Friday, July 30, 2021

Hip in Detroit's Picks for the Weekend: July 30 - August 1

Friday, July 30th - Re-Opening Show @ The Sanctuary w/ Off With Their Heads: Like many venues, The Sanctuary has been closed for over a year due to Covid. But, this Friday night, they will officially reopen their doors for their first show! The lineup includes Off With Their Heads and Ben Roy. Tickets are $17 and going fast! Pick yours up here. Doors open at 7 p.m. and all ages are welcome.

Friday, July 30th - Funk Night @ Tangent Gallery: Dust off your dancing shoes and head to Tangent Gallery Friday night! DJ Dez, Brad Hales, Breck T. Bunce, Frank Raines & Crate Digga will provide the tunes. The party starts at 9 p.m. and goes until 2 a.m. $5 gets you in the door. 

Saturday, July 31st - Ryan Allen @ Schiffer Park: Spend your afternoon listening to live music and soaking up the sun in Ferndale this Saturday. Ryan Allen will be playing a free solo set at Schiffer Park at 2 p.m. The park is located at 9 Mile and Planavon St. If you aren't familiar with Ryan Allen, give him a listen here

Saturday, July 31st - Vinyl Up Your A** - ZZ Top Tribute @ Small's: If an event involves Small's and Heavy & Beyond, you know it will be in our picks! Heavy & Beyond will be spinning vinyl all night and with the recent passing of Dusty Hill, the DJs will pay tribute to ZZ Top throughout the night. Doors open at 8 p.m. Cover is free and there will be food available to purchase from Renegade Kitchen

Saturday, July 31st - PizzaPlex After Dark: If pizza & dancing is more your thing, head to PizzaPlex in Southwest this Saturday night! DJ Amy Kaherl (Nothing Elegant) will provide the tunes. PizzaPlex will be serving food until 9 p.m. and the fun goes from 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. Entry is free and 21+ are welcome. 


~C

Monday, July 26, 2021

The First BLKOUT Walls Festival is in Full Swing!

The inaugural BLKOUT Walls Festival has taken over the North End! This biannual, family-friendly event was created by Sydney G. James of Detroit, Thomas “Detour” Evans of Denver, and Max Sansing of Chicago. These artists felt that there was a lack of diversity and inclusion at the festivals that they were attending and they wanted to change that. To do this, they gathered sponsorship from organizations like the Kresge Foundation, Ford, and Vans, and assembled artists like Bakpak Durden, Wolfe Pack, and Rick Williams to create a special 7-day celebration of art and culture in Detroit. "Seventy-five percent of the participating muralists and event producers are Black and/or people of color mirroring the demographics of the city of Detroit and thereby creating a cohort of artists representing equity and inclusion. The BLKOUT Walls Festival is also paying each artist a fee/mural plus lodging, meals, and transportation to assure that the benefits of the creative economy also include the muralists themselves."
Sydney G. James, Co-Founder

Max Sansing, Co-Founder

This 7-day festival is already in full swing with approximately 20 murals currently in production across the North End/New Center area. There will be an artists panel tonight, community workshops at DAPCEP on the 28, 29 + 30th, with a Grand Finale Block Party at the end of the week. You can get details about today's talk and about the workshops here.

The Block party will take place Saturday, July 31st at the Chroma Building at 2937 East Grand Boulevard from 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. This will be your first opportunity to see all of the finished murals. The Lobster Truck, Cajun Soul Sistas, Tasty Fixin’s, Original Seafood Truck will also all be present for the party.

You can learn more about why this project is important to the North End community from the artists here and you can keep up with everything that is happening right now here.

We are looking forward to this new influx of public art that celebrates diversity and promotes positive growth in the community, and to this biannual event continuing to create art and opportunity for Detroit and beyond. 


~S

Friday, July 23, 2021

Hip in Detroit's Picks for the Weekend: July 23 - 25

It seems as though everything is happening on Saturday this weekend! Choose wisely! 


Saturday, July 24th - Sunday, July 31st - BLKOUT Walls Mural Festival: This Saturday, the first ever BLKOUT Walls Mural Fest will kick off in Detroit. This free, all-black produced festival will feature over two dozen large scale murals averaging 20 x 20 feet and larger. The murals will be painted by both local and national artists and can be found throughout the North End community of Detroit. The festival kicks off at 10 a.m. on Saturday and there is a meet and greet with the artists from 8 - 10 p.m. on Saturday night. head to blkoutwalls.com to check out the schedule of events for the week, the full list of artists participating, and where the murals will be located. Make sure you're also following the event on Instagram (@blkoutwalls) to stay in the loop.

