Once upon a time, Detroit was the fourth largest city in the world. We were the car capital of the United States and during the war we became the backbone of our country. Unfortunately, we also became one of the most racially charged places in the US and we eventually became one of the most run down and abandoned cities in the world before the so called "rebirth" of the City of Detroit over the last ten years. We have had some high highs and some remarkable lows and somehow we have perservered. We are now at a turning point; the new stadium is up, Ford is moving in, and we have one of the fastest growing restaurant and art cultures in the world. We are a city on the upswing and everyone is ready to celebrate. But, every once in awhile when I step back and think about it, I remember that all of these changes might not be as great as they seem, at least not for everyone. To put it simply, we are displacing a lot of the people who called this city home for the last 50 years when no one else wanted to hang around. It makes you ask yourself, what negative effects is this growth having and who is it effecting.
These are two questions the documentary The Last Days of Chinatown seeks to explore. This Detroit made documentary that was created by Nicole Macdonald and Oren Goldenberg. takes a look at Chinatown, a subdivision of the Cass Corridor. The Corridor was formerly one of the richest neighborhoods in the city before it fell into squalor. This documentary explores the people who live there and how the "rebirth" of the city is affecting their lives. The Last Days of Chinatown will be playing at the MOCAD this Thursday . It's only $5 to get in and tickets will only be sold at the door. MOCAD members are welcome to attend the screening free of charge. This presentation of the film will be followed by a Q & A with the film's creators. So, if you are interested in learning more about one of the city's most historical spaces, head up to the MOCAD at 7 p.m. to see what Nicole and Oren have to say about it.
Did you know that you can now go shopping along the Dequindre Cut? The Dequindre Cut Freight Yard opened up shop earlier this spring. This new retail destination features shopping, entertainment, and more in re-purposed shipping containers that are placed along this popular path.
The Freight Yard is located between Wilkins and Division Street and features food trucks, Detroit area vendors, drinks, and even DJ's. On Friday nights, you can grab a drink or a bite to eat and listen to tunes from 4-10 p.m. Then, on Saturday or Sunday return to the yard to shop with some of your favorite local vendors, like Detroit Hustles Harder, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Although the shopping is only in the afternoon on these days, the bar is open from 11 a.m. 'til 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 until 9 on Sunday. Food is also available from 11-10 on Saturday, but only from 11-3 on Sunday. And as if this doesn't all sound cool enough already, when you buy a drink at the freight yard, proceeds from that drink goes towards local non-profits!
The Dequindre Cut Freight Yard is open every weekend throughout the summer. The list of vendors will change every weekend, so make sure you follow the yard on Facebook here for updates on what you can find at the yard each weekend. Here's a list of vendors that will be at the market this Saturday and Sunday:
This Thursday marks the first day of summer, and we can't think of a better way to kick off the season than with great music and a few drinks on a patio in Detroit. Luckily, Party Store Productions has just that planned. PSP is bringing The Lagoons and Future Generations to Marble Bar in Detroit. The two bands are currently out on a co-headlining tour, hitting cities throughout the Midwest and up the East Coast. Both bands have new music out too! The Lagoons just released a new EP Escapeand Future Generations have a new single out and a new album on its way this fall. Give both of these bands a listen below.
Tickets to see these two bands live are only $10 and can be purchased in advance here. The night of the show, cover will be $12 at the door. You can also enter to win a pair of tickets to this show by sending your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #summer in the subject line. We will draw one lucky winner on Thursday morning and will send them details on how to claim their prize.
18 and over are welcome to attend this one and the night gets started at 8 p.m. For more info on this show, click here.
The Michigan Central Station abruptly opened it's doors in January of 1914 after the old station burned down on December, 26th 1913.The train depot and 18 story high office building were designed by the same team that created New York's Grand Central Station. In fact, the stations only opened around 6 months apart. The lobby was designed to look like a Roman bath house with features like marble walls and vaulted ceilings. The original building served as a train station and an Amtrack station until 1988 when the last train officially took off from the station.
For the next 30 years, the space has slowly deteriorated. Every few years you would hear whispers that someone was purchasing the station or making plans to restore it, but nothing ever happened. The owners eventually gated it and made sure that for the last ten years, no one got inside. They said it was too unsafe for people to be going inside anymore and the building was too far gone to be restored without some major money. So, it sat there, filling up with water and rotting in the center of Corktown until 2011 when they drained the basement and threw some windows on it. This major makeover restarted the rumors that someone was purchasing the station, but nothing happened until a few weeks ago. Turns out, that someone ended up being Ford Motor Company.
