Concert of Colors Title Sponsor Ford Foundation, Don Was Revue Return for 2013
Remember the old Michigan Lottery TV commercial? “It’s growing, it’s growing…it’s out of control!” Having reached age 21, the Concert of Colors is a community-enhancing jackpot of free live music with an expanding presence in Detroit’s bustling Midtown district. And now it’s filling a long-vacant spot in the local music fest calendar by moving from its traditional mid-July slot to Independence Day weekend, Thursday-Sunday, July 4-7, 2013, with the 2nd Tune Up Concert set for the evening of Saturday, June 29, 2013.
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, as well as the indigenous sounds of our musically magical hometown. All festival performances are free and open to the public, and take place at cultural institutions on or near Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit.
Presented for the second year running by Ford Foundation and 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. and ACCESS, Concert of Colors proudly welcomes a new partner/venue this year, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), 4454 Woodward Ave., Detroit.
Concert of Colors’ favorite headliner and hometown-boy-made-good Don Was reprises the annual Detroit All-Star Revue, his sixth, closing out the festivities on the evening of Sunday, July 7, 2013, with another deftly curated lineup of classic and contemporary Detroit artists backed by the Revue House Band, a stellar group in its own right. Fans can enjoy all past Revue performances, including 2012’s Detroit Jazz City edition, through My Damn Channel online music videos.
The sizzling NYC-based Colombian expats MAKU Sound System gets festival motors running at the 8 p.m. Saturday, June 29, 2013, Tune Up Concert at New Center Park, a follow-up to its frenetic Afro-Colombian-punk-jazz sets at last summer’s Concert of Colors and on its sister series, Global Fridays at the Arab American National Museum, last fall. And MOCAD kicks off its festival tenure by presenting live music by Cambodian Space Project at 10 p.m. Saturday, July 6, 2013, as it hosts the Official 2013 Concert of Colors After Party.
The complete lineup will be released on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, online at www.concertofcolors.com. Music lovers can count on the festival’s signature diversity of styles and traditions, including Detroit’s hometown sounds, and, for this year, a heavy presence of music from North Africa. In coming weeks, the festival will release news about additional venues and special events.
The Concert of Colors is made possible by many generous, community-minded businesses and organizations, lead by presenting sponsor Ford Foundation and returning sponsors Comerica, Ford Motor Company, HAP and Bank of America, among others.
21st Concert of Colors presented by Ford Foundation
Saturday, June 29, 2013, Tune Up Concert @ New Center Park
Thursday, July 4, 2013, @ Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
Friday, July 5, 2013, @ Detroit Institute of Arts
Saturday, July 6, 2013, @ Max M. Fisher Music Center
Saturday, July 6, 2013, Official After Party @ MOCAD
Sunday, July 7, 2013, @ Max M. Fisher Music Center
All performances are free and open to the public; all venues are located on or near Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit. The complete schedule will be published May 1, 2013 at www.concertofcolors.com; schedule changes and other news appear there as it becomes available.