From cookouts to concerts, here are a few ways to celebrate Juneteenth in Detroit this week.
Plus, a chance to attend a live recording of your favorite political podcast — read on to learn more.
Celebrating Juneteenth
Hamtramck’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth Family, Friends and Community Celebration March will take place on Saturday, June 14. This year’s celebration includes a community march, a picnic-style gathering, live performances, and a special tribute to fathers in honor of Father’s Day. The event starts at 10 a.m. and is free to attend, though donations are appreciated. To see the march route and get more information, visit their event page.
Hart of Detroit, AfroFuture and Detroit vs. Everybody will host a Juneteenth Block Party ahead of the annual Hart of Detroit Summer Fest on Thursday, June 19. There will be live performances from local artists, local food and merch vendors, interactive games and community activities. Admission is free for the first 1,000 people, and the event takes place at Hart Plaza from noon to 5 p.m. Afterward, the Hart of Detroit Summer Fest concert kicks off at 6 p.m. and is $12.50 to attend. For more information, visit their Eventbrite page.
The Hawk Community Center in Farmington Hills will host a Juneteenth Concert featuring local fusion group, Da’Ja, on Thursday, June 19. The group blends jazz, funk, R&B and Latin influences to create a unique sound that bridges generations, races and cultures. Admission is free but must be reserved in advance. The event starts at 7 p.m. For more information, visit thehawktheatre.com.
Exploring local talent
From Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 15, the Northville Art House Market returns to Northville’s historic downtown. There will be more than 80 artists, local businesses and food vendors. Admission is free, and the event goes from 3–8 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit northvillearthouse.org.
On Saturday, June 14, the Detroit Parks Coalition kicks off their 2025 Freedom Arts Festival featuring five original compositions by Marcus Elliot, each inspired by a different Detroit park. Saturday’s composition is titled “Joy, Beauty and Respect” and will be performed at Chandler Park from 2–4 p.m., featuring Elliot on soprano saxophone, Houston Patton on tenor saxophone, Marquis Johnson on drums, Alex Harding on baritone saxophone, Erinn Alexis on alto saxophone, and John Dixon on keys. Admission is free and open to the public. To see the full list of performances and learn more, visit detroitparkscoalition.com.
On Saturday, June 14, Detroit filmmaker Ryan “Tibbs” Wiese will host the world premiere of his new rock opera film, “Shorthand” at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac. There will also be a shorts block, a discussion of the upcoming feature, “Get Big Gretch,” and a Q&A. Doors open at 7 p.m. and all are welcome. For more information, visit @ronnytibbs on Instagram.
Exhibiting history
On Saturday, June 14, Black Canon and Motor City Cinema will host Black Film in Focus, a presentation of rare, Black-related prints, all on 16mm film. Admission is $15, and the event will be held from 2–5 p.m. at Newlab in Michigan Central. For more information, visit their event page.
Unjumbling Michigan politics
On Monday, June 16, WDET and Gongwer will host our second-ever MichMash Live event at Go! Comedy Improv Theatre in Ferndale. Podcast co-hosts Cheyna Roth, Altethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow will record an episode in front of a live audience and interview special guests about the latest in Michigan politics. There will be a cash bar and fun giveaways. Admission is $5, and the event goes from 7–9 p.m. For more information, visit our event page.
Support local journalism.
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WDET’s CuriosiD series answers your questions about everything Detroit. Subscribe to CuriosiD on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen: Did Detroit automakers sabotage public transit?
In this episode of CuriosiD, listener Jennifer Kulczycki of Sterling Heights asks...
“I’ve heard for many years that metro Detroit doesn’t have a robust transit system because the Big Three undermined the streetcar and bus systems in order to sell more vehicles. I’ve always been curious about that, but I’ve never really been able to find any concrete evidence of it.”
The short answer
In 1949, General Motors and the Firestone Tire company, among others, were convicted of conspiring to monopolize the sale of buses and products to National City Lines, which had taken control of dozens of transit systems. But GM, Firestone and the others were acquitted of trying to, in effect, monopolize the transit industry. And experts say automakers could not run over Detroit’s streetcars, because the city itself owned the system.
Riding the rails all around the town
Imagine traveling back to Detroit in the 1920s and ’30s, when streetcar tracks split the middle of Woodward Avenue.
Riders who once strolled past horse-drawn carriages to get onboard the Department of Street Railways system, known as the DSR, now had to dodge vehicles going 30 miles an hour or more.
The DSR touted the system’s widespread use. It noted that at peak periods of the day as many as 1,000 streetcars crisscrossed the city, “carrying Detroit’s industrial army.”
It was also a different animal from some other municipalities, because in 1922 the city itself had bought out the streetcar system, ostensibly to operate it more efficiently.
