6/5/12

UPCOMING: 20TH CONCERT OF COLORS

The 20th Annual Concert of Colors promises a Motor City throwdown! 
A landmark year for a beloved Detroit music festival as it unites One Metropolitan Area Under a Groove with headliner George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, at 8:30 p.m. Sun., July 15, on the Meijer Main Stage, Orchestra Hall .

Presented this year by its first-ever title sponsor, the Ford Foundation, the 20th Concert of Colors kicks off at 8 p.m. Sat., July 7 as Meshell Ndegeocello plays a Tune-Up Concert @ New Center Park, courtesy of the festival’s newest partner, Midtown Detroit Inc. Festival partners include the Arab American National Museum, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and ACCESS.

On Thu., July 12 the main festival kicks into gear at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History with family-friendly hip-hop maestro Mike-E and his AfroFlow & Friends; picks up speed Fri., July 13 at the Detroit Institute of Arts with PuppetSlam Detroit! and two sets by Quebec’s De Temps Antan; then pegs the odometer at the Max M. Fisher Music Center Sat. and Sun., July 14-15, led by the 5th anniversary of the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue Revue (8:15 p.m. Sat., July 14, Meijer Main Stage, Orchestra Hall); the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with special guests Wu Man (China’s most famous traditional musician, making her DSO debut) and Eric Jacobsen (3:30 p.m. Sun., July 15, Meijer Main Stage, Orchestra Hall); and Detroit’s own crazy man Clinton closing out the festival in one of the city’s finest, most historic venues – a once-in-a-lifetime combination.

Confirmed to appear on the 5th Detroit All-Star Revue are: Marion Hayden, James Carter, Sheila Jordan, Regina Carter, Marcus Belgrave, Wendell Harrison, Amp Fiddler, Dennis Coffey, A. Spencer Barefield, Joan Belgrave and Surprise Special Guests to be announced.

The complete lineup for the 20th Concert of Colors appears below and at www.concertofcolors.com. All performances and museum admission are free and open to the public. Visit the website for artist biographies and links, schedule updates and other news.