Hip in Detroit's Picks for the Weekend - May 20-22

We already told you about the Backyard Art Fair in Ferndale. Here are some other fun things happening this weekend! 

Friday, May 20th - Will Sessions @ Spot Lite: Will Sessions takes over Spot Lite Detroit this Friday night. The lineup for the night includes Ian Finkelstein, Marcus Elliot, Dez Andres, Amir Edwards, and DJ Sets by Andrés and Meftah. 21+ are welcome. The party goes from 9 p.m. - 2 a.m.

Friday, May 20th & Saturday, May 21st - Detroit Women of Comedy Festival: Laugh your way through the weekend with some funny ladies at the Detroit Women of Comedy Festival at Planet Ant & The Independent Comedy Club. Tickets can be purchased a la carte for each show or a weekend pass is $67. Check out the full lineup for the weekend and purchase your tickets here. 

Friday, May 20th & Saturday, May 21st - Detroit Weekend @ The Redford Theatre: The Redford is celebrating Detroit in cinema this weekend with two fan favorites that took place in Detroit. On Friday night, they will be showing Beverly Hills Cop and on Saturday they will show RoboCop. Both shows start at 8 p.m. and tickets are only $5 per show. 

Saturday, May 21st - Zoo Brew @ The Detroit Zoo: Don't let the threat of rain scare you away! Zoo Brew is happening this Saturday evening a the Detroit Zoo! Visit the animals after hours during this 21+ only event, while you sip on some craft brews. Tickets are $50 which includes admission and 10 tasting tickets. Additional tasting tickets are available for $5/three tickets. There are also designated driver tickets available for $30. You can purchase your tickets online here. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and goes until 10. 

Friday, May 20th - Sunday, May 22nd - St. Joan of Arc Food Truck Festival: It's not very often that we share an event happening at a church, but this event involves lots of great food, so it seems appropriate. St. Joan of Arc in St. Clair Shores is hosting a Food Truck Festival all weekend, with different trucks in attendance each day. Saturday will have the most trucks on site out of the three days, but check out the full breakdown below: 

Friday, May 20 | 5-9 pm
BBQ Daddy, Estia, Raquel Cocina, Deutsch Troit, Missy Hitz Ice Cream, Aruba Freeze, Wing Snob, Detroit Black Coffee, Whoa Chinese, Phatrob

Saturday, May 21 | 12 noon-9 pm

BBQ Daddy, Estia, Grampy's Clam Shack, Raquel Cocina, Deutsch Troit, Phatrob, Detroit Mini Donut, Papelon Arepa Bar, Missy Hitz Ice Cream, Aruba Freeze, Polish Mania, All City Dogs, Wing Snob, Detroit Black Coffee, Kona Ice, Batter Up Waffle, Tim's Good Food

Sunday, May 22 | 12 noon- 6 pm

BBQ Daddy, Estia, Raquel Cocina, Deutch Troit, Phatrob, Detroit Mini Donut, Papelon Arepa Bar, Missy Hitz Ice Cream, Aruba Freeze, All City Dogs, Kona Ice, Whoa Chinese

~C 

Pig and Whiskey Returns to Ferndale This Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

Pig and Whiskey has become a summer staple in Ferndale. This three day party is the original celebration of BBQ and booze in the burbs. The free fest offers patrons a chance to try out a variety of BBQ and whiskey while enjoying live music from a variety of musical acts.

This year's festival will take place from 6 p.m. till midnight on Friday night, from 11 a.m. till midnight on Saturday and 11 a.m. till 11 p.m. on Sunday.  All three days will feature food from eighteen restaurants including Mac Shack, Slows BBQ, and Zeke's Rock and Roll BBQ. There will even be vegan selections from Greenspace and Treat Dreams.

There will also be over 120 whiskeys to sample including Evan Williams, Rebel Yell, and Wild Turkey. They will also have a dozen beers/meads to enjoy including B.Nektar, W.A.B. and Dogfish Head. To eat and drink at the festival you must buy tickets and use to the tickets to purchase your food and drinks. The best way to enjoy this festival is to bring some cash and purchase some tickets before you even start walking around.

