic Director Jonathan Rajewski and Director of Transitions, Kyle Daniel-Bey, are working together to help returning citizens reintegrate into public life, including presenting their work publicly.

Rajewski says art is a way for people to express themselves. 

“We work within the prison system are artists and, you know, art has and continues to be an important conduit of self-expression. It’s a rejection of censorship. It’s an articulation of resistance. It’s an acknowledgement of, you know, the social structures that dictate our livelihoods,” he explains. 

Second chances

Daniel-Bey was a juvenile lifer after being incarcerated at 17. He was released from prison due to the Miller v. Alabama 2012 ruling by the U.S. Supreme court.

The ruling says, “No juvenile defendant may face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, no matter how serious the crime,” according to Justia. 

Daniel-Bey says he got a second chance.

“When the Miller ruling came out in 2012, it was finally a door opening because I was never supposed to come home. And art was a way to sustain myself in prison, not only financially, but spiritually and emotionally,” Daniel-Bey shares.

Daniel-Bey says he met Jonathan in 2013 at the Macomb Correctional Facility through a creative writing workshop. He says they became friends.

“I came home in 2018. Since then, we’ve continued our creative exploits through what was created,” he says. 

Supporting returning artists

Entry Points gives people an entry point back into society and a chance to make art. The first resident moved in October 2022, when a former juvenile lifer needed a place to live once he was released.

Rajewski says the artists can use the space for studio visits, visits from curators, and exhibition opportunities. 

“Our first resident was a writer and almost strictly in the literary realm. And so those relationships tend to be focused more in the literary realm,” he shares.

Daniel-Bey says former juvenile lifers often come home often without resources, family, or support. 

“As an adult that goes to prison and spends 20 years and comes back out, they at least have an experiential understanding of having to have paid a bill or navigating as an adult, get a job and all those types of things. We had none of that. And so what we do is we are helping to cushion that landing,” he explains. 

Paying it forward

The grant allows at least three artists to use the space over the period of three years, allowing additional staff to be hired. Meanwhile, the program is run by volunteers.

The award is given by the JM Kaplan Fund to 10 awardees for their work in tackling social justice, environmental conservation, and heritage preservation.

Rajewski says he’s grateful for this opportunity to give back.

“This amplifies the work that we’re doing… in the free school, we are largely made up of volunteers. There are no paid employees. There really aren’t any specific kinds of leadership. It’s a sort of shared kind of democratically organized discursive project,” he exclaims. 

Daniel-Bey says that besides supporting the resident artists, the funding will support other artists.

“We also do microgrants to other artists. We have other juvenile lifers that have home support and family support, but they may not be have the material support to get their art supplies,” he explains.

Healing power

Daniel-Bey says art is a universal language that can heal people.

“Their art is trying to speak to the soul and the spirit of people and bring them into community, bring them into unity and into a more humanistic understanding of what drives not only the children that do these things, but the society that produced them,” he says.

Rajewski says the funding supports the work they’ve been doing for years.

“When I met Kyle, he was never coming home, and now here we are working outside on this project together. And it is just an endlessly powerful experience to support this work together,” he says.

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, we’re joined by our first guests of the new year, Folk Bitch Trio. Grace Sinclair, Jeanie Pilkington, and Heide Peverelle met in high school (during the pandemic), instantly creating the 3-piece harmony on display throughout their debut album “Now Would Be A Good Time.”

Also this week, the return of the SongWriter Podcast, and in-studio archives from Cautious Clay, Lianne La Havas, the late Raul Malo and more.