“Every time a bus or a trolley car rolls down the street, there’s a stockholder’s meeting in motion,” the DSR proclaimed.
A horse-drawn streetcar on Congress & Baker Streets in Detroit, 1870s.
Iowa State University Professor Robert Pfaff did his dissertation at the University of Michigan on the history of Detroit’s streetcars. He says it was the largest publicly-owned transit system in the U.S. at the time.
And Pfaff contends Detroit’s burgeoning auto industry viewed rail cars as a necessity.
“They recognized that this was the way that most of their workers actually got to work,” he said.
The takeover of transit
Over those decades, a company called National City Lines (NCL) and its subsidiaries, backed by a consortium that included General Motors and Firestone, took control of dozens of transit systems.
The moves caught the interest of the U.S. Justice Department.
In 1949, GM, Firestone and others in the consortium were convicted of a conspiracy to monopolize the sale of buses, fuel and similar products to National City Lines. They were fined a token few thousand dollars each. But the companies were acquitted of trying to take over the systems owned by NCL in order to, in effect, form a transit monopoly.
Streetcars sit on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park in the 1940s.
Still, the idea of automakers sabotaging streetcars gained increasing traction in the public imagination, even serving as the plot for numerous books and movies.
For instance, the 1988 animated film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” features the villainous Judge Doom buying up the Red Car rail line, preparing for a new freeway with “wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see.”
When a character tells him no one will use the freeway since they can take the streetcar for 5 cents, Doom replies, “Oh they’ll drive. They’ll have to. You see, I bought the Red Car so I could dismantle it!”
Buses take the lead
Pfaff hits the brakes on any takeover of streetcars in Detroit, however, since the city itself owned the system.
“That automatically prevented other private investors from trying to come in and disrupt that space. We are the ones to blame for dismantling that system. We don’t have some private company that swept in with some grand scheme, we have to look inwardly at ourselves,” Pfaff said.
In the mid-20th Century, the American Dream was paved with highways crossing the country. Pfaff says metro Detroit transit officials wanted to be on the cutting edge of it all.
“The super-modern thing were these nice, fast, rubber-tired diesel buses that operate on the streets. And they decided if they’re gonna serve the modern region with more suburban residential areas, they couldn’t do electrification and tracks. The easy way to do it was with buses.”
Passengers board a bus at West Six Mile & Southfield in 1955.
The transit system that is
About three-quarters of a century later, Metro Detroit’s transit system unfolds along streets like Gratiot Avenue.
Detroiter Charles Green stands at a bus stop on Gratiot near 12 mile in Macomb County. Green says he grew up riding buses with his father.
He calls newer routes, like the suburban SMART system’s Fast Gratiot line into the city, a definite upgrade. Mostly.
“I like the bus. It’s eco-friendly and convenient. But the frequency of the bus just ain’t right,” Green lamented. “I work at a bar and man, every bar over there is closing after midnight. So at that point I gotta pay $20 for an Uber just to get home.”
Detroit’s DDOT bus system wants to significantly increase its number of drivers and cut wait times for customers. But at a bus shelter further along Gratiot, Detroiter Shina Harps says she’s part of the roughly 25–33% of the city’s residents who don’t have their own vehicle.
In the car capitol of the world, Harps says that quickly becomes a badge of shame.
“I do get that a lot, ‘Oh you take the bus,’” Harps said in a disparaging tone. “That’s my life. I’m living in my truth.”
Passengers riding the FAST service on a SMART bus to DTW in February 2022.
‘Does Detroit really want public transit?’
Detroit transit also carried a stigma among some in the federal government.
The Vice President of Rock, billionaire Dan Gilbert’s family of companies, is Jared Fleisher. He previously worked as a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who helped a Detroit nonprofit group develop what they hoped would be both a catalyst and a part of improved public transit in the region – the QLINE streetcar system.
“Going back to the Carter administration, Washington never saw metro Detroit really be able to get its act together around transit,” Fleisher said. “They did not take us very seriously or send money our way. (The QLINE) was meant to show Washington that we were serious, we were working together around transit in a different way.”
Riders board and depart Detroit’s light rail, the QLINE, at a stop downtown.
In 2012, before the QLINE even broke ground, officials formed an actual Regional Transit Authority for southeast Michigan, the same kind of transportation agency the federal government worked with in other municipalities.
But Fleisher says a four-county millage to fund inter-connected public transit in metro Detroit ran into a roadblock in 2016.
Rural voters came out in force to support then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. Fleisher believes it was an electorate that saw little value in paying extra taxes for a transit system they likely would hardly use.
“It went to the ballot and lost by half a percent. And nine years later, we still have not solved the issue of regional rapid transit.”
A magnet for young talent
What exists alongside bus service, along with Detroit’s elevated People Mover system, is a 3.3 mile stretch of railway on Woodward Avenue punctuated by the clanging bell of the QLINE streetcar.
