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22nd CONCERT OF COLORS FEST BRINGS DIVERSE MUSIC TO MIDTOWN DETROIT JULY 5 & 10-13
Don Was Detroit Revue, DSO w/ Thornetta Davis lead lineup
Food truck rally, D:hive marketplace offer local eats, merch
Fresh new website, full lineup to be revealed this month
Dearborn, Mich. (May 7, 2014) – Metro Detroit will proudly plant the banner of "one diverse city under a groove" with the 22nd Concert of Colors, Thursday-Sunday, July 10-13, 2014, and its annual Tune Up Concert Sat., July 5, 2014. The Concert of Colors is an entertaining and community-enhancing festival of free live music at leading cultural institutions in Detroit's bustling Midtown district. Metro Times 2014 Best of Detroit named the Concert of Colors the "Best Way to be Exposed to Multiple Cultures in One Weekend."
The Concert of Colors has the whole world in its bands. Curated by its founder, Ismael Ahmed, the festival celebrates the diverse global origins of metro Detroiters, the indigenous sounds of our musically magical hometown and the accessibility and unifying power of music. All festival performances are free and open to the public, and take place on both outdoor and indoor stages at major cultural venues on or near Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit.
The innovative Afro-Cuban-fused-with-pan-African style of Congo-born Los Angeles resident Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca gets festival goers shaking at the 8 p.m. Sat., July 5, 2014, Tune Up Concert at New Center Park, with special guest the Chicago Afrobeat Project, stretching the sound pioneered by Nigeria's Fela Kuti into new territory.
Concert of Colors' favorite headliner and hometown-boy-made-good Don Was reprises the annual Detroit All-Star Revue, his seventh, at 8 p.m. Sat., July 12, with another deftly curated lineup of classic and contemporary Detroit artists. Was has a scintillating "theme" up his sleeve for this year, to be revealed when the full festival lineup is announced later this month. Meanwhile, fans can enjoy all past Revue performances online via My Damn Channel online music videos.
Two Motor City musical forces will meld at 3:30 p.m. Sun., July 13, as the internationally renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra and homegrown blues and gospel queen Thornetta Davis unite at Orchestra Hall. Davis' powerful voice will nestle in the DSO's musical nest with the aid of conductor John McLaughlin Williams, the Grammy-award winning conductor and violinist.
Concert of Colors has refreshed its food and merchandise offerings this year, with a new focus on locally produced goods. At Max M. Fisher Music Center July 12-13, the festival proudly welcomes D:hive's BUILD Bazaar, an ongoing pop-up marketplace celebrating emerging entrepreneurs from D:hive's BUILD program. From artisanal candles and soap, to fresh baked goods and handmade wares, BUILD Bazaar will feature an exciting and diverse range of local vendors. Many of Detroit's popular food trucks will rally at the Max M. Fisher Center on July 12-13, under the organizational baton of Scott Moloney of Ferndale's Treat Dreams.
The complete festival lineup will be released later this month online at festival's new WordPress site (currently under construction at www.concertofcolors.com).
In coming weeks, the festival will also release news about additional venues, special events and vendors.
The Concert of Colors is produced by the Arab American National Museum with its partners Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Midtown Detroit, Inc., ACCESS and University of Michigan – Detroit Center.
The Concert of Colors is made possible by many generous, community-minded businesses and organizations, led by longtime Main Stage sponsor Meijer and returning sponsors Comerica (Diversity Stage), Ford Motor Company, DTE Energy, Knight Foundation, General Motors, University of Michigan – Dearborn, HAP, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and National Endowment for the Arts, among others. Media sponsors include the Detroit Media Partnership.
22nd Concert of Colors
All performances free and open to the public
All venues on or near Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit
News and updated information at www.concertofcolors.com (currently under construction)
Sat., July 5, 2014
Tune Up Concert @ New Center Park, W. Grand Blvd. at Second Ave.
(outdoors; doors at 7 p.m.)
Thu., July 10, 2014
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
315 E. Warren Ave.
(indoors; doors at TIME TBA)
and
Scarab Club
217 Farnsworth Ave.
(indoors; doors at 6 p.m.)
Fri., July 11, 2014
Detroit Institute of Arts, South Lawn
5200 Woodward Ave.
(outdoors; music begins at 5 p.m.)
Sat., July 12, 2014
Max M. Fisher Music Center
3711 Woodward Ave.
(indoors and outdoors; doors at 1 p.m.)
Sun., July 13, 2014
Max M. Fisher Music Center
3711 Woodward Ave.
(indoors and outdoors; doors at 1 p.m.)
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) documents, preserves and presents Arab American history, culture and contributions.
The AANM is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums; an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution; and a founding member of the Immigration and Civil Rights Network of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.
Visit www.arabamericanmuseum.org or call 313.582.2266 for further information.