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for January 11, 2026

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Prizefighter” – Mumford & Sons
• “To Each Their Dot” – Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover
• “Touching God” – Daniel Caesar
• “Love You Right” – HAIM
• “Wildfire” – Cautious Clay (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “These Days – Muireann Bradley
• “God’s A Different Sword” – Folk Bitch Trio (in-studio guests)
• “Mary Plays The Harp” – Folk Bitch Trio (in-studio guests)
• “Wish You Were Here (Take 1)” – Pink Floyd
• “Running Boy” – Mon Rovia
• “Green Papaya” – Lianne La havas (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Keep It Moving” – Thao Nguyen (SongWriter Podcast)
• “Kindness Be Conceived” – Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “You Always Win” – Raul Malo (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Zombie (acoustic)” – YUNGBLUD
• “Plush (acoustic)” – Stone Temple Pilots
• “Skeletree” – Madison Cunningham
• “Long Distance Winner” – Cunningham Bird (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Satisfied Mind” – Mavis Staples
• “Sarah” – Folk Bitch Trio (in-studio guests)
• “Cathode Ray” – Folk Bitch Trio (in-studio guests)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music looking ahead to new releases coming in the first few months of 2026, including Robyn’s first new album in 7 years, upcoming albums from Iron & Wine and Lucinda Williams, and brand new music this week from Mon Rovia, Father John Misty, Madison McFerrin and Common.

Also tunes from Ledisi with Gregory Porter, Prince, Joe Jackson and more.

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for January 10, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “Field Song” – Mon Rovia
• “The Old Law” – Father John Misty
• “Talk To Me” – Robyn
• “Dangerous Blues” – Luke Winslow-King
• “Everybody Knows” – The Legal Matters
  
• “Sweet Love” – Stephen Sanchez
  
• “This Time For Real” – Chet Faker
  
• “Hair Down” – Samm Henshaw
  
• “Welcome To Burning-By-Sea” – Joe Jackson
• “Memphis” – Joe Jackson
• “Ready To Let You Down” – Joseph
  
• “I Still Need Love 2” – The Twilite Tone (w/Madison McFerrin, Common)
  

• “Sister Golden Hair” – The Dandy Warhols
• “In Your Ocean” – Iron & Wine
• “Hoodoo Woman” – Tinsley
  
• “They Keep Trying To Find You” – Bonnie Prince Billy
• “Plastic Cigarette” – Zach Bryan
  
• “Take Me To Graceland” – Jack Spivey
  
• “Boy In The Bubble” – Paul Simon
• “Peace Of Mind” – Wesley Joseph ft. Danny Brown
• “drivers license” – David Byrne
  
• “The 6th Of January (Yasgur’s Farm)” – Amy Grant
• “The World’s Gone Wrong” – Lucinda Williams ft. Brittney Spencer
• “Dead Man Walking” – The Infamous Stringdusters

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

The Muslim Mavericks is a new children’s nonfiction biography book series highlighting the contributions of Muslims across the world.

The first book features actress, comedian and disability advocate, “Maysoon Zayid The Girl Who Can Can.”

Pulitzer Prize–nominated Muslim reporter and author Dr. Seema Yasmin says the series hopes to dispel stereotypes of Muslims, while creating positive representation in stories. 

“What I’m trying to do with this series is show that Muslims are not a monolith…  there’s nearly two billion of us on the planet,” she says.

Muslims in media

Yasmin says she was inspired to create the series when she realized there were few children’s chapter book series about Muslims.

“Throughout history, Muslims have contributed so much to the fields of science and exploration, mathematics, comedy, film, Hollywood, all of the things,” she explains.

She says people’s first impression of Muslims is on TV or film, usually as someone scary.

“It explains the kind of sentiments and misunderstandings that people have about Muslims and what better way to dispel that than by introducing young readers to Muslim characters early on,” she shares.

She wants readers to connect with people like Maysoon Zayid, a girl who grew up in New Jersey in a Palestinian American home, as a disabled person with big dreams.

“It was really important to me to introduce young readers to these themes of imagining their future, dreaming big, conquering the impossible, and what to do when people tell you that you’re not good enough,” she says.

Islamophobia

Yasmin says Islamophobia, the fear of Islam and Muslims, is rampant.

“The Islamophobia just feels like it is on steroids right now. For many of us old enough to remember September 11, 2001 and the aftermath of that, what Muslims and just generally brown people lived through, the environment right now is feeling like that,” she shares.

She says people are getting “steeped in these misconceptions of an entire community,” she further explains.

She hopes the series will introduce readers to a range of Muslims to help tackle Islamophobia. 

Yasmin has a background as a medical doctor and a former journalist.

She says the next book in the series will come out later this year. 

Michigan has been the setting for thousands of films. At one point, the state encouraged movie makers through incentives to produce their films here.