It’s a reminder of what could be in Detroit, especially for younger travelers.
Onboard the QLINE, Wayne State student Sara Jaloul notes she has her own car. But she says using the streetcar for even a few miles helps her save both gas money and the environment.
“I think the less cars we have on the street is probably a lot less pollution, so that’s really important to me. As much public transportation as possible should be best,” Jaloul said.
Catering to that smog-free desire is a key selling point for many younger workers, says the head of the metro area’s Regional Transit Authority, Ben Stupka. And he says no one wants to grow the transit system more now than Detroit’s automakers.
“The Big Three and those that support them in that ecosystem have a laser-focused understanding that transit is part of the brew, if you will, that keeps and attracts talent to this region,” Stupka said. “And that is what they need to survive and thrive.”
Whether that eventually leads to metro Detroit public transportation that legitimately competes with other regions across the country though, remains a question for down the road.
Meet the listener
Jennifer Kulczycki
Jennifer Kulczycki is the Director of External Affairs and Communications at The Kresge Foundation. She lives in Sterling Heights. She came to metro Detroit from western New York state fresh out of college to work in the automotive industry.
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Each week on MI Local, you’ll hear me refer to admittedly cryptic-sounding sub-genres, like for example, “post-punk” and “shoegaze.” Well, it’s all done in an attempt to give you, dear listener, a few stylistic and influential reference points for a particular local artist that I’m featuring on the show, like, say, the four-piece “rock” group known as Zastava.
Local rock quartet Zastava join Jeff Milo in-studio during MI Local on June 10, 2025.
The entire band joined me in studio, seen above, counter-clockwise: Cam Frank (bass), Arman Bonislawski (guitar), Ollie Elkus (drums) and Mateja Matic (guitar, vocals). While we chatted, we also shared an exclusive premiere of a new song, “Fences,” off of their upcoming full-length album, Buildings, which comes out this week, capped off by a release party happening this Friday night at Third Man Records here in Detroit.
Zastava was started by Matic and Bonislawski a little more than four years ago, tapping into a guitar-heavy, slightly brooding, slightly drone-y kinda sound that weaves deceptively catchy melodies into a maelstrom of distortion and heavy-hitting rhythms. Matic even admitted that these sort of catch-phrases sub-genres — such as post-punk, shoegaze or noise-rock — can nevertheless be helpful in a sort of shorthand-evocative way for curious listeners. Then again, Matic said, with a flair, you might just say that they’re “really into Sonic Youth” as far as a reference point.
WDET listeners were given a sneak-preview of “Fences” on MI Local this week, with two previous singles like “Truth” having been premiered on our air waves earlier in the spring. Buildings follows up a few previous singles and an EP the band released, which you can find on Bandcamp. They described Buildings as their first proper statement as a cohesive band, or “a maturation of all of our tastes coming together,” as Bonislawski said.
Notably, and you’ll have to listen closely, but the band described this as “the baseball song.” Fittingly, we were all kinda checking our phones between on-air sessions, to keep track of the concurrent Tigers game. As we left the studio, Bonislawski said that he forgot to say the one thing he had initially pre-scripted as an answer: that if he had one hope for the music of Zastava, it would be that some professional baseball player might some day use one of their songs as a “walk-up” song, to be played over the sound-system as they stride to the plate.
Along with my chat with Zastava, I premiered new music from the alt/indie-folk realm, including a song from The Kate Hinote Trio‘s new full-length album, Stowaways, with the song, “Brake Lights.” You can see The Kate Hinote Trio live next Thursday, June 19, at Chelsea Sounds and Sights at 6:30 p.m. We also checked out the song “Big Ol’ City” from Ann Arbor-based singer-songwriter Maddy Ringo‘s brand new full-length album, People of the Earth and Sea.
On the indie-rock side of things, we heard a new song from Idle Ray featuring Fred Thomas, and a disarmingly soulful ballad from Garrett Gillis.
We also played some tracks by artists you can catch at live shows happening around the region, including Elephant Den (June 21 at Ziggy’s), James Linck (June 14 at the Lager House), and Ronny Tibbs, who has a multi-faceted, multi-media music and film event happening at the Crofoot Ballroom on Saturday.
See the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.
MI LocalPlaylist for May 13, 2025
“Brake Lights” – The Kate Hinote Trio
“Big Ol’ City” – Maddy Ringo
“Hit The Ground Running” – Garrett Gillis
“Quiet Cab” – Idle Ray
“Catamaran” – Bear Vs. Shark
“Apple” – Elephant Den
“Pre” – James Linck
“Love Is (Just) A Cruel Game” – Ronny Tibbs
“Everywhere But Beside You” – Frontier Ruckus (live in WDET Studios, August 2024)
“Pix” – Phased Out
“Fences” – Zastava
“Truth” – Zastava
Support the shows you love.