Saturday, July 24th - Cheetahs @ Outer Limits Lounge w/ Carjack and Eroders: The Cheetahs are back! It's been awhile since they've played the Detroit area, but they will return to Outer Limits Lounge this Saturday night! Joining them for the evening are Carjack, Eroders and DJ Jam Jam. If that lineup isn't enticing enough, the fact that this is a free show should really get you there! The band said they will be playing some new tunes too, so you won't want to miss it! 

Saturday, July 24th - Mike & Chuck's Birthday Bash @ Small's: Mike Mouyianis is celebrating his birthday and so is his buddy Chuck Burns! The party is at Small's this Saturday night. The Strains, Dirty Copper, and Universal Temple of Divine Power will be playing. Tickets are only $7 in advance and can be purchased here. Cover will be $10 at the door. 21+ are welcome and doors open at 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 24th - KZOO MEETS DETROIT @ Trumbullplex: Saturday night, Trumbullplex will be hosting a talent showcase featuring artists from both the Detroit and Kalamazoo scenes. The night will be hosted by DJ INO, $5 will get you in and the show starts at 10 p.m. Head over to the Facebook event for a list of the artists that will be performing and for more details. 


Thursday, July 22, 2021

Everything You Need to Know About the Monroe Street Midway

Downtown Detroit's newest family-friendly attraction is the Monroe Street Midway. This limited-time pop-up experience features a roller skating rink, a sports zone that has four half-courts, and a secondary sports court for you to play basketball, tennis, futsal, lacrosse, and handball, plus public art, food trucks, music, and more.

Bedrock teamed up with RollerCade – the nation’s oldest Black-owned roller rink, to create the city's only outdoor roller rink. They have invited a variety of food trucks to pop up throughout the Summer and they have scheduled an eclectic mix of DJs and entertainment throughout the Summer/Fall.

It's completely free to get into the park, to play basketball, and to enjoy the entertainment, but the concessions, food trucks, and skating will set you back a few dollars.

A skating session is $10 and skates rental is $3, which isn't bad considering if you park in one of these garages and ask for validation at the rink, you will get 2 hours off free parking! You can reserve your skating time and skates here.

To skate at the Rollout Detroit Roller Rink or play at the Rocket Mortgage Sports Zone, you’ll need to sign a waiver. You can sign online here.

The Midway also features a lot of art by some great Detroit names, including Sheefy McFly, Phil Simpson, Olivia Guterson, and Jessica Care Moore (poet). This includes murals on the skating rink and basketball courts that add to the vibrant atmosphere.

This pop-up is currently open 7 days a week through September 30th. Keep reading for some details on how everything works, hours of operation, and where you can get more information.

Monroe Midway General Hours of Operation:
Sunday - Wednesday: 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Thursday - Saturday: 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

For weather updates and cancellation information, follow @BedrockDetroit and @RollerCade on Instagram.

Skate Times/Groups:
Sunday:
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.: Open Skate
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Family Skate
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.: Open Skate

Monday-Wednesday:
12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Open Skate
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.: Open Skate
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.: Adult Skate (18+)*

Thursday-Saturday:
12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Open Skate
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: Open Skate
8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.: Adult Skate (21+)*

*During Adult Skate sessions, the entire Midway will be age-restricted and IDs will be checked at the main entrances.

Sign up for texts with updates and deals here.


~S


New Music: Lullabies In An Ancient Tongue from Gerard Smith

Last month, Gerard Smith released his third solo album Lullabies In An Ancient Tongue. For those that may not be familiar with Gerard, he is also the founder and a member of the Detroit Celtic rock band Bill Grogan's Goat. This new album is comprised of songs that didn't quite fit the Goat's sound, as well as new music that Smith created during Covid. The songs were recorded at the relatively new Tuxedo Avenue Recording Studios in Roseville and this is actually the first full length that was recorded there. Smith brought in several of his friends from the Detroit music scene to make this album happen, including Paco Higdon on guitars and keyboards, Justin Velic on Drums, and Tom Phillips on Bass, among many others that made guest appearances on tracks throughout the album. The sound is eclectic, with elements of Celtic music, jazz, and rock. Hit play below to give Lullabies In An Ancient Tongue a listen for yourself. If you like what you hear, make sure you are following Gerard Smith on Facebook to stay in the know on what he has coming up next. 



~C

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Two Great Reasons to Visit Downtown Ferndale

Downtown Ferndale has always been a great place to have dinner, get a drink, + see some live music but post-pandemmy they are stepping it up and making sure that everyone has a reason to come visit.  