Those programs were cancelled a decade ago. Since then, productions have largely gone elsewhere to shoot.

As for the films set in Detroit, which ones really capture the city, its essence and the people who live here?

Steven Shaviro is a former film critic and professor at Wayne State University. He joins The Metro to discuss and critique movies that were made in or about metro Detroit.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

The music landscape has changed a lot since the turn of the 21st century. Not just styles, but how we consume music. Nothing illustrates that better than the rise of the indie music scene.

In his new book Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion, Stereogum managing editor Chris DeVille looks at how changes to TV, the internet, and the record industry fueled the rise in early ’00s indie music.

DeVille talks with WDET’s Russ McNamara. Click on the link to listen or read selected excepts below. 

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RM: So why write this book?

DeVille: There’s many different sort of through lines that are being traced here. One of them is technology. It’s a subject that I think is really complex and really fascinating, and it involves a lot of my favorite music ever.

This stuff that has been kind of chronicled and debated online for years in blog posts and social media posts and a lot of the documentation of it is starting to disappear, because websites just go offline, or people delete their social media accounts. And so I wanted to create a little bit more permanent record of some of these things that happened—some of the ways that these bands broke through, some of the conversations that were being had around this music.

One reviewer compared it to like a yearbook that you look back at and you get some fond memories, and you get some cringe, but yeah, it’s kind of like a history of my listening as an adult.

Russ McNamara, WDET: In the book, you mention the TV show ‘The OC’ which was a popular teen soap opera in the early ’00s. How much did that show’s soundtrack play into the rise in indie rock?

Chris DeVille, author of “Such Great Heights”: I was surprised as I was writing the book, how much it became like a shadow history of the evolution of the Internet over the last couple of decades. And you know The OC thing, it’s like they’re putting these bands in front of a much bigger audience. Like Death Cab for Cutie is like a fairly obscure band at the time, and then this character on this popular teen show is like making his whole personality that he loves Death Cab for Cutie.

It’s like giant platform, but then they lose cool points with some people, as you know, sort of a more norm-y audience discovers this band, but it’s definitely, there’s no doubt that it was a huge like funnel, bringing a bunch of bands to a much broader audience

RM: What about the added accessibility of file sharing sites like Limewire and Napster?

CD: Whatever platform you were using to pirate music I think contributed to the accessibility of stuff. Stuff could blow up, even if it didn’t fit into a particular radio format, or it wasn’t getting past the MTV gatekeepers. It didn’t have to fit into any existing niche or existing format to blow up. It could just catch fire and go viral on these file sharing servers.

I mean, the same thing was still true when iTunes came in and kind of formalized and commercialized the process. You could still have a song that people would download it like crazy.

RM: Which indie bands benefitted the most from this setup in the early 00’s?

CD: Arcade Fire was definitely the biggest. The other dimension that I talk a lot about in the book, is Pitchfork. And just like the power that Pitchfork had to make or break someone’s career. If they gave something a 10.0 people were just going to jump on it and worship it. And if they kind of talked smack about a particular band or completely panned a band, then there were instances where that basically ended someone’s commercial prospects. And so like Arcade Fire were like the perfect storm.

RM: So where is indie rock at now? Is it dead? Does the genre really mean anything anymore?

CD: Over time, indie became like more of a genre, and then the genre itself started to change. But I think what we saw happen in the 2010s is sort of like the indie goes pop thing. It was like a bubble, and it really did pop. We still have these sort of like boutique pop stars like Clairo.

We had artists that came out of the indie world become pop stars of a sort because of stuff like Tiktok. Like Mitski is a good example of that where she’s coming from, from the indie rock infrastructure, and she is making music that jumps across genres a little bit.

There’s a hunger for bands that have a little bit more of an edge to them, that are a little bit less smooth, a little bit willing to be weird or noisy. That’s what you see with a lot of the biggest indie bands today – ones that have gone against that sort of, like Spotify-friendly, passive-listening experience. There’s now a hunger for music that’s a bit more abrasive, something that will jolt people out of their stupor.

Music wants to evolve. It wants to find new audiences. And so the whole idea of like, gatekeeping and having the right audience versus the wrong audience, like, that’s something that factors into the book too.

