This week on MI Local, we ran through some of the latest releases by artists based all around metro Detroit and southeast Michigan, including the dream-pop duo, Bluhm, and the garage-goth six-piece known as Mirror Mask!

We also caught back up with the latest from singer/songwriter Corazon Szell, an Ann Arbor-based artist who was recently featured at WDET’s Sounds Like Detroit Showcase in August, at Batch Brewing! The aforementioned Mirror Mask has a show coming up next week at the Magic Stick with Protomartyr, and we also looked around to other notable shows happening, including one at the Ghost Light with the alt-folk indie-rock group Burning Ponies.

Our in-studio guests this week included singer-songwriter and poet Drew Bardo, who recently released the blues-funk fusion track “Wicker Boa.” Bardo has been around the music scene for a couple decades, with a range of previous projects and collaborations, but his recent release marks a return from a roughly five-year long hiatus!

While in the studio, Bardo talked about the latest album he’s been working on, an upcoming single that and music video that he’s dropping this Friday. We wrapped up our segment with Bardo performing another new song, “A Fool’s Dream,” live with Ella Kulik on violin and backing vocals.

My other in-studio guest this week was Stacey MacLeod, one-half of the “punk”-rock duo known as Dear Darkness!  I put punk in quotes because that subject comes up during our interview. This dynamic duo of musicians, singers and visual artists have a new album, “Gold, Guns, and More”, out this weekend, with a release party on Friday night at the High Dive in Hamtramck.

While drummer and vocalist Michelle Thibodeau couldn’t make it in, MacLeod and I chatted about the group’s origin, their unique sound, and we checked out the title track from the album, which was inspired by strip malls. After that, MacLeod treated us to a special live performance of her original Christmas song, “At The Mall.”

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

• “Slow Rewind” – Bluhm
• “Anymore” – Mirror Mask
• “Don’t Make Me Cry” – Barelyon
• “Meet Me On Mars” – North Ingalls & Corazon Szell
• “Good Friends” – The Burning Ponies
• “Wicker Boa” – Drew Bardo
• “A Fool’s Dream” – Drew Bardo & Ella Kulik, live in WDET Studios
• “Gold, Guns, & More” – Dear Darkness
• “At The Mall” – Stacey MacLeod (Dear Darkness), live in WDET Studios

Once again, here on MI Local, we have three in-studio guests hanging out for the entire hour, each of them discussing new and upcoming projects and performances. At the same time, I premiere some of their latest tracks and they treat WDET listeners to exclusive live, in-studio performances of acoustic versions of their recent songs.

When you stream the show up top, you’ll start off with brand new music from the Americana-folk-rock duo The Whiskey Charmers, with singer-guitarist Carrie Shepard and guitarist Lawrence Daversa hanging out to chat about their new single, “Day Is Long,” followed by a live performance of their song, “Full Moon,” from their 2017 album, “The Valley.” For any of our listeners on the west coast of the state, The Whiskey Charmers are coming your way in November!

After that, the garage-pop duo known as CHECKER came to the mics to talk about their brand new song, “Aerosol,” that comes out this Friday. Better yet, the duo, Cinquex (on guitar and vocals) and McKenna Fain (on drums and vocals), performed an acoustic version of that song during the segment! An accompanying music video will drop the same day as the song. CHECKER also has a new album coming out in mid-winter 2026!

Winding out the show was singer-songwriter Sean Madigan Hoen, lead singer and guitarist from the band Kind Beast, which formed several years ago, leaning in to a cinematic-tinged indie-rock vibe, with anthemic vocals and catchy, hard-hitting hooks. The band has released two EPs and two full-length albums, with their third coming up in early November—there’s a release party on Saturday, Nov. 8 at The Lexington, with Gusher, Dyzioek, and Cult Therapy.

Hoen has been in previous groups like the post-hardcore punk outfit Thoughts of Ionesco, and published a memoir several years ago, “Songs Only You Know.” Kind Beast’s next album is titled “Familiars From Another Life,” out next weekend on Don Giovanni Records. While he was in-studio, Hoen let WDET give a sneak preview of Kind Beast’s new single, “Down For Life,” which is officially out this Friday, and followed that up with a live, in-studio performance of the group’s most recent single, “In It To Win It.”

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

• “The Day Is Long” – The Whiskey Charmers
• “Full Moon” – The Whiskey Charmers, live in WDET Studios
• “Vampire” – The Whiskey Charmers
• “Hot Damn” – CHECKER
• “Aerosol” – CHECKER, live in WDET Studios
• “If Only The One Thing I Got You” – CHECKER
• “Cry Without Shame” – Kind Beast
• “Down For Life” – Kind Beast
• “In It To Win It” – Kind Beast, live in WDET Studios

The Brightmoor community in the city of Detroit has had its battles, from blight to vacant lots, the community has found a way to remain resilient through the years.

The Brightmoor Music Series began in 2019 and wasn’t an instant hit. After a few weeks of word-of-mouth testimonies from community members, there was a demand for another one the next year. 

Now, the event continues to thrive at Etheldra Mae Williams Park. Located on Burgess between Lyndon and Acacia Streets in Detroit, the once blighted 11acre grassland is now renovated and beautiful.

“Puttin on the Ritz” is a celebration of the 100th birthday of the park’s namesake, Etheldra Mae Williams.

The park will be transformed into a 1920’s speakeasy, along with classic cars and vendors.

Michael Williams is a manager of the William Park Alliance who organizes the Brightmoor Series, and Flint native songstress Pia Broden-Williams is headlining the upcoming celebration. They joined The Metro to talk more about the music series and uplifting the Brightmoor community.

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

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