First, they announced that they would be allowing to-go libations and outdoor drinking in designated areas throughout the city. Then, they teamed up with the DIA Inside | Out program to bring even more art and culture to their already mural-filled Downtown space. They also added a lot of outdoor seating, a pop-up park, and some beautiful flower-filled benches to make it even more inviting to come to hang out!

The patio zones are open from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Thursday through Friday throughout the Summer/Fall.  You can get a drink at one of the participating bars/restaurants and walk around the East or the West Zone (basically, don't cross Woodward) with your to-go drink. Participating businesses include 215 West, Anita’s Kitchen, Assaggi Bistro, Bobcat Bonnie’s, Brooks Brewing, Corner Grill & Detroit Axe. The Oakland, The Rust Belt Market, Woodward Avenue Brewers, Como’s Restaurant, Danny’s Irish Pub, Imperial, J’s Penalty Box, Otus Supply, Traverse City Whiskey, and Valentine Distilling Co.

The art is on display throughout the city. The DIA placed 6 different works of art in Downtown Ferndale that are only 1,500 steps or 3/4 of a mile apart from each other. This includes reproductions of Canaletto, The Piazza San Marco, and Florine Stettheimer, Love Flight of a Pink Candy Heart. You can see a full list, get audio to listen to, and get a map of the artwork locations here.

Many of the art pieces are located in or near parks where you can also relax and enjoy a drink, so it only makes sense that you get a drink to-go, see the pieces on the left side of Woodward. Then, cross when you are fished with the first round, grab a second round, and see the rest. We also recommend grabbing lunch or dinner post second round to keep it safe.
If you want to learn more about patio zones or the DIA Inside Our Program click here.

If you want to stay up to date on things Downtown Ferndale follow them on IG here.

~S

Monday, July 19, 2021

TONIGHT - Benefit Show for Food Not Class

If you're up for a night out this Tuesday night, the Garden Bowl is the place to be because The Suicide Machines will be playing! Yep, you read that right, The Suicide Machines are playing at the Garden Bowl! Joining them on the bill are Carmel Liburdi and Norcos Y Horchata. Plus, the Detroit Party Marching Band will even be making an appearance. Can that lineup get much better? The show is a fundraiser benefitting Food Not Class, an amazing group that "recovers and shares free reclaimed/donated food and goods with the public".

Cover for Tuesday's show is a $20 suggested donation. Tickets are not available in advance, so you need to just show up and hope you can get in the door. Doors are set to open at 7 p.m. and all ages are welcome. In an effort to keep everyone safe, The Suicide Machines ask that you don't come to the show unless you are vaccinated and masks are encouraged. For more info on this show, visit the Facebook event page here. To learn more about Food Not Class, what they do, and how you can help, head over to their Facebook page here


~C

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Hip in Detroit's Picks for the Weekend: July 16 - 18

We already told you about Willa Rae Presents' show this Saturday with James Linck, Sara Marie Barron, and Strictly Fine at Core Park. (For more info on that, click here.) Well, here are some other fun things happening this weekend! 

Friday, July 16th - Dude @ Cadieux Cafe: Cadieux Cafe's outdoor venue Mussel Beach has been the talk of the town this summer! This Friday night, Dude will hit the stage along with Ben Allemon and Slowwave (80's pop/rock covers). Head over to Bandcamp to give Dude a listen, then head to Cadieux to see them perform live!

Saturday, July 17th - Detroit Oddities & Curiosities Expo: If you like strange things, you'll love this event! "The Oddities & Curiosities Expo showcases hand selected vendors, dealers, artists and small businesses from all over the country with all things weird." There will be taxidermy, antiques, funeral collectibles, and everything in-between! The event will take place at the Suburban Collection Showplace. Tickets are $10 and admission for those 12 & under is free. The expo takes place from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. For the full list of vendors and to pick up your tickets, click here


Saturday, July 17th - The Lucid Furs @ PJ's Lager House: It has been 17 months since The Lucid Furs played live and this Saturday they will finally return to the stage! They will be playing at PJ's Lager House along with Edison Hollow and Distilled Tongues. Cover is $12 and all ages are welcome. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. and the music starts at 10. If you aren't familiar with The Lucid Furs, we highly suggest you check them out here