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, we look back on our favorite in-studio moments, plus a few artists captured live at The Leon Loft in Ann Arbor! Featured this week: Souther Avenue (pictured), Mike Reid & Joe Henry, Lady Blackbird, Chris Thile, The War & Treaty and many more…

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for January 4, 2026

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Show You Love” – The Altons (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Wait” – Paul Thorn (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Empire Of Love” – Amythyst Kiah (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Half As High” – The Devil Makes Three (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “The Bridge” – Mike Reid+Joe Henry (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Like A Woman” – Lady Blackbird (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Novelty” – Jensen McRae (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Muddy Shores” – Moonrisers (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Forever Never Lasts” – Rachael & Vilray (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Sweet Abbey Girl” – Katie Gavin (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Home” – The War & Treaty (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Wild And Clear And Blue” – I’m With Her (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “One Man Holds The World Hostage” – John Moreland (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Talkin’ Doc Blues” – Ketch Secor (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Old me, New Wig” – Molly Tuttle (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Rain Or Shine” – Drew & Ellie Holcomb (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Fatal Optimist” – Madi Diaz (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Upside” – Southern Avenue (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Gavotte en rondeau” – Chris Thile (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Rust” – Mon Rovia (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “People Of Substance” – Craig Finn (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Lesson” – Joy Clark (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Jeopardy” – Penny & Sparrow (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Crushed Ice & Gasoline” – Jeffrey Foucault (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Boom” – Sierra Hull (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Sleeves Up” – Crys Matthews (Acoustic Cafe performance)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

Since we usually look at classic album anniversaries on the first Saturday of the month, this week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music we’ll do the same but look at the entire year!

In 2026, it’ll be the 50th anniversary for 2 classic Seger albums, a 30th for the late Aaliyah, a 20th for J Dilla’s “Donuts,” a 10th for The Raconteurs… plus debuts from The Ramones, Corrine Bailey Rae and many more.

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for January 3, 2026

HOUR ONE: CLASSIC ALBUM ANNIVERSARIES IN 2026

• “Rock And Roll Never Forgets” – Bob Seger ’76
• “Put Your Records On” – Corrine Bailey Rae ’06
• “Hold On I’m Coming” – Sam & Dave ’66
• “Wrap It Up” – The Fabulous Thinderbirds ’86
• “6th Avenue Heartache” – The Wallflowers ’96
  
• “Have A Talk With God” – Stevie Wonder ’76
• “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ In My Heart” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles ’66
  
• “These Boots Are Made For Walking” – The Supremes ’66
  
• “Push It” – Salt N Pepa ’86
• “So Much To Say” – Dave Matthews Band ’96
• “Don’t Cry” – J Dilla ’06
  
• “Help Save The Youth Of America” – Billy Bragg ’86
  
• “SOS” – Rihanna ’06
  
• “Hasten Down The Wind” – Warren Zevon ’76
  

• “(I’m A) Road Runner” – Jr. Walker & The All Stars ’66
• “Roadrunner” – The Modern Lovers ’76
• “She Cries Your Name” – Beth Orton ’96
• “Tomorrow Never Knows” – The Beatles
• “Our Song” – Taylor Swift ’06
• “All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side)” – Peter Frampton ’76
  
• “Where Did Our Love Go” – J Geils Band ’76
• “Traveling Man/Beautiful Loser” – Bob Seger ’76
• “Hot Like Fire” – Aaliyah ’96
  
• “Tears Dry On Their Own” – Amy Winehouse ’06
• “A Simple Desultory Phillipic” – Simon & Garfunkel ’66
• “Blitzkrieg Bop” – The Ramones ’76
• “Guitar Town” – Steve Earle ’86
• “Love Hangover” – Diana Ross ’76

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

Lake Superior State University has the perfect way to celebrate 2026, by banishing the word “perfect” and nine other terms from the English language.

The school in Sault Ste. Marie, MI has collected submissions from around the world since publishing its first “banished words” list in 1976. 

What started as a fun New Year’s Eve party suggestion has become an annual tradition.

University President David Travis says faculty members sifted through 1,400 submissions to curate its 50th list.

“What they look for are classic examples of overuse, misuse, and simply words that are useless,” he says. “And they come up with the top ten.”

