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After six years and four state-appointed managers, Detroit Public Schools’ debt has grown even deeper
Part One of two. Click here for Part Two of Curt Guyette’s series on Detroit Public Schools. On a recent night when temperatures hovered near zero, Aliya Moore and her two school-aged daughters bundled up for the 20-minute drive from their home in northwest Detroit to the Frederick Douglass Academy, a public school not far…
On this day in Detroit history: Model Donyale Luna dies
Born Peggy Ann Freeman in Detroit, the woman who would later be known as Donyale Luna was the first African-American supermodel, appearing on Harper’s Bazaar in 1965 and British Vogue in 1966. After being discovered as an awkward teen in Detroit, Luna would become a muse for the likes of figures like Andy Warhol and Richard…
ICYMI: Fact mag’s ‘Winter in Detroit’ photo essay with Rick Wade, DJ Butter, Shigeto & more
In case you missed it when they were posted a few weeks ago, here are some of the great photos of local musicians from Fact mag’s “Winter in Detroit” photo essay.
Detroit restaurants offer special menu items inspired by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
Gratify all of your senses.
2,000 Detroit students will get free entry to the Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo exhibit at the DIA
2,000 Detroit students will get to see Diego & Frida for free.
Pastries from Detroit bake shop to be featured on Air France flights
If you’ve never tried a lava cake from Detroit’s Chez Chloe, we highly suggest you seek one (or two, or three!) out immediately. These chocolate delights are just that: chocolately and delightful. And now, folks can look for them on Air France flights departing out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport. That’s right, Parisian baker Chloe Sabatier has…
The District Detroit: The city of today, tomorrow!
A bizarre sales pitch for viable, vibrant, bustling, historic neighborhoods — that should probably be built at some point.
Detroit will have a revamped parking system by summer
If there were one issue that transcends the burgeoning divide of New vs. Old Detroit it, without question, would be the city’s dreadful parking system. Yes, parking doesn’t typically jump right out and garner considerable attention, but Detroit’s system is so problematic for downtown businesses, employees, and residents, it has consistently been a talking point…
Kerry Bentivolio, the reindeer rancher turned Congressman, files for bankruptcy
Kerry Bentivolio, a former Santa Claus impersonator turned surprise congressman following the downfall of Thaddeus McCotter, has succumbed to crippling financial debt stemming from his time in D.C. In his Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition filed in Detroit, Bentivolio lists nearly $295,000 in debt against roughly $270,000 reported assets. Bentivolio’s financial perils began during his run…
This super science-y image of the first photo of light ‘as both a particle and wave’ reminds us of rave flyers
This science photo reminded us of a rave flyer, so we posted a BBC documentary on the start of rave culture. You’re welcome.
Why is a Detroit Thai restaurant advertising in New York City?
The billboards were created by Prince Media Co., a boutique billboard company.
Midtown Detroit gelato and espresso shop Melt closes
Only 16 months after opening on Cass Avenue in Detroit, Melt, a gelato and espresso shop, has closed. Located at the corner of Cass and Willis, the Midtown café shut its doors about two weeks ago. A male who answered the phone at Melt’s landlord, Venn Parking LLC, declined to give his name but confirmed…
Missed her apartment performances? Dancer Biba Bell to appear at Cranbrook
Biba Bell will join New York musician Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe for a performance as part of Cranbrook’s “Hall of Wonders.”
Check out the short film starring Detroit native J.K. Simmons that became ‘Whiplash’
J.K. Simmons, the Detroit native who recently won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as a not-mellow-whatsoever music teacher in “Whiplash,” offered some humble words when he accepted his award, urging everyone to “call your Mom … call your Dad.” “If you’re lucky enough to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call…
It would appear that even Mumford & Sons are sick of Mumford & Sons’ schtick
Have Mumford & Sons forsaken their trademark vest folk sound in favor of… synthesizers?
How I survived an hour in downtown Detroit’s ‘Garthlock 2015’
The worst hour of gridlock in the history of downtown Detroit.
ICYMI: Ashley Zlatopolsky’s history of dance radio in Detroit is epic & awesome
Former MT staffer Ashley Zlatopolsky’s history of dance radio in Detroit is informative and fun.