This year's musical lineup features bands like Electric 6, Honeybabe, Jerry Dreams and Will Sessions. For a full list of musical acts please click here. Set times have not been released, but we will add them to this story once they are announced later this week. Don't forget, as soon as the music ends outside it begins inside The Loving Touch. Each night the LT hosts a different after party to keep the party going well into the night. The after parties will features performances from bands like Siamese, The Erers and Palaces.

Lyft has also teamed up with Pig and Whiskey for the weekend. Use the code pigandwhiskey2017 to get $20 off your first ride!

~S

Get to Know Gosh Pith

Photo by: Alexander Herbert Weyer

Detroit is an ever changing place, new music is being created by new people everyday. Some bands struggle for years to get attention and some groups instantly have a fan base, Gosh Pith is somewhere in-between. Their music is the the product of two childhood friends who have been creating sounds together for over five years. They started off creating songs with more of a hip hop feel before they landed on their current sound. You might describe them as an electronic band but they don't really fit into any box, which is why they are so cool.

In a matter of a year they have gone from playing small shows around the city to a band that is about to open Grizmas at The Masonic Temple on Saturday, December 20th. The band only has a few songs out, you can hear those on Soundcloud here. They also have a kick ass music video that you can check out below.

We of course had to sit down with the band to learn more about the men behind the music. Josh and Josh were two of the coolest people we have come across in a long time. Their vibe is 100% positive. Their goal is to get you out one of their shows. They stressed that anyone is welcome and have some pretty deep love for their fans and followers. In fact, they just ran a kickstarter to create hoodies that they plan to hand out for FREE. Yes, you heard us, they want to give away merch when they meet their fans.

Check out our interview with the boys and head over to Ticketmaster to scoop up tickets to see them on the 20th alongside Griz, Will Sessions, and ODESZA. If you haven't heard of Gosh Pith, keep your ears open. They are going to be on everyone's radar soon enough!

~S

End Halloween Night at Motor City Funk Night!

What used to be a monthly event is now a rare occurrence. That's all the more reason to head down to the Majestic Theatre Friday night for the Halloween edition of Motor City Funk Night.

Funk Night is a giant dance party with live music by Will Sessions and DJs Brad Hales and Frank Raines. They play and spin music that you can't help but to move your feet too. Add some costumes into the mix and you are in for an awesome night! There will even be a costume contest were you can win some cold hard cash!

The party goes from 10 p.m. 'til 4 a.m., so there is plenty of time to hit up other Halloween parties and then end your night at Funk Night. Cover is only $5 for those 21+ and $10 for 18+. For more details on Halloween Funk Night, head over to the Facebook event page here.

The Majestic Theatre is located at 4120 Woodward Ave. in Detroit.

Don't miss out on this chance to dance the night away! Who knows when Motor City Funk Night will happen again!

~C  

Funk Night at The Garden Theater

Funk Night is back and in full effect. This Friday, December 27th it will take place at The Garden Theater located at 3929 Woodward Ave. in Detroit. This month will feature a special live performance by Will Sessions featuring Coko. Funk will be spun by Frank Raines and DJ Head. Cover is still only 5 bucks and the party will go to 4 a.m. This a great way to check out this new venue while going to one of your favorite parties! For more details, check out the Facebook event page.

~S

The Return of Funk Night!!!

It's been awhile since Detroit has gotten down 'til the wee hours of the morning, but this Friday night is your chance to once again! November 1st marks the official return of Funk Night. For years this monthly event was the best dance party around. After changing locations several times it changed its m.o. a bit and moved from the underground to The Majestic Theatre, and that's where it will make its return.

The Return of Funk Night will feature Rickey Calloway and Will Sessions along with DJs Eastside Jon and Frank Raines. The party goes from 10 p.m. 'til 4 a.m. Eighteen and up are welcome and entry is $5 for those 21+ or $10 for 18+. And, even though Halloween might be over, costumes are still encouraged at this edition of Funk Night! So whether you make a night of it or stop by at the end of your night, make sure you don't miss the long awaited return of Funk Night!

~C

Help The Loving Touch & Will Sessions Help Those In Need and Have a Good Time While Doing It!