The judges don’t limit their choices to words. They also consider choice phrases, such as “6-7,” which caught on in 2025.

Dr. Travis says “6-7” has no clear definition.

“It’s simply a fun word that people get excited about when they see the two numbers together,” he says.

Let’s get cooking

Here’s the complete list for 2025, with comments from people who nominated them:

1. 6-7 (six seven): “There are six or seven reasons why this phrase needs to be stopped,” says Paul E. from Wisconsin. The volume of submissions for this one could have taken up the whole list, at least slots 6-7. Scott T. from Utah adds, “it’s time for “6-7” to be 86’ed.”
2. Demure: “It’s very said more than very done, and we’re all very done hearing it!” remarks Tammy S. Often used in the phrase ‘very demure, very mindful,’ Madison C. shares that the overuse “waters down the real meaning.”
3. Cooked: “Hearing it…my brain feels ‘cooked,’” groans Zac A. from Virginia. Parents and guardians led the charge on this one, with some feeling this isn’t enough.
4. Massive: “Way overused! (often incorrectly),” exclaim Don and Gail K. from Minnesota. This word’s massive overuse has secured its place on this year’s list.
5. Incentivize: In the longstanding effort to turn nouns into verbs, this is another culprit. Two separate submissions likened hearing this word to “nails on a chalkboard.”
6. Full stop: “For the same reason ‘period’ was banished…redundant punctuation,” explains Marybeth A. from Oregon.
7. Perfect: “There are very few instances when the word actually applies,” notes Jo H. from California.
8. Gift/gifted (as a verb): “I found this on the 1994 list, but it will make me feel better to recommend that it be included once again,” reveals James S. from Oklahoma. Another case of a noun being used as a verb.
9. My bad: In the 1998 banishment, Elizabeth P. from Michigan suggested, “students and adults sound infantile when using this to apologize.”
10. Reach out: First banished in 1994, this saying has strayed from the positive message it once intended to deliver. “What started as a phrase with emotional support overtones has now become absurdly overused,” asserts Kevin B. from the United Kingdom.

It’s all in fun

The good news is no one’s going to arrest you if you use any of these words or phrases. Dr. Travis says it’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. But he admits not everyone takes it that way.

“We sometimes get a nasty letter from someone saying, ‘I refuse to stop saying that word,'” he says. “And we just kind of smile and chuckle because they thought we were being really serious.”

Over the holidays…the Detroit Evening Report team is sharing some of the stories we produced for the radio this year. Today, we hear a story from WDET’s Bre’Anna Tinsley.

A survey by the Entertainment Software Association found that 86% of veterans turn to gaming to reduce stress and anxiety. Bre’Anna Tinsley spoke to Stephen Machuga, who founded a nonprofit that supports mental health for veterans through gaming. Before creating Stack Up, Machuga spent eight years in the army.

That’s just part of Bre’Anna Tinsley’s interview with Stephen Machuga who founded the veteran support nonprofit Stack Up. You can hear the full story at wdet.org.

Additional headlines for December 31, 2025

First Day Hike

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is encouraging Michiganders to spend the first day of 2026 outdoors. The “First Day Hike” is an option for state and national parks. The Friends of Maybury State Park host a New Year’s Day hike every year. Recreation passes are required for vehicles entering state parks. You can find Michigan trails close by or across the state at michigan.gov/dnrtrails.

New year wishes

Decked Out Detroit’s “Create” program is offering a holiday crafting workshop tomorrow (Thurs). The Shadow Boxing New Year’s Wishes Workshop is a chance to make a shadow box and fill it with wishes for 2026. The workshop is from 1 to 3 p.m. at 1413 Woodward Avenue. Search for “create by decked out Detroit” on Eventbrite to register.

Markets open until January 4

Shopping at the Downtown Detroit Markets and warm drinks at the Cadillac Lodge at Cadillac Square are also available New Year’s Day and through January. For more information, visit downtowndetroit.org.

Pistons at home

The Pistons host the Miami Heat at Little Caesars Arena New Year’s Day. The game starts at 7 p.m.

Stay safe

And of course, there will be plenty of New Year’s Eve celebrations tonight.  Make sure to select a designated driver if you plan to drink. 