Madonna brings her weird-ass Rebel Heart tour to Detroit
Madonna announced a 35-city tour today to promote her forthcoming Rebel Heart, including a stop at Joe Louis Arena on Oct. 1. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. March 23 — check out the full details on her official site. The singer, who once distanced herself from her Michigan roots and seemed to avoid Detroit…
Shinola to open new store in Ann Arbor
Shinola will open a new location in Ann Arbor in spring 2015.
Buffalo Wild Wings opens in Royal Oak today, with free wings for first 100 guests
Thoughts about a B-Dubs opening in a former Royal Oak bookstore.
Stream music from Daniel Bachman’s forthcoming record of acoustic guitar awesomeness
Twentysomething acoustic guitar wiz Daniel Bachman shares an eight minute track off his new album.
Detroit’s Punch Bowl Social got mentioned on this list of cool American bars — kind of
Buzzfeed mentioned Punch Bowl Social’s sister location in Denver on a list of 19 bars to drink at before you die.
‘The Crow’ gets reboot — maybe
Maybe we should file this under “we’ll believe it when we see it.”
Check out these photos from local bookstore DittoDitto
DittoDitto is a little bookstore in Detroit
Fierce Hot Mess DJ Andrew Dall’olmo shares his top tracks
Here’s a playlist of choice cuts for monthly DJ night Fierce Hot Mess, courtesy of Gin&Tronic’s Dall’olmo.
Karl Ove Knausgaard writes about Detroit in NYT Magazine travel essay
Karl Ove Knausgaard, the Norwegian author who has become a literary sensation of sorts in recent years due to his six-volume autobiographical novel My Struggle, penned a mighty travel essay as the centerpiece to this week’s relaunched New York Times Magazine. Turns out, Knausgaard visited Detroit on his travels with the magazine’s photographer, Peter van…
AC/DC more popular in Detroit than on the coasts? Yeah, we buy that.
This week, I received the following press release from a kind person who reps ScoreBig, “an online marketplace for unsold ticket inventory that sits on a ton of data.” Misplaced modifiers aside, I’m intrigued by their recent conclusion regarding everyone’s favorite band from Australia that Angus Young is in, especially because they contrast AC/DC with friggin…
The Hamtramck Music Fest starts this week and it looks awesome
T.J. Grech from the Pretty Ghouls answers our questions on this year’s Hamtramck Music Fest!
Manuel ‘Matty’ Moroun is still pursuing his bid to build a new international bridge of his own
It’s been awhile since we checked in with Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun, the 87-year-old billionaire who would likely sell his soul to stop the construction of a new bridge between Windsor and Detroit that he won’t own. Even as President Barack Obama’s administration and Canada finally announced an agreement to fund the final piece…
Watch this aerial footage of Detroit from 1997
We stumbled across this aerial footage of Detroit on YouTube today, courtesy of Paul Tamm, which depicts the Motor City from above in the late 1990s. The video itself isn’t the best quality and we suggest watching it on mute, but it’s certainly an interesting glimpse into the city’s past and fun to look for all…
The Old Shillelagh lands on list of best Irish bars in America
St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and if you haven’t already made plans to take the holiday (and the day after) off from work, we highly suggest you do so soon because everyone knows St. Pat’s is the one day when area bars open at the crack of dawn and every Detroiter can…
Michigan native Carrie Keranen is an anime supervillian
Congrats to Oak Park native and U-M alum Carrie Keranen for landing a role voicing Satsuki Kiruin, the villain in a new anime called Kill la Kill that premiered on Cartoon Network’s Toonami on Feb. 7. OK, the cartoon sounds really fucking weird — something about women who have to kill each other by wearing sentient, bloodythirsty (and…
Two ways to listen to the psychedelic Detroit classic “Journey to the Center of the Mind”: With or without the Nuge!
The Sun City Girls, who have roots in Saginaw, did the most explosive cover of this early hit for Ted Nugent.
Royal Oak Restaurant Week starts tomorrow
Tomorrow kicks off 10 days of fixed-price meals in Royal Oak.