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Cass Community Social Services had its first food pantries open during the Great Depression and is now under the leadership of executive director Rev. Faith Fowler. During her time, she has expanded services, bringing in new resources and broader support.
Iron Chef Detroit was created last year as an annual fundraiser for Cass Community Social Services. This Thursday, Iron Chef Detroit 2 will showcase two Cass Corridor chefs during a head-to-head culinary competition at Eastern Market.
Rev. Faith Fowler is on The Metro today to talk about Iron Chef 2’s goal of “fighting poverty, creating opportunity, and building community” as well as the support Cass Community Social Services provides for Detroit.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Iron Chef Detroit was created last year, with the goal to establish an annual fundraiser for Cass Community Social Services. This Thursday, Iron Chef Detroit 2 will showcase two Cass Corridor chefs during the culinary competition at the Eastern Market.
Chef Anthony Lombardo, winner of the first Iron Chef Detroit, and Chef Andy Hollyday– Executive Chef and Partner at Selden Standard- join us on The Metro today to tell us more about their game plans for the upcoming competition.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit singer and songwriter, Ethan Daniel Davidson performs on Ann Delisi’s Essential Music and talks with her about his new album “Cordelia”, why he writes music so quickly and after decades of writing songs, why he still does it.
Record release
His record release party is on Thursday, June 26th at 7:30 p.m. at Detroit Public Theatre located at 3960 Third St. in Detroit.
Before Prince threw on heels and eyeliner. Before George Clinton landed the mothership. Before hip-hop dug through crates of the past to build the future, there was Sylvester Stewart, Sly Stone, turning soul, rock and R&B into something kinetic, kaleidoscopic and irreversibly Black. And in the process, he changed music — full stop.
Now, with his passing today, we’re left to honor a man whose name belongs not just in the pantheon of funk pioneers alongside James Brown and George Clinton, but at the summit of American musical revolutionaries, period.
Before the revolution was televised, it was amplified
Born in Denton, Texas and raised in the Bay Area, Sly Stone’s musical genius was evident from a young age. A prodigy who could master piano, guitar, bass and drums with equal fluency, Stewart cut his teeth as a DJ at KSOL in San Francisco, blasting gospel, jazz, soul and psychedelic rock across the airwaves like a mad scientist of sound. He did more than play records; he deconstructed them. And then he rebuilt something new.
That vision took full form in 1966 with the creation of Sly and the Family Stone, a band that shattered every mold in the industry. Integrated by race and gender, Black and white, men and women, it was a radical concept in a time still boiling with civil unrest. The Family Stone transcended being a band. They were a living manifesto of civil rights fulfilled.
With hits like “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” and the eternal “If You Want Me to Stay,” Sly Stone made the world think while it danced.
The Family Stone’s sound was fusion before fusion was a genre. A seamless marriage of gospel’s urgency, soul’s tenderness, rock’s power and funk’s irrepressible groove. This was music that punched you in the chest and then hugged you before you hit the floor.
And don’t get it twisted: there is no Earth, Wind & Fire without Sly. No Prince. No D’Angelo. No Kendrick. He made it okay to be vulnerable, angry, spiritual, political and funky, all at once. As Questlove once said, “Sly Stone is the DNA of modern Black music.”
But genius often walks hand-in-hand with agony. By the mid-1970s, Sly was unraveling. The man who once led an interracial, utopian funk army became a recluse, shackled by drug addiction and paranoia. His live shows became erratic. Bandmates left. Rumors mounted. Albums suffered. And eventually, Sly Stone disappeared from the spotlight like a ghost escaping his own legend.
Still, even in retreat, his influence never waned.
Artists sampled him religiously. Hip-hop producers flipped “Sing a Simple Song” and “You Can Make It If You Try” into sonic gold. D’Angelo’s entire Voodoo era is steeped in Sly’s textured minimalism. Bruno Mars owes a whole lane of his stagecraft to the man. The sonic, spiritual and social blueprint Sly drafted in the ’60s and ’70s still breathes through modern soundwaves.
Legacy in technicolor
Sly’s genius wasn’t just in the notes, the grooves, or even the attitude. It was in the refusal to conform. Sly tore through all of the stereotypical racial, musical and political boxes, and danced in the debris. He was bold. He was beautiful. He was broken. But above all, he was real.
And in that realness, he gave Black America, and the world, a new language for freedom.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized him. The Grammys finally honored him. And even though the industry did its best to forget him at times, the people never did. Because you can’t erase a prophet. You can only misunderstand him in his time and rediscover him in your own.