Saturday, July 17th - Flower Therapy @ Norwest Gallery: Norwest Gallery will be unveiling their new exhibit this Saturday afternoon! Flower Therapy is an immersive live flower art installation. This exhibit is a fundraiser for the gallery's Gardening Through Grief project. The project is a, "community herb and flower garden inspired by the loss of NGA founder Asia Hamilton’s mother and project partner Kayana Sessoms’s father to covid19".  Admission to the exhibition is $20 with proceeds going to this project. To learn more about the Flower Therapy exhibit and Gardening Through Grief, click here

Sunday, July 18th - Detroit Festival of Books @ Eastern Market: Head to Eastern Market Shed 5 this Sunday for a HUGE book fair! There will be new books, used books, antique books, comic books, and more, like records, and vintage board games. The event will also feature music by DJ Seven Whales, food trucks, and even beer! Sounds like a fun little Sunday afternoon! Admission is free and the festival runs from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. For more details, check out the official Bookfest guide.

Sunday, July 18th - The Mar Bazaar @ Marble Bar: Shop with over 20 vendors this Sunday at Marble Bar! DJs Ladylike, Mike Medow & Ryan Spencer will provide the tunes while you shop. There will be food from Pietrzyk Pierogi and of course the bar will be pouring drinks. The Bazaar takes place from 4 p.m. - midnight. For a list of vendors and more information, click here


~C



24 Hour Giveaway: Win VIP Access to Punk Rock & Paintbrushes this Sunday @ El Club

 

Punk Rock & Paintbrushes is coming to Detroit! This all-day art extravaganza will take place at El Club Gallery this Sunday, July 18th. The event will showcase a wide variety of art and celebrate the release of "The Insides of Artists Written By Outsiders", a new book recently published by the Punk Rock & Paintbrushes Collective. This Sunday's show will feature art from Steve Caballero, Matt Hensley, Christian Hosoi, Paul Kobriger, Brian Bent, Dan Smith, Jason Adams, Blair Alley, and Brandon Novak. The show will run from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a limited space VIP signing and speaking engagement that will run from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. This limited engagement is $30 in advance and space is very limited. 

If you would like to win a pair of tickets to the book signing and a copy of the book once you get there, please post the flyer at the top of this post on Instagram in your feed or on your story and tag @punkrockandpaintbrushes (IG) and @hipindetroit (IG). We will pick one lucky person tomorrow morning (Saturday, July 17th) and they will get to attend this Sunday's exclusive event for FREE!

The gallery is also free to attend after 4 p.m. on Sunday and all of the artists that are featured in the show will be present at the showcase. If you would like to learn more about Punk Rock & Paintbrushes follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

~S

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Mutiny Bar Offers High Quality Drinks in a Laid Back Space

Do you need a break? Would a few hours of forgetting about all the things on your to-do list help you feel a little bit better? If kicking back with a Painkiller would change your whole mood, you have two options. You can either get on a plane to fly someplace tropical or you can make your way down to Southwest to experience the magic of Detroit's amazing dive tiki bar Mutiny.



Mutiny offers a one-of-a-kind experience that mixes exceptionally good drinks and service with a dive tiki bar vibe. The drinks are reasonably priced at $11 to $14 and every libation comes in a signature glass that was selected to compliment the cocktail. Mutiny Bar also sets most of their cocktails on fire before they serve them, which means that the entire building is filled with intoxicatingly good smells like burnt cinnamon, roasted blueberries, and charred rosemary. The décor is thrift store meets garage sale meets tropical vibes and there are no windows, so you really feel like you are in another world for a few hours, which adds to the escapism of the experience. It's rare to get high-quality drinks and service in such a laid-back space, which makes the idea of visiting Mutiny even more delicious.



Mutiny Bar is located at 4654 Vernor Highway in Detroit and they are open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. You can make reservations to get a table here. If you are not ready to go out to a bar you can also order all of their cocktails to go here.

Follow Mutiny Bar on Facebook or Instagram to stay up to date on everything going on.

You deserve a night of fun and fantasy, let Mutiny serve it up to you.


~S

Monday, July 12, 2021

Willa Rae Presents Two Opportunities to Have a Good Time

 

Willa Rae knows how to throw a good event. If her name is on the flyer, it's a guarantee that you will have a good time. So, we wanted to tell you about two opportunities she has put together for you to see some live music that is guaranteed to be fun.

First up, Willa will be celebrating her birthday with A Tribute to the First Ladies of Funk and Soul @ Willis Show Bar this Thursday, July 15th. There will be two performances, one at 8 p.m. and another at 10 p.m. with DJ sets from Craig Adams and Blaire Alise in-between performances. Tickets to attend either performance are $8 in advance and $10 on the day of the show. There will also be a variety of special guest performances that you will have to be there to see.  To learn more about this event click here.

