| World
Music Worth Your While |
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Let’s get one thing straight from the start: Summer is my time. The thought of those warm nights is all that gets me through the last dismal months of winter. And oh, the magical month of July—give me a cold drink and some outdoor music and I’m in hog heaven. One of July’s many sublime gifts is the Concert of Colors a three-day orgy of world music in Detroit. This is no touchy-feely Putumayo world music, either. There’s enough variety here to lure anyone, then hold onto them with one blow-your-mind act after another. Concert of Colors has been around for a while. Born in the mid-90’s as a one-day free festival, it’s maintained its location in Chene Park and its lack of admission fees to this day, despite expanding to an impressive three-day showcase. I’ve heard complaints about the acoustics of the amphitheater, but the idyllic location on the Detroit River, with its cool breezes and gaggles of boats bouncing along with the music, along with the freedom to wander to wherever the sound suits you, should put those issues to bed without supper. There
is literally something for everyone, with the reggae, afrobeat and
latin music you would expect, but topped off with unexpected sounds
like Turkish and African-Israeli electronica, Venezuelan disco-funk,
Irish folk, even all-American roots music. Friday: If that’s not enough other acts as diverse as the Peking Acrobats, Detroit soul legend Gino Washington, Detroit rock divas the Gore Gore Girls, and plenty of other unforgettable artists from Brazil, Japan, Italy, Africa will be on the three stages. You get the message. My only gripe in the past has been the food; whoever has the concessions at Chene Park puts out some sorry excuses for dinner, so be prepared to go elsewhere if things haven’t changed. Concert
of Colors happens Friday-Sunday, July 16 to 18 at Detroit’s
Chene Park, located off Jefferson 1 mile East of the Renaissance
Center, at Atwater and the Detroit River. A full schedule can be
found at www.concertofcolors.com.A2P
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INTERVIEWS COLUMNS PLUS: Art: |
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