Ford Motor Company was created in 1903 by Henry Ford. He revolutionized the car industry by introducing the assembly line to American car making and by paying his workers a live-able $5 a day wage with benefits, including a shorter 8 hour workday and weekends off of work. He started the company inside the Piquette Avenue Plant, and quickly moved to the Highland ParkPlant, before opening the River Rouge plant in 1928. Ford opened the Willow Run plant in 1942 before they opened their World Headquarters in Dearborn in 1956. At that point, they started opening factories all over the world and expanding into territories that Henry Ford could have never imagined. He passed away in 1947, long before the company grew into the giant that it would become. Ford has made it through the Great Depression, World War I and II, and the crash of 2009 without borrowing money from the US taxpayers like two other local companies. They have outlasted many of their competitors and found some interesting ways to make things work in really rough times. These are all traits that will help them as they take their next step into the future and build their new home downtown in the heart of Corktown.
This historical announcement was made at a press conference on Tuesday, that featured speeches from CEO Jim Hackett and Chairman Bill Ford. Both innovators stressed the importance of moving their next development to the City of Detroit and what it meant to restore this historic building. They talked about embracing the future of driving and technology by working hard to find new ways to "make people's lives better". They also detailed their plans for the space which include a new Corktown campus that will focus on the future of mobility, including how to make transit easier, faster, safer, and cheaper in cities and in the suburbs that surround them. You can watch a full stream of the live event here. It includes a performance by Big Sean that is worth a watch.
The new Ford campus will be around 1.2 million square feet, it will include a mixed use space that will feature offices, retail, and housing. The new offices will likely host around 2,500 employees with the possibility to eventually host another 2,500 in the near future. The renovations will take an estimated four years to complete and the finished product may look something like this:
But, before they get to work to renovate the historical space, they are inviting the public to come in and legally tour the station for the first time in 30 years. Just under a year ago I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon inside the train station and it was one of the most magical days of my life. All of the photos in this post were taken on that magical day when I had the chance to walk the station privately with a few good friends. Make sure you stop by this weekend and have a memorable moment of your own, this will be the first and last time anyone sees the train station looking like this again!
Tours will take place from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. You can click here to sign yourself up for a tour and you can find all the rules for the tours here. This is your last chance to see the building before it goes through a rebirth! Congrats to Ford and all the businesses that we love in Corktown that will hopefully benefit from this move. Think it was hard to get a table at Takoi before?
This Thursday night, the greatest rock & roll band in the world returns to Small's! Black Iris Booking is bringing Supersuckers to the stage along with Speedealer and The Strains. Eddie Spaghetti and the boys just finished up a Canadian tour and now they are rocking their way across the US. Before they play Small's this Thursday, the band is doing a meet and greet at Village Vinyl in Warren at 4 p.m. and playing a free acoustic set at Rock City Music Company in Livonia from 6-7:30 p.m. You can find out more about the meet and greet here and the acoustic set here.
Doors are set to open at 8 p.m. on Thursday and all ages are welcome. Tickets for the show are $16 in advance or $18 the day of the show. You can pick your tickets up in advance here. You can also enter to win a pair of tickets to the show by sending your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #supersuckers in the subject line. We will draw one lucky winner on Thursday morning and will send them details on how to claim their prize. Good luck!
Detroit River Days is returning to the Detroit River Front this weekend for the 12th year in a row. The festival was started in 2007 and its purpose is to celebrate the continuously improving Detroit River Front. Their goal is to get people who wouldn't normally come down to the city to come down for the day/weekend and give it a chance. In order to get everyone's attention, they have put together a fun filled three day event that includes live music, a kids zone, yoga on the river, zip lines, an air show, a motorcycle bike night, river boat tours, a food court, sand sculptures, and a jet ski championship. Basically, there is a little something for everyone. Musical headliners include Kool & the Gang and Morris Day & the Time, but there will be lots of great local acts too, including Brother Son, Roots Vibrations and The Reefermen.
The three day festival kicks off on Friday and is free from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and then it is a $3 admission fee for anyone from 3 until 65 years of age. This does not include the cost of carnival rides, which range from $1.50 to $2.50 a piece. The event will take place from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. all three days and each day will require a different wristband. Dogs are welcome to attend, but they must be on a leash. No outside food, drinks, chairs, or large backpacks will be permitted inside the festival, but there is a food court where attendees can enjoy some bites. Click here for a guide to parking and make your trip down to the city even more enjoyable!
Pop-ups have become common place in cities like New York and LA, but they are still a special event when they happen in and around Detroit. After decades of watching commerce leave the city, it's fun to see small businesses coming back to Detroit in a big way. It's also interesting to see what kind of amazing experiences can be created when spaces open themselves up for pop-ups. Some pop-ups feature food and others feature clothing and goods, but all of them bring a new element of commerce to the city that helps shine a spotlight on up and coming small businesses that will shape the future of the Motor City.