So here’s the truth: Sly Stone didn’t lose his way. He just chose a path too dense with stars and shadows for most to follow. He spoke in frequencies, translated pain into rhythm and turned joy into rebellion.
And now, he is an ancestor. We don’t mourn him. We ride the groove he gave us.
So as we honor Sly’s transition, let’s remember the full spectrum. The brilliance and the brokenness. The harmony and the dissonance. Because that’s the truth of Black genius, it lives in tension, it dances in contradiction, and when it speaks, it sounds like Sly.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
Detroit drummer J Rowe and bassist Jordan Schug performed songs from their latest album “Missant” at Rustbelt Studios.
They talked with Ann Delisi about their long shared passion for music and how they finally came together during the pandemic and emerged as a group creating original material inspired by legendary Detroit keyboardist Lyman Woodward and his classic album “Saturday Night Special”.
Love the mix on the show today, where the new bounces up against the classics and we bridge the sonic gaps in between!
For the classics, a special spotlight on the Isley Brothers and the 50th anniversary of their third album, The Heat Is On. I spin a couple heavy hitters off that album alongside new releases from Matthew Herbert & Momoko Gill, Lewis OfMan & Alicia te quiero, Big Thief, Wednesday, and more.
And even though it happened over the weekend, I’ll never miss the chance to celebrate Prince’s birthday; he would’ve been 67 on Saturday.
Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.
In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for June 9, 2025
“In A Moment Divine” – Freak Heat Waves & Cindy Lee
“oh baby (lovefingers remix)” – LCD Soundsystem
“Tu Amor (Double Drop Luke É Soul Re-Edit)” – Mamacita, Persona RS, Luke Una & Luke Solomon
“Someone Like You” – Matthew Herbert & Momoko Gill
“Siesta Freestyle (Frisco version)” – Lewis OfMan & Alicia te quiero
“Incomprehensible” – Big Thief
“Elderberry Wine” – Wednesday
“Too Young” – Phoenix
“Watchin’ U” – A.K. Paul
“Darling Nikki” – Prince & The Revolution
“Give Me the Sunshine (Mini-Tro)” – Leo’s Sunshipp
“Walk On By” – Isaac Hayes
“Lovin’ You” – Johnny “Guitar” Watson
“For the Love of You, Pts. 1 & 2” – Isley Brothers
“Light My Fire” – Shirley Bassey
“Move On Up (Extended Version)” – Curtis Mayfield
“Carmen” – Joy Crookes
“Bennie and the Jets” – Elton John
“17 Days (Piano & a Microphone 1983 Version)” – Prince
Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.
Support the shows you love.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
In this week’s episode ofRob Reinhart’s Essential Music,a few songs from “Get Behind Me Satan,” The White Stripes album released in June 2005. A new vinyl re-issue is coming on June 27, 2025.
Also, some other notable June album releases from 1975, ’85, 2020, 2000 and much 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 June 7, 2025
HOUR ONE:
“Move On Up” – Curtis Mayfield
“The Makings Of You” – Curtis Mayfield
“Mahal” – Glass Beams
“N’dini” – Nickodermus
“Wax & Strings” – Shannon & The Clams
“Cold Heart” – Nilufer Yanya
“The Denial Twist” – The White Stripes (released 20 years ago today!)
“School Boy Crush” – AWB (released 50 years ago this month)
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Diana Ross (released 55 years ago this month)
“Round Here” – Counting Crows
“Sally When The Wine Runs Out” – Role Model
“Save Your Soul” – Kathleen Edwards (at The Ark next Friday 6/13)
“D.M.S.R.” – Prince(born today, 1958)
HOUR TWO:
“My Doorbell” – The White Stripes (released 20 years ago today!)
“Attack Me With Your Love” – Cameo (released 40 years ago this month)
“Queen Of The Underground” – Jack Spivey
“How Long Will It Take” – Tanika Charles
“Kyoto” – Phoebe Bridgers (released 5 years ago this month)
“I’m Alive” – Norah Jones (released 5 years ago this month)
“Nights On Broadway” – Bee Gees (released 50 years ago this month)
“Little Ghost” – The White Stripes (released 20 years ago today!)
“Anxious All The Time” – Ryan Allen
“That’s Gonna Leave A Mark” – Molly Tuttle
“Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number” – Aaliyah
“When I’m Sixty-Four” – The Beatles
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.
Support the shows you love.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
Local nonprofit Sidewalk Detroit has been supporting the community through artistic initiatives for more than a decade.
The organization’s 10th annual Sidewalk Festival is taking place Aug. 1-2, at Eliza Howell Park. The biannual arts and culture celebration features a mixture of music, dance, performance art, interactive installations, and community-driven workshops deeply rooted in social justice.
Sidewalk Detroit also offers an “Earth Futures Fellowship” as part of the festival, which supports local artists who are focused on environmental justice and community action initiatives.
