Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Concert of Colors with Mexican cumbia, Afro-Dixie remix, Mexican cabaret and the movie “Finding Fela” Annual music festival marks 24th anniversary
Updated Jun 21, 2016
June 21, 2016 (Detroit)—For the sixth year in a row, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is participating in the Concert of Colors, metro Detroit’s annual free diversity-themed music festival. On Friday, July 15, Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta performs Mexican cumbia at 6 p.m. and at 9:30 p.m., the Detroit Film Theatre will show “Finding Fela.” The fun continues on Saturday, July 16, with the Afro-Dixie Remix Listening Party at 9:30 p.m. The festivities come to a close on Sunday, July 17 with Mexican cabaret singer Astrid Hadad at 7:30 p.m. Concerts will be indoors and outdoors, weather permitting.
Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta is a Chicago-based jam band made up of musicians from the jazz, R&B, Mexican folk, punk and salsa world specializing in Mexican cumbia. Cumbia dancing and music began as a courtship tradition among the African-descended people of Latin America. It later evolved to include Native American and European instruments and dance steps, creating variations from Mexico to Colombia. Detroit dance instructors will introduce the audience to cumbia’s rhythm and movements. Beginners are welcome at this all-ages event.
“Finding Fela” is a movie about African musician and postcolonial political activist Fela Kuti. Kuti took Nigeria by storm, pioneering the Afrobeat sound, merging American R&B and funk with Nigerian and Ghanaian traditions to create a new sound in support of his antiestablishment beliefs. Kuti’s musical output and influence waned in the 1990s, but in the past decade a resurgence of interest in his work culminated in the Broadway hit “Fela!”
Multimedia artist John Sims created Afro-Dixie Remix in response to the now-controversial song “Dixie” by Stephen Foster. Sims’ creative resistance features “Dixie” recordings as spiritual, jazz, funk, calypso, samba, soul, R&B, Hip hop and blues. The Detroit listening party advances the experience with collaborations from Detroit-area writers and musicians.
Mexican artist, vocalist and cabaret star Astrid Hadad has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most provocative stage acts since the Weimar Republic was in bloom.” Hadad combines ranchero, bolero, rumba and rock with extravagant costumes that are like portable sets, a hallmark of her performances.
This year marks the 24th anniversary of the Concert of Colors. The event, which will take place July 14 through July 17 around Midtown Detroit, is produced by the Arab American National Museum, along with partners the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, ACCESS, Midtown Detroit Inc. and the University of Michigan–Detroit Center, to bring together metro Detroit’s diverse ethnic communities by presenting music from around the world. The festival has become a beloved highlight of metro Detroit’s summer festival season and one of the few remaining free-admission local music festivals. For this year’s schedule, visit www.concertofcolors.com.
June 21, 2016 (Detroit)—For the sixth year in a row, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is participating in the Concert of Colors, metro Detroit’s annual free diversity-themed music festival. On Friday, July 15, Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta performs Mexican cumbia at 6 p.m. and at 9:30 p.m., the Detroit Film Theatre will show “Finding Fela.” The fun continues on Saturday, July 16, with the Afro-Dixie Remix Listening Party at 9:30 p.m. The festivities come to a close on Sunday, July 17 with Mexican cabaret singer Astrid Hadad at 7:30 p.m. Concerts will be indoors and outdoors, weather permitting.
Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta is a Chicago-based jam band made up of musicians from the jazz, R&B, Mexican folk, punk and salsa world specializing in Mexican cumbia. Cumbia dancing and music began as a courtship tradition among the African-descended people of Latin America. It later evolved to include Native American and European instruments and dance steps, creating variations from Mexico to Colombia. Detroit dance instructors will introduce the audience to cumbia’s rhythm and movements. Beginners are welcome at this all-ages event.
“Finding Fela” is a movie about African musician and postcolonial political activist Fela Kuti. Kuti took Nigeria by storm, pioneering the