Beacon Park will be joining in on the trend by hosting a pop up market everyday Saturday night this summer. The weekly event starts at 7 p.m. and runs through 11 p.m. every Saturday and each week features a different collection of vendors that you can check out. The vendors will be showcasing a variety of items, including handmade jewelry, t-shirts, and much more! The market runs through August and each week will feature different vendors. Each week they will also have some live music, to keep up with everything that they have at the market this summer. Add them on Facebook here to stay in the loop.
The park also hosts a free yoga session every week and hosts food trucks throughout the week. To find out more about the other events at Beacon Park this summer, click here.
Ferndale is a fabulous place that is always pushing boundaries, but this weekend they are truly taking local music and DIY to the next level. A small festival called Front Porch Fest will be returning for the second year in a row and we honestly believe that Ferndale is the only place that would let something this cool happen throughout their community. After last year's initial fest, they happily invited the organizers back to plan a second year that is bigger and better than the first.
The idea is simple. The organizers of the festival connect great local bands with porches around the city that are willing to let them set up and play a few songs in the middle of a day on Saturday. This means that you could be sitting inside your house this weekend and you might hear a band off in the distance. This also means that you might be sitting in the house and hear a band playing right outside your space!
Organizers are encouraging attendees to use bikes to ride around the city from set to set instead of using a car, but if you do use a car they want to remind you to drive carefully, obey all parking signs, and respect everyone's spaces! They have created a guide to the festival with links to lead you right to the front porch, you can find that list here. This year's fest will feature pop-ups from 40 different acts including Anthony Retka, Electric Honey, JD Wright, Kimball, Ryan Dillaha & The Miracle Men, Sami Mei, and The Whiskey Charmers.
Pop-up sets will be taking place from noon until 6 p.m. this Saturday, June 23rd. If you have to use the restroom while you're running around and you don't want to buy something, you can use the porta potties set up on the median of Livernois south of 9 Mile at Albany and north of 9 Mile at W. Breckenridge.
Last summer, a new park hit the streets in Detroit, called Beacon Park. This park sits at the intersection of Grand River & 1st street and offers a patch of attractive green space in the heart of the city. Throughout last summer, the park hosted pop-up shops and concerts, and was a great gathering place for friends and family to come together to play games, enjoy a picnic, or have some fun on the see-saws. The park even transformed into an arcade just months ago.
Well, summer is here and Beacon Park has some awesome events planned for the season, including bigger and better concerts! This Saturday, June 16th the park will kick off its summer concert series with Detroit's own JR JR (formerly Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.). Wild Belle will be joining JR JR and Inohs Sivad will be opening the show. The concert is FREE to attend and there will even be an awesome light show happening on the nearby G.A.R. Building during the show. Food trucks will also be on site, craft beers and cocktails will be available, and there will even be shops set up around the park.
Saturday's concert is part of a three concert series, with the next taking place on July 21st with St. Motel. The third show will happen on August 18th, but the headliner has not been announced yet. In addition to these concerts there are a ton of other great events happening at Beacon Park, like markets, yoga, volleyball, and family fun Sundays! You check out the current list of events here.
The music is set to start at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and the fun will go until midnight. For more information on this awesome free event and to see a full list of shops and food trucks that will be on site, click here.
New York based Bodega are kicking off a tour this weekend and they're making their way to Detroit Monday night, June 18th. The band just released their debut LP Endless Scroll and we guarantee it will get you moving! This band has sort of a dancey Le Tigre feel, with indie and punk rock influences mixed in, along with some male vocals to accompany the females. Give them a listen and judge for yourself.
Bodega will be hitting the stage at Marble Bar on Monday along with Detroit's own Deadbeat Beat. Cover for this show is $10 and 18+ are welcome. Thanks to Party Store Productions, we are also getting someone into this show for free. To enter to win, send your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #bodega in the subject line. We will draw one lucky winner on Monday morning and they will get into the show that night with a friend for free.
Summertime is here and along with it comes beaches, bike rides, and BBQs. Although it's fun to BBQ out back with a few friends, it's always way more fun to BBQ at the Magic Stick with hundreds of friends for Blackout BBQ! Every summer Black Iris Booking brings together an awesome lineup of bands for one fun summer day. Think of it as a family reunion, but with the dysfunctional family that you choose to be around.
The fun starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday and the music will start at 7. Tickets to attend are $22 in advance or $25 the day of the show. Thanks to Black Iris Booking, we are also giving away a pair of tickets to this show. To enter to win, send your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #bbq in the subject line. We will draw one lucky winner on Saturday morning and will send them details on how to claim their prize.
All ages are welcome to attend this one. For more info, click here.