This year, Earth Futures is introducing a storm water education campaign, including multiple hands-on learning opportunities about rainwater collection and remediation, access to clean water in urban environments and more.
To talk more about this year’s festival and fellowship, Sidewalk Detroit’s 2025 Artist in Residence, Maya Davis, and Program Director Augusta Morrison joined The Metro.
–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.
Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit’s “largest and oldest literary nonprofit,” InsideOut Literary Arts, celebrated its 30-year anniversary last week by unveiling a new Detroit City Walls mural along the Avenue of Fashion.
The mural was designed by artist Oshun Williams and inspired by InsideOut student poet Charisma Holly. It features a quote from her poem entitled “If I wake up in Detroit 25 years in the future,” which reads “In the Detroit City, the D has always been for dreams.”
The mural is located on the side of the Yoshi Hibachi Grille on Livernois Avenue along Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion.
“Detroit is where I was born and raised,” Holly said. “I’m so glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this mural project because Detroit is truly the place where I learned to dream big.”
Other headlines for Friday, June 6, 2025:
Money Matters for Youth is looking for help to keep their student trip to Washington D.C. alive.
Motor City Pride is taking over downtown this weekend, June 7-8 at Hart Plaza, with the parade beginning at noon on Sunday.
Michigan’s First Native American Music and Cultural Festival, Vibes With the Tribes, is coming to the Russell Industrial Center this Saturday, June 7, with doors opening at 2 p.m.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Embracing his role as an advocate for and representative of Detroit’s musical heritage, he’s also working to inspire a new generation of musicians to live and create in the city.
Producer Cary Junior II spoke to Prouty about how he plans to keep Detroit musicians in Detroit, his career, music and more on today’s episode of The Metro.
Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Pride month is in full swing, and Detroit has celebrations of all sorts, from traditional Pride parades to techno dance parties, gritty rock concerts and even baby raves.
Plus, art fairs and indigenous-led entertainment. Read on to learn more.
Pride celebrations
Motor City Pride returns to downtown Detroit this weekend on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8, featuring a free parade and a ticketed festival. The parade kicks off at noon on Sunday and travels from Griswold Street across from Campus Martius through Jefferson Avenue, past Hart Plaza. The festival is at Hart Plaza and goes from 1–9 p.m. on Saturday and from 12:30–7 p.m. on Sunday, featuring live music from local artists like indie-rockers Elspeth Tremblay & The Treatment, DJ sets by icons like Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, and appearances by drag performers like RuPaul’s Jan Sport and Jackie Cox. There will be food trucks on site and admission to the festival is $5. For more information, visit motorcitypride.org.
After the festival, head to The Magic Stick to experience global dance party Glitterbox on Saturday, June 7. This high-energy, Pride-themed event features a live performance from the iconic Detroit funk trio Dames Brown, plus music from Natasha Diggs, Sillygirlcarmen and Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale in the main room. Out on the patio, guests can enjoy a Judy Takeover as Ladymonix and Rimarkable spin tracks. The party goes from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. and tickets are $34 including fees. For more information, visit majesticdetroit.com.
The 4th Annual Queercore Pride Fest is also on Saturday, June 7 at the Regal Beagle in Ypsilanti. This grittier alternative to more mainstream Pride celebrations is hosted by Jessi Hex, featuring live performances by local bands Sudden Death Syndrome, Scum Queens, Meek, Pillow Princess and Black Swan Dive Bomb. Doors open at 8 p.m. and music starts at 9 p.m. Admission is $5–$10 on a pay-what-you-can basis. For more information, visit their Facebook event.
For something more family-friendly, head to The Hawk in Farmington Hills for “Babybjörn This Way,” a Pride-themed edition of Rock Around The Hawk. This mini music festival is designed for children 18 months to 5 years old and their caregivers, and will celebrate LGBTQ music idols from around the world. This is the last edition of Rock Around The Hawk until fall 2025. The event goes from 10–11:30 a.m. on Friday, June 6 and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit fhgov.com.
Indigenous-led entertainment
WDET is partnering with the Concert of Colors to present Vibes with the Tribes, Michigan’s premier Native music and cultural festival, on Saturday, June 7 at The Russell Industrial Center. There will be live performances from Native artists like rising rap star Travis Thompson, plus visual art, DJ sets, food, vendors and mocktails. Doors open at 2 p.m. and the event goes from 3 p.m. to midnight. Admission is free and open to all. For more information, visit vibeswiththetribes.com.
Art fairs
Pewabic Pottery’s Annual House & Garden Show returns from Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8. Guests are invited to explore the historic pottery with a strolling tour, shop ceramic art, watch wheel-throwing demos and learn about Pewabic’s 122-year history in Detroit. There will also be a fluerdetroit biergarten, food trucks from Eggroll Diva and Tacos Hernandez, and live music by Stereobabe and The Whiskey Charmers. Festivities go from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit pewabic.org.