Then later this weekend, Willa wants to get everyone outside to see a show under the stars! This Saturday, July 17th Strictly Fine, Sara Marie Barron, and James Linck will be performing outdoors @ Core Park (6559 Grand River Ave.) Next to the African Bead Museum. Doors for the show open at 7:30 and bring your own blanket/lawn chairs for seating. Tickets to get in are $15 at the door and they are accepting many forms of payment, including cash and Venmo. There will also be a few food trucks and some local vendors to check out. You can learn more about this event and stay up to date with everything going on this weekend here.

Don't forget, if you see the words "Willa Rae Presents", you are in for a good time!

~S

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Get A Good Meal To-Go From Aratham Gourmet To Go

Have you ever thought about going plant-based or wondered what you would miss the most if you decided to change your diet? A lot of people assume that when you go meat and dairy-free you miss eating cheese or crave a burger every once in a while, but I'm here to report that these thoughts have never even crossed my mind. Instead, I have found that the most "difficult" part of going plant-based is finding easy access to ready-to-eat meals that aren't fried or made mostly of faux meat substitutes. If you are looking for a great plant-based burger, Chilli Mustard Onions has perfected it. If your craving "Taco Bell-like" staples, Street Beet can make you a better version using fresh plant-based ingredients. And if you want mozzarella sticks, Nosh Pit has got you covered. But, if you want a healthy(ish) meal that wasn't flash frozen and shipped into your local grocery market, there aren't a lot of options. In fact, it's hard to even find a good vegan salad that will fill you up. This means I have to pre-plan and pre-pack a lot of my meals and if you had to cook a lot more during the last eighteen months (aka COVID) you know how stressful planning, prepping, and preparing everything you eat seven days a week can be. Traditionally, I have reverted to eating a lot of baked potatoes, but even I have my potato limit. So, I was on the hunt for something new when I heard about Aratham Gourmet To Go, a new health food restaurant in Troy, Michigan that specializes in organic plant-based meals. I stopped in, introduced myself to the owners Gabriel and Tiffany, and they explained what Aratham was all about.

Aratham has a new approach to eating healthy on the go. They are the missing puzzle piece that I have been looking for ever since I went plant-based because they offer a lot of good options to fit my needs/diet/week. You can order ahead and get fresh meals delivered directly to your door, you can pop in and grab one or more pre-packaged meals to get you through the day/week, or you can choose your own portions by ordering by the pound/item from their fresh deli counter. All of their food is made in-house from scratch, this includes their unique "meats" and "cheeses". Their kitchen is CLEAN (they let me in unannounced) and they use the highest quality ingredients on the market. They also have extensive experience leading some of the best kitchens in the world, so they know how to create flavors that I haven't seen other people be able to get from plants. Plus, they are friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about making good food that is good for you, which makes picking out what you want even more difficult because everything looks, smells, and sounds good when they describe it to you.

For my first foray into plant-based to-go I picked up about a half a week's worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to eat throughout the day when I didn't have time to/didn't feel like cooking or needed something on the go. I saw these meals as filler meals, not the main acts - but I was wrong. I figured anything that had to be heated/reheated would never be that good, but I couldn't have been more off base. It turns out that when a chef with 20+ years in the kitchen creates a to-go concept they think about everything, including how it will taste reheated. Every to-go meal from Aratham comes with clear instructions on how to reheat or prepare the food and if you follow them I can guarantee that you will be blown away with how fresh and delicious everything tastes, even after it hits the microwave or toaster oven. There was not a dud in the bunch. I would never order pasta, especially knowing I would have to reheat it, but the "meat" inside the bolognese was so delicious that I already went back and bought a second (and third) serving. They even have a good and filling to-go vegan salad that has "feta cheese" on top! It was nice to have a few breakfast, lunch, and dinner options to grab whenever I needed them, especially because they were better than anything I was going to make myself. I have already been back for a second visit and plan to go stock up again tomorrow. I can't stop thinking about the mac and "cheese" and the jack fruit tacos, I hope they have more!

Aratham is currently open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Their shop is located at 3381 Rochester Road, Troy, MI 48083. They are a zero-waste company and all of their packaging is plant-based and biodegradable. They have new food daily and new menus/options monthly. They have a variety of fresh, cold-pressed, organic juices ready to go, and offer catering if you need something delicious for a party or gathering. This is the kind of restaurant that I have always dreamed of! It's worth the drive to visit, but if you can't, see if they deliver to you. You won't be disappointed! 


~S