Diana Ross

If you’re staying home tonight, Motown legend Diana Ross will headline Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.  The live New York based show featuring several artists starts at 8 p.m. on ABC television.

Happy New Year!

The Detroit Evening Report will take a break for the holiday, but we’ll be back on Friday – ready to bring you all things Detroit in 2026. 

From all of us here at WDET, Happy New Year!

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, Josh Ritter rounds our 2025 as our last guest of the year. Recorded at The Leon Loft in November, Josh plays songs from his new album “I Believe In You My Honeydew“.

Also, in-studio archives from Amos Lee, Shawn Colvin, Mike Doughty and more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for December 21, 2025

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “This Christmas I’m Coming Home” – Leon Bridges & Norah Jones
• “Buffalo, 1981” – Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover
• “Clay Pigeons” – Muireann Bradley
• “All For You” – Rhett Miller
• “How To Love” – Buffalo Nichols (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “River” – The Accidentals
• “You Won’t Dig My Grave” – Josh Ritter (in-studio guest performance)
• “Truth Is A Dimension…” – Josh Ritter (in-studio guest performance)
• “Hard Times” – Mavis Staples
• “The Way It Will Be” – Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
• “Small Talk” – Whitney
• “Looks” – Mike Doughty (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Appalachian Adam’s Apple Smile” – Palmyra
• “Store Bought Christmas” – Old Crow Medicine Show
• “Rebel Soul” – Michael Kiwanuka
• “I’m Gone” – Shawn Colvin(Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” – Freedy Johnson
• “Who Knows” – Daniel Caesar
• “Hanukkah Gelt” – The Klezmatics
• “Bottom Of The Barrel” – Amos Lee (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Thunderbird” – Josh Ritter (in-studio guest performance)
• “Only A River” – Josh Ritter (in-studio guest performance)
• “Wild Ways” – Josh Ritter (in-studio guest performance)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, as Hanukkah ends and Christmas week begins, naturally it’s time for the annual holiday music extravaganza!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for December 20, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “Santaland Diaries (excerpt 1)” – David Sedaris
• “Mi La Gozo” – Cheo Feliciano
• “Everybody Knows It’s Christmas” – Roland Gift
• “The Christmas Song” – Roberta Flack
• “Christmas Time Is Here” – Jill Jack
  
• “Santaland Diaries (excerpt 2)” – David Sedaris
• “I’ll Be Your Santa Baby” – Rufus Thomas
  
• “Happy Joyous Hanukkah” – The Klezmatics
  
• “Santaland Diaries (excerpt 3)” – David Sedaris
• “It’s Christmas” – Cory Henry
• “This Christmas I’m Coming Home” – Leon Bridges & Norah Jones
  
• “Mele Kalikimaka” – Jake Shimabukuro & Jimmy Buffet
  
• “At The Holiday Party” – St. Vincent
• “Happy Kwanza” – Teddy Pendergrass
  

• “Santaland Diaries (excerpt 4)” – David Sedaris
• “Someday At Christmas” – The Accidentals
• “No So Merry Christmas” – Michigander
• “No So Merry Christmas” – Raul Malo
• “Christmastime Is Here” – Spoon
• “8 Days” – Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
  
• “Driving Home For Christmas” – Kathy Kosins
• “Santaland Diaries (excerpt 5)” – David Sedaris
• “Who Took The Merry Out of Christmas” – Staples Singers
  
• “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – Ella Fitzgerald
• “Mistletoe And Holly” – aron!
• “Hanukkah Blessings” – Barenaked Ladies
• “Santaland Diaries (excerpt 6)” – David Sedaris
• “What Are You Doing New year’s Eve?” – Herb Alpert

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

Every year, legendary jazz broadcaster Ed Love (host of Destination Jazz: The Ed Love Program on 101.9 WDET Sundays 5–7 p.m.) curates a list of recently-released recordings that he considers required listening for today’s jazz lovers.

This year’s list features 166 “CDs” from around the world, from France with Michel Petrucciani’s ‘Jazz Club Montmartre’ to right here in Detroit with the compilation album ‘Strata-East: The Legacy Begins.’

Use the table below to check out Ed Love’s highly recommended new CDs for 2025.