With summer winding down, everyone is trying to take advantage of the nice weather and the great outdoors. This past weekend, there was a great new outdoor music festival that allowed us to spend some time outside and enjoy some great bands and entertainment.
Organized in part by Matt Dalton, Motors and Music Experience brought together several different bands from different ends of the music spectrum. Our day started off with Chiodos, the Michigan natives who recently reunited. Although they played early in the day, they had quite a few of their die-hard fans there, some of which even traveled from out of state to see these guys.
After Chiodos, we walked around and checked out some of the other entertainment, including The Detroit Circus and some motorcycle stunt men. Since there was such a variety of music playing throughout the day, it was awesome that there were also some other types of entertainment for attendees to check out if they weren't quite into the performers on stage at that time.
In addition to the entertainment there were some sweet cars to look at as well as some pretty good eats to grab. R.U.B BBQ was even there, which was a big surprise compare to the nachos and cheese and $6 slices of pizza most concerts and festivals have on hand.
Although we had to head out early to get to Tesco Fest, Motors and Music was a fun way to spend a beautiful Saturday. We hear that head-liners Stone Temple Pilots and Ice-T and CoCo both put on great shows. To see some great pictures from later in the day, head over to the Motors and Music Experience Facebook page. Hopefully this festival will return next year and will be even bigger and better than this year. And hopefully this and other events continue to make The Silverdome their home so we can bring this landmark back to life.
Fresh off the heels of the infamous Dirt Fest at Birch Run, the Metro Detroit area will host a new festival for the first time this year called Motors and Music. This is a festival created by the same man who brought you Dirt Fest, Matt Dalton. Taking his knowledge of festivals and what people want to do and hear, he has created a new event dedicated to music and cars, two things we love here in the Motor City.
The festival will take Place August 18 in the parking lot of the Pontiac Silverdome, which was once the play place of the Detroit Lions. This event features music from a wide array of acts including Stone Temple Pilots, Ice T and Coco, the return of Chiodos, Trick Trick, Hush, Mayer Hawthorne, The High Strung and even a DJ set by Dominic Raiola (Detroit Lions). They will also have a car show and other acts including performers from the Detroit Circus. Basically, this won’t just be a concert, but it will be a full day of drinking, eating, music, cars and fun!
The whole event kicks off at 11 a.m. and tickets are only $35 for general admission for the day. Ballers who want to have an even more intense experience can purchase VIP tickets that include a designated seat close to the stage and your own private bar to drink at with little to no lines throughout the day!
This past Saturday the weekend took us on a short road trip. We drove up I-75 to Birch Run, but not to go to the outlet stores. Instead we were there for a day of drinking, fun, and oh yeah there was some music too!
Saturday was Dirt Fest 2012 featuring a bunch of awesome bands including Clutch, Chiodos, Wilson and The Scenery. At first the weather had us a little worried, but the rain stayed away for most of the day. The show was a huge hit, thanks to the hard work of Matt Dalton, along with his family and crew. Here are some pictures highlighting the day, along with a couple of songs from The Scenery and Bye Bye Birdy. (Special thanks to the beautiful and talented Jennica!)
If you missed out on Dirt Fest this year, don't you worry. It will be back around next year. If you can't wait until then, there is another great festival this weekend. It is presented by some of the same great folks, with a couple of the same great bands plus many, many more. Motors & Music Experience will be making its way to The Pontiac Silverdome this Sunday. The lineup includes Chiodos, Stone Temple Pilots and Mayer Hawthorne, just to name a few. For a full lineup, click here.
Great job to all of the bands and people involved with Dirt Fest. It was a ton of fun! And thanks to everyone that hung out with us Saturday! We hope you had as much fun as we did!
L.A. can have the movies and New York can boast itself as the mecca of fashion, but here in Detroit we own Rock & Roll music. In fact, no matter how far you travel east or west, you will not find another place where you can see live, original music in multiple venues every night of the week.
When I was little, my dad used to throw on Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and dance with me around the house. My best friend's mom started taking me to concerts and sitting in the parents' room when I was 11. Every weekend from 1998 till approx 2005 was spent at a hall show somewhere in the Metro Detroit Area.
Music has been central to my life since I was a child because I grew up in the place where Motown was born. Music is in the fabric of this city. It is no coincidence that almost every touring act that goes across the U.S. makes a point to stop in Detroit.
The kids I grew up with may not have gone to my high-school, but they played in the bands that frequented the Wired Frog, The Seventh House, The Shelter and every VFW from Northville to Romeo. We took over spaces and listened to our peers play music almost every night of the week. Hall shows are not what they used to be and some of the venues are long gone, but new venues have opened up and new bands are forming every day. The faces have changed and so has the style, but one person still stands out to me from the crowd. He is someone who grew up in the same crowds, doing the same things. He has continued to devote his life to music and growing the community that we have all been a part of for a long time now. He has started one of the longest running independent music festivals in the U.S. and he has just launched a new festival to further grow the legacy of music in Detroit.
Matt Dalton is one fine looking gentlemen who not only owns and runs his own recording studio, 37 Studios in Rochester Hills, but he is also the brains behind the 14 year old Dirt Fest and recently announced Motors & Music Experience.
In 1999, he teamed up with a friend to start Dirt Fest. This is a one day festival that takes place at the Birch Run Expo Center every year. This year it has 5 stages and includes names like Clutch, Chiodos (original line up), our favorite Wilson, and many others including The Scenery, who we look forward to finally seeing live. For a full lineup click here. This year the festival takes place on August 11 and starts at Noon. Admission to the festival is severely under priced at $25 a tickets in advance and $35 at the door. With festivals rising their prices through the roof over the last few years, it's nice to see so much music for such a low price. You don't have to break the bank or even bring a tent. Just throw on some booty shorts and a shirt and drive out for a day of fun and entertainment. (Guys might not want to go with booty shorts but hey what you do is what you do).
Then, one week later, on August 18th you can head over to the Pontiac Silverdome parking lot for the first Motors and Music Experience. This festival has some pretty huge acts including Stone Temple Pilots, Ice T and Coco, Chiodos, Trick Trick, Hush, Mayor Hawthorne, The High Strung and even Dominic Raiola of the Detroit Lions spinning as a D.J.. There will beer, food and even a car show! Tickets for this event are only $35 for regular admission and $75 for VIP admission. For tickets go to motorsandmusicexperience.com. The event starts at 11a.m. and goes all day!
Matt is doing huge things to shape the face of music in Detroit, bringing in huge acts, talent and building a community that still likes to hang out, dance, and watch good Rock & Roll. This very handsome, funny and charming man gave me a chance to sit down and ask him the hard hitting questions we all want to know, including what is his favorite color, about his amazing fashion and style when he was nu-metal and most importantly how he does what he does so well. The video is a little longer than some of our others, but trust us... you want to watch the whole thing. There will be a quiz later. So, check this video out and please join Hip In Detroit at both festivals this August.