The City of Farmington Hills’ 16th AnnualArt on the Grand returns this weekend on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8. Visitors can stroll Grand River Avenue and explore works from over 150 artists across disciplines, including ceramics, jewelry, painting, photography, woodwork, wearable art, glass, sculpture and more. In addition to professional artists, the Kids Art Alley features works from 40 young artists who are in 5th through 12th grade. The art fair is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit artonthegrand.com.
Eastern Market’s Shed 5 Flea returns for its ninth season on Sunday, June 8. This vintage and maker market features refurbished, antique and handcrafted goods from over 80 vendors. Shopping goes from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit shed5flea.com.
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“It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” – Marianne Faithfull
“Monk’s Dream (Take 8)” – Thelonious Monk
“Waltz for Debby (Take 2)” – Bill Evans Trio
“Atlantic High” – John Fahey
“Stomping Gamay” – Karriem Riggins, Madlib & Jahari Massamba Unit
“Star Roving” – Slowdive
“The Concept” – Teenage Fanclub “Spastik” – Plastikman
Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.
Support the shows you love.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
Adam Fox filling in for RPH again! Today on In The Groove, tracks from Robert Glasper, Detroit Cobras and Brian Eno.
Plus, new music from William Tyler, Preoccupations, and much more!
Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.
In The Groove (with guest host Adam Fox) playlist for June 4, 2025
“The Dude” – Donald Byrd
“Ill at Ease” – Preoccupations
“We Live As We Dream, Alone” – Gang of Four
“When I Grow Up” – Fever Ray
“Eventually” – Rival Consoles
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” – Sinéad O’Connor
“Priestess” – Cass McCombs
“VIVID DREAMS (feat. River Tiber)” – KAYTRANADA
“Detroit State of Mind” – Will Sessions
“Oh! You Pretty Things” – David Bowie
“Grass” – The Pretty Things
“Mambo Sun” – T. Rex
“1176” – Russ Macklem
“Sumpin’ Like Dat” – Marion Hayden
“Check the Rhime” – A Tribe Called Quest
“Afro Blue (feat. Erykah Badu)” – Robert Glasper Experiment
“Peace Exists Here” – Max Cooper
“Concern” – William Tyler
“B Minor” – Lanterna
“Pancho & Lefty (Live)” – Townes Van Zandt
“Turn” – Ron Leary
“Rid of Me” – PJ Harvey
“Lip” – His Name Is Alive
“St. Elmo’s Fire” – Brian Eno
“Sweet Thing” – Van Morrison
“Season of the Shark” – Yo La Tengo
“Ode to a Black Man” – The Dirtbombs
“Summers Gonna Be My Girl” – The Go
“Bad Girl” – The Detroit Cobras
“Hell Is Chrome” – Wilco
“Pure Love” – DJ Koze & Damon Albarn
Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.
Support the shows you love.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
Finding enriching child care options can often be a challenge for parents during the summer months, especially for those looking for programs specifically geared toward the arts.
For the past 12 years, Wayne State University’s “Keys2Life Performing Arts Summer Camp” has provided that outlet to metro Detroit students ages 11–13.
The six-week day camp program, led by Detroit youth nonprofit The Yunion, offers a diverse range of performing arts experiences, led by top Detroit artists, mentors and certified teachers.
Camp Director Darell Campbell Jr. joined The Metro on Tuesday to share more about what this year’s program will entail.
Registration is now open for the day camp, which runs 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 30 through Aug. 8 on the campus of Wayne State University. For more information, including rates, visit theyunion.org/camp.
—WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.
Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Identity and self-empowerment imbued with fast punk-tempos and ferocious guitars: it’s “Zeros & Ones,” the brand new single from Detroit-based singer-songwriter Jon Mikal-Bartee, who leads the long-running genre-defying-yet-rock-adjacent project know as The Idiot Kids. That song is officially out this Friday, but WDET listeners got a sneak preview this week during MI Local.
Bartee joined me in studio to talk about the inspiration for the new single and why the conversation it strives to inspire around/about gender binarism was specifically planned for the start of Pride Month. Bartee also revealed that the band is in a period of transition; it’s been in existence for more than 12 years and inevitably band members’ lives change or new responsibilities crop up, thus Bartee is moving forward with writing and recording (he actually mixed the group’s 2nd full-length album, 2023’s Chapels, by himself).
You can see the Idiot Kids perform live, with a round up of talented local musicians backing up Bartee, including this Saturday over in Kalamazoo at Bell’s Brewery — for their Pride After Party — and then closer to home, at the Lager House in Detroit on Friday, June 20, with SeaHag.