Everyone has been obsessing so hard over the 90's lately that they forgot how cool the 80's were. In the 80's, four finger rings, velour tracksuits, scrunchies. shoulder pads, huge earrings, spandex, airbrush, and perms were in style. Madonna was the queen of the world and big box office movies like Ghostbusters, ET, and Back to the Future were the talk of the town. Plus, there was no such thing as cell phones, computers or selfies.
Tito's wants to bring back all things 80's by showing you a totally awesome time this Saturday, June 16th at the Royal Oak Farmers Market. The handmade vodka maker is hosting a good old fashioned dance party wsg Damone from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The event will feature live performances from The Breakfast Club Band, The Bodacious Beggars, and DJ Darren Revell. There will be cash bars and food trucks to get a snack in-between songs. The party starts at 6:30 p.m. and runs until 10:30 p.m. Don't forget to throw it back and dress up in your best 80's swag. The best dressed person at the party will win a prize! If you want to have some fun and throw it way back this weekend, this is the spot for you!
This Saturday afternoon, bring your 2 legged and 4 legged kids to El Club for a BBQ! The BBQ is being hosted by the non-profit Pretties for Pitties, and is a fundraiser for an upcoming microchip clinic that the group will be hosting. It is estimated that over 10 million pets are lost or stolen in the US each year. Microchipping your dog or cat will help ensure that if they get lost, they will make their way back home. Every $10 raised at this BBQ will help microchip a dog in need later this year.
Saturday's BBQ will feature great food, with Vegan options. There will also be merchandise for sale on site for you and your pup, as well as fun contests. If you don't have a fur-child to bring with you, this is also a great time to adopt because the River Rouge Animal Shelter will also be at the event. The BBQ will run from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday and all ages are welcome. However, only one dog is allowed per each 21+ adult. Please make sure you also bring your vaccination records with you for your pet, and only friendly dogs are allowed.
For more information on this fun event, click here.
Some of the most famous people in the world weren't famous while they were alive. For instance, the painter Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive, and writer Edgar Allen Poe died penniless after living his life in squalor. It's heart breaking when you learn that someone didn't get to see the impact that their work had on the world, but it gives us even more of a reason to celebrate the art that they left us.
Bradley Nowell's name might not be as recognizable as Poe's or Van Gogh's but to many of us his music is. His band Sublime rose to fame in the late 90's after the passing of Bradley. While we were all getting hooked to songs like "What I Got" and "Santeria", Brad's family and friends were mourning his passing. While MTV was playing music videos featuring Lou Dog, the remaining members were trying to figure out what if anything would be next. It's a sad story, but it's also a testament to the singer/songwriter's talent and reach because whenever people hear Sublime, they smile. they laugh, and they have fun because that is what Sublime is all about. The magic that they created was so powerful that thousands of bands have tried to recreate it over the years, but none have been able to do so as well as Badfish, a Tribute to Sublime. This tribute band has taken the art of flatter to the next level by recapturing the magic that the OG lineup was able to take to the stage.
We reached out to find out why they decided to dedicate their musical careers to recreating the magic of Sublime before they come to Detroit to make magic at St.Andrew's Hall this Thursday, June 14th. Check out what they had to say, throw on 40 oz to Freedom, and head up to the Hall this Thursday to get a glimpse of what it was like in South Beach in 1995.
HID- Why Sublime?
Scott Begin- "Sublime was a huge part of our musical lives during our high school and college years. We decided that seeing as no one was performing these songs live, we'd give it a go. We figured that we and all our friends were fans of this music so hopefully they'd come check it out. Our first show was successful and we decided to keep it going and spread it all around the country."
HID- What's your favorite song to play live and why?
Scott Begin- "Changes from week to week, but a good standby one for me is "DJs" from the 40 Oz To Freedom album. It's a different rhythmic part than many Sublime songs, and I also get to do a lot of backing vocals on that one."
HID- Whats the best band you have gotten to play with live?
Scott Begin- "Less Than Jake are really fun and put on a great show. Flogging Molly was a great high energy performance. We also did a St Paddy's Day show in Dallas with Snoop Dogg once! That was a bucket list one, for sure"
HID- You guys do a lot of festivals, are there any you think we need to check out?
Scott Begin- "The Nelson Ledges Festival in Garretsville OH that we do at the beginning and end of every summer is a real rager. Maybe a fun road trip idea??"
HID- So, do you smoke two joints in the morning then to keep on theme?
Scott Begin- "I do not. And I still feel alright, somehow..."
HID- Sublime means a lot to a lot of people. Whats the best fan reaction that you can remember?
Scott Begin- "Usually people have incredible Sublime tattoos, be it of their logo or some of Bradley, etc. We've seen some pretty impressive work throughout the years."
HID- Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
Scott Begin- "We hope you'll come check us out at St Andrews Hall! We're psyched to be back there when it's not freezing cold!!
Tickets to attend this Thursday show are $18 dollars in advance and they can be purchased here.