The holidays are the perfect time to reach out and give back to the community and remember how lucky we are if we have food in our mouths, a place to sleep and a few dollars in our pocket. Unfortunately, some of us are not so lucky and do not have food, a place to sleep or any monies in our pockets. Some are living on the streets and fighting to make it day to day. Detroit has seen its fair share of poverty and struggle the last few decades and it is a city in desperate need of help, to take care of the growing number of homeless, jobless, moneyless people that call this city home. This is where music can step in and uses its universal power to unite to help raise funds.

Friday, December 14th, The Loving Touch is hosting a benefit for the South Oakland Shelter. They have invited Will Sessions, Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful and Matt Jones & The Reconstruction to play to help raise money for the shelter.

South Oakland Shelter has been working in our community for over 25 years to provide temporary lodging and supportive services to individuals and families that are in need. They help these people by not only giving them a place to sleep for the night, but also by helping them find long term solutions to help change their lives around and make sure that they have a place to sleep for years to come.

This event has a suggested $5 donation, but they will take whatever you are willing to give! Come down to The Loving Touch after 9 p.m. on the 14th to hear some great music and raise money for a great cause!

~S

New Center Park is the Place to be Three Nights a Week

Tonight, New Center Park will be kicking off their 2012 Season of music, movies and other fun events! This outdoor venue opened back in 2010. It is located across from the Fisher Building at Second and West Grand Blvd. When driving by, it might look a little on the small side. However, they can host up to 700 people! Each week there are mainly 3 different events that take place at the park. 

First, there is “Wednesday Night at the Movies”. Every Wednesday night, beginning June 13th, New Center Park will show some of your favorite classics. The season kicks off with “The Shining” next Wednesday, followed up by “The Goonies” the week after. This year’s movie schedule is full of tons of great movies, so make sure to check out the full list here.

Every Thursday evening New Center Park hosts “Thursday Alfresco Jazz & Blues”. Since the official opening to the 2012 Season is on a Thursday, you can look forward to hearing some great blues from this week’s performer, Thornetta Davis. Although Jazz and Blues isn’t really my thing, I am looking forward to seeing Will Sessions perform this weekly event when they hit the stage on July 26th.

The last weekly ritual at New Center is "Camp Hi-Fi" on Saturday evenings. This night, sponsored by Metro Times, features a whole slew of different bands and musicians. They even have a “Caribbean Fest” at the end of August! So there is definitely something for everyone during Camp Hi-Fi! For a list of all of the performers, click here.

Although most events at New Center Park are free, there are occasionally special engagements that you have to purchase tickets for. However those are quite rare. Even though admission is free, don’t forget to bring your wallet! There is a Conservatory at the Park that offers delicious treats and beverages!

I don’t know about you guys, but one of my favorite things to do in the summer is watch movies outside with a bunch of friends. One of my other favorite things is when stuff is Free! So I can’t wait to head down to New Center on Wednesdays and have some fun! For more info on New Center Park, their events, or how to rent the space for a private party, head over to their website at newcenterpark.com. We were super happy to see a picture of some beautiful ladies decked out in Peace Love Spandex gear on there too! Here’s a video that features some past performers from New Center Park (including The Sights) and all of the great things that are happening there!

~C

Womp Womp Movement is Here!

This weekend there is another HUGE event going on. You probably won't run into us there though. It's Movement, also known as DEMF. The event features over 100 electronic music artists on 5 stages in Hart Plaza. I've heard from friends that attend every year, that if you are into electronic music, you have to go. Since I'm not, I won't be there. However, the event attracts over 100,000 people from all over the world. 

In addition to the main party at Movement, there are some other great after parties going on around town. The one that stood out the most to us is happening Saturday night at Club Waterfalls Ultra Lounge. It features Detroit native Jimmy Edgar along side many other DJs including our friends from Tour Detroit, Steven Robert with Erno the Inferno performing together as T&A and Joe Vargas. Cover is only $5 and re-entry is allowed. They claim they will have great drink prices, too!

Tonight there are a ton of Pre-Movement parties. However, we suggest that you head down to St. Andrew's for Funk Night DEMF Edition featuring DJ Head, DJ Frank Raines, Diamond D, Guilty Simpson and Will Sessions. Cover is $5 if you are 21+ or $10 if you are 18+. Make sure to say "hi" to our friend East Side John while you are there! 

Movement is going on Saturday - Monday. So if you love electro beatz, head down to Hart Plaza. Otherwise, you might want to stay away from the Riverfront this weekend.

~C