NYT highlights Wayne State police efforts in Midtown
The New York Times has a lengthy profile this week on Wayne State University’s police department, and how its efforts have aided the Detroit Police Department in patrolling the city’s Midtown district. From NYT: For years, calling 911 in Detroit has been a gamble. The average response time to the highest-priority calls stretched sometimes to…
Michigan Brewer’s Guild’s Winter Beer Fest is tomorrow and there are surprisingly some tickets still available
There are still tickets available for Winter Beer Fest tomorrow.
Hell is for sale: Group seeks to purchase merchandise, businesses in Michigan hamlet
Want to have a stake in Hell? Well, one group is trying to make that happen: According to the Livingston Daily, an art group called Damned has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to purchase the entire holdings of Hell, Michigan’s unofficial mayor, John Colone. From the Livingston Daily: Colone’s businesses in Hell include…
Michigan company to debut bulletproof baseball caps
BulletSafe, a Troy-based manufacturer that produces safety gear for security personnel and the general public, plans to add a new item to their line of products: Bulletproof baseball caps. The cap is equipped with a five-ounce panel that covers the forehead and, in theory, can deflect a bullet. The BulletSafe crew put it to the…
The Singles serve Scarlett Johansson with cease-and-desist
Remember the Singles? The formerly Detroit-based band is accusing Scarlett Johansson of stealing its name.
Let’s help Detroit musician, cultural scholar & Kresge fellow Michael Hurtt in his battle with cancer
Local Kresge fellow, scholar and musician Michael Hurtt needs help in fighting lymphoma.
Forbes has some makeover advice for Detroit
Forbes offers Detroit some makeover advice
Dr. John on going to church, Sonny & Cher, Louis Armstrong, Cosimo Matassa, Bobby Charles, the Stooges, and much more
What follows is the interview Metro Times conducted with Dr. John, as we had the opportunity to talk with him on Fat Tuesday, 2015. He wasn’t scheduled to appear here at the time, but he graciously spoke with us on a variety of topics. Metro Times: Happy Fat Tuesday to you, sir. Dr. John: Oh…
Rochester Tap Room to open soon
Rochester Tap Room will open on March 12.
Rock City Pies will appear on ‘Restaurant Startup’
Rock City Pies will compete on a new episode of “Restaurant Startup” next week. Here are some clips.
Detroit’s historic David Stott building flooded with two million gallons of water
Downtown Detroit’s historic David Stott building is partially submerged this week after a water main break went unnoticed allowing over two million gallons of water to gush through the building’s interior. “Downstairs, there’s an easy six-foot worth of water,” Justin Reynolds, who works with the Detroit Fire Department, told WWJ. “As far as I know,…
Biba Bell proves yes, you actually can dance about architecture
You’ve heard that old saying about “dancing about architecture,” right? In a way, Biba Bell does that. Bell is gearing up for a series of performances that will be held in and influenced by a strange space — her Detroit apartment. We met Bell over coffee at Trinosophes, but when the music proved too loud…
Moon Duo are ready to melt your face right off
“We dig repetition in the music/ And we’re never going to lose it/ All you daughters and sons/ Who are sick of fancy music …/ This is the three Rs:/ Repetition, Repetition, Repetition” — The Fall, “Repetition” There is this idea that in order to create truly psychedelic art, you aren’t going to just go…
Eight-time Paczki Cup champ Matt Holowicki talks about being an ‘eater’
If you follow competitive eating in our region, you may already know the name Matt Holowicki. Most days, the 46-year-old Plymouth resident and father of two works full time as a nurse doing hospice care. But he’s often a contestant (and winner) at metro Detroit eating competitions, usually accompanied by his family, including his wife…
Drink Up
Redbreast single pot still 12-year-old Irish whiskey 80 proof | 40% ABV Way back in the day, 1857 to be exact, W&A Gilbey was founded in the small basement cellars at the corner of Oxford and Berwick Streets in London. Four short years later the duty on French wines was reduced by 10 shillings, which…
What do Miles Davis, Sun Ra, and the Stooges have in common? Dr. John, of course!
