The owners of Harpos Concert Theatre in Detroit issued a public apology Monday after a metal show with ties to neo-Nazis and white supremacists was booked at the venue over the weekend.
The legendary venue came under fire after news began to spread that the seven-band show, dubbed “A Night of Black Metal and Carnage,” was taking place at Harpos on the city’s east side on Saturday night.
In lengthy statement, co-owners Ruzvelt Stevanovski and Krystle Dzajkovska said they were “manipulated” and had no idea that the show was associated with National Socialist black metal (NSBM), which broadly refers to bands that promote fascist and white supremacist ideology.
“While the events on January 25th do not reflect our values, or that of our community, we are truly sorry and are holding ourselves and others involved accountable,” the statement reads on Harpos’ Facebook page. “We at Harpos are deeply committed to fostering an environment of inclusivity, respect, and equality for all. We want to unequivocally state racism has no place in our business or community, and we stand against all forms of racism.”
The show was organized by an outside promoter who portrayed it as a standard black metal event, according to the owners.
But, the owners conceded, Harpos — which has a history of hosting heavy metal concerts — did not independently verify the organizer’s claims or look into the type of bands that were playing.
Among the seven bands on the bill was national act Grand Belial’s Key, which has drawn protests and been banned from performing due to antisemitic lyrics.
“I foolishly did not follow up as intensely as I should have,” Dzajkovska wrote. “This is not who we are or what we represent. As a Black venue owner, I fully understand that hate and racism comes in all forms and skin tones.”
The organizer kept details of the event hidden until the last minute. Ticket-holders were told of the show’s location on the day of the event.
This secrecy, the owners said, kept them in the dark about the event’s affiliations.
“We were not given certain information during the process of booking this event that could have prevented this from happening,” the owners said. “After reflection on our end, we realize that although we should have asked for more and done more research, we feel that by design, they deliberately failed to provide such information. We feel manipulated throughout the entire process and will continue to address where we need to improve.”
It wasn’t until the day of the event that Harpos learned about the show’s connections to neo-Nazis and white supremacist ideologies, the owners said. After receiving calls from community members and seeing online posts about the show, the owners canceled the event as the second band was performing.
“Once we were made aware of the situation, the event was shut down immediately,” the statement reads.
Stevanovski and Dzajkovska pledged to improve their booking and vetting processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“The outrage and anger is completely understood and shows that there is still some humanity left in this world and that there are still individuals out there that will stand up against what is wrong and hateful,” they said.
In July, white nationalists were removed from two Detroit venues.