Bartee co-founded the group in the early 2010s with high school friends, Nick and Ryan, drawing on a blend of punk, glam, and seminal rock ‘n’ roll, with a focus on cathartic crescendos, intricate solos, and high-energy live performances.
In late 2023, the Idiot Kids performed live, on-air, right here in WDET Studios. Along with “Zeros & Ones,” Bartee performed the title track from “Chapels” live, right here in-studio with me during this week’s MI Local, and we also re-spun one of the Idiot Kids live recordings from 2023, which you can find here.
Detroit alternative rockers the Ethan Marc Band.
Another highlight, this week, was the song “California” by the Ethan Marc Band, from that group’s debut album, “Bad Days,” which is out this week, with vinyl sales benefiting mental health nonprofit Common Ground. That fundraising intention is deepened by the lyrics of the Detroit-based singer-songwriter, Ethan Marc, with his candid reflections on his own battle with mental health and how making music helped him find clarity, strength and hope-threaded, as you’ll hear, over a rich mixture of indie-rock and pop influences. The Ethan Marc Band perform an album release party for “Bad Days“ on July 11 at El Club; you can also see them next Saturday, June 14, at Motor City Sound Board.
This week also featured exclusive premieres of local indie-rock groups like Ricochet the Kid, with a summer ballad titled “June.” The dynamic sister-duo of Jackamo also released new music, a poignant Americana-folk ballad titled “Second Best.”
As always, we get a rundown of can’t-miss shows happening around the region, in tandem with further premieres of new local music, including hip-hop artist Jah Connery, who you can catch next Saturday at Trixie’s in Hamtramck.
Connery, aka Joshua Davis, released a new album this week titled “The Delicate Art of Love.” This week’s playlist also featured songs from Chirp (performing at Ziggy’s in Ypsilanti next Friday), Sonic Smut (performing at Outer Limits Lounge this Friday), and Ladyship Warship, who just released a brand new single ahead of their upcoming show at the Lager House, this Saturday.
See the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.
MI LocalPlaylist for June 3, 2025
“June” – Ricochet The Kid
“Second Best” – Jackamo
“Renalien” – Grief
“California” – Ethan Marc Band
“Potters Wheel” – Ananda Murari
“Tapiola II: Lord of the Forest” – Elyvilon
“Clams” – Jah Connery ft. Pseudo Slang
“Move” – Chirp
“Mark the spot” – Ladyship Warship
“Earache My Eye” – Sonic Smut
“Zeros & Ones” – The Idiot Kids
“Chapels” – Jon-Mikal Bartee (live on MI Local)
“Nothing” – The Idiot Kids (live in WDET Studios, 2023)
Support the shows you love.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
Ryan Patrick Hooper is taking a well-earned vacation, which means I (WDET Program Director Adam Fox) get to play radio host for the rest of the week — I promise to take care of the Good Ship “ITG” in his stead!
We kicked off the fill-in shows with style today — new stuff from Marie Davidson, Stereolab and Luster, as well as some music that gets better with age from Taj Mahal, Sonny Rollins, Cate Le Bon and much more!
Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.
In The Groove (with guest host Adam Fox) playlist for June 3, 2025
“Kiko and the Lavender Moon” – Los Lobos
“Gratiot” – Detroit Escalator Company
“Three Drums” – Four Tet
“Close My Eyes” – Luster
“Lorelei” – Cocteau Twins
“Love Has Got Me Crying Again” – Denise James
“The Department of Ghosts” – Outrageous Cherry
“My City Was Gone” – Pretenders
“Love Is Overtaking Me” – Arthur Russell
“Monkey Gone to Heaven” – Pixies
“Trailer Trash” – Modest Mouse
“Most of the Time” – Bob Dylan
“Lotta Love to Give” – Daniel Lanois
“Are You With Me Now?” – Cate Le Bon
“Respectable Street” – XTC
“Bonnet of Pins” – Matt Berninger
“Dan’s Boogie” – Destroyer
“Same Old Song” – Four Tops
“Leaving Trunk” – Taj Mahal
“St. Thomas” – Sonny Rollins
“Wu Punk” – Georgia Anne Muldrow
“Sodajerk” – Buffalo Tom
“Flag With No Pole” – World News
“Demolition” – Marie Davidson
“Washing Machine Heart” – Mitski
“Policy of Truth” – Depeche Mode
“Come On Let’s Go” – Broadcast
“Transmutated Matter” – Stereolab
“Le temps de l’amour” – Françoise Hardy
“You Can Make It If You Try” – Sly and the Family Stone
“You’re Welcome (Stop on By)” – Bobby Womack
“Fusion Swirl” – Jeff Parker
“Yekermo Sew” – Mulatu Astatke
“Black Sand” – Glass Beams
Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.
Support the shows you love.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
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