Click here for Mike McGonigal’s exclusive Q&A with Dr. John. Dr. John was not having the best Fat Tuesday of his life last week. A scheduled gig in Nashville had been canceled due to that ice storm, and he sounded pretty down. This is a man who lives to play music. His new record Ske-Dat-De-Dat:…
Get burgers, beer, and booze at Boston’s
Located just off Hall Road in the eastside suburb of Shelby Township sits Boston’s. Just one in nearly 400 establishments of the franchise, this chain restaurant has everything you might expect from, well, a chain restaurant. A smiling hostess awaits you at the door and ushers you to your gaily upholstered booth, where upon a…
Ask a Juggalo: Is there a preferred store to buy makeup, clothing, etc.?
Q: Is there a preferred store where Juggalos buy makeup, clothing, etc.? A: As far as on the east side of Detroit, there were two main shops. One would be the legendary Hot Hits. In my opinion, that’s where all of the professional over-the-counter sales and the entry-level marketing really began. Hot Hits was definitely…
Five things you need to know about metro Detroit dining this week
B-Dubs gives you wings — Ferndale’s Buffalo Wild Wings is moving to Royal Oak — and you might just get some wings in the process. The outpost of the national chain that’s synonymous with beer-fueled binges on chicken dishes and professional sports viewing will open in the new, larger location on the first floor of…
Jeremy Waun is the singer-songwriter for people who don’t like singer-songwriters
Twenty-six-year-old Jeremy Waun grew up in rural Michigan, just outside Port Huron. He laughs easily, is cagily smart, plays in a bunch of bands, and gets by “merchandising flowers and tropical plants for a wholesale greenhouse.” I’m not sure what that means, but it sounds pretty hippy-ish. Waun says that “I feel real deal vibes…
Iron Horse jumps around from craft cocktails, gut-busting food, and a faint theme of daredevil motorcyclists
First of all, the door is on the left, because you have to enter the building to enter the restaurant. (You’ll thank us later.) And what is an Iron Horse? Our server told us that the “iron horse” moniker is actually a reference to the train that linked Royal Oak with Detroit in the 1800s.…
Downriver’s Major Tomato to deliver healthful junk food
Downriver is not exactly known as a culinary destination. There are plenty of coney islands, some Applebee’s, and a lot of fast food chains. Folks who like a few more options tend to have to leave the area for non-chain choices and something a little more … edible? A new restaurant is hoping to change…
Yellow Door Art Market brings year-round art fair to Berkley
Berkley is kind of like Ferndale and Royal Oak’s kid sister. It’s a super cute city, but downtown is a little more scant, and sometimes you have to actively think of a reason to visit. Thankfully, there are places like Yellow Door Art Market. The year-round indoor art fair hosts more than 50 local vendors,…
Reader responses on black businesses, Arbor Brewing Co, and more
Alysa Offman’s story on black business owners in downtown Detroit, and how some feel left out of the ongoing revival of the Central Business District, generated a bevy of comments. User “eric” posted: I wished that many of these black business owners would have purchased buildings in downtown and Midtown when they could have brought…
Savage Love: Sick and easy
Q: I have been reading your column for years, Dan, and now I’m writing you for the first time to ask for a favor. I met this dude online in December and I felt like we had a good connection. He “dumped” me, though, because he was busy and was going through career shit and…
State Dems try to jump-start economy with student tax credits
You have to give Curtis Hertel Jr., and Andy Schor credit. Their hearts are in the right place, and they want to create jobs to keep educated young people from getting the hell out of Michigan. Trouble is, they are “practical” politicians. Both are from the Lansing area. Hertel is a state senator, Schor a…
Higher Ground: The road to legality
It looks like longtime state activists will mount an effort to put the question of legalizing marijuana for recreational use by adults on the 2016 ballot. They’re being pushed by the appearance of a new organization, the Michigan Responsibility Council (MRC), with ties to the state Republican Party, that has its own plans to tax…
Horoscopes (Feb. 25 – March 2)
ARIES (March 21-April 20): At the point of greatest change ,it’s foolish to expect anything to remain stable. Those of you who are self-aware enough to be taking notes know that things are totally up in the air on a thousand different levels. There is no formula for what you’re going through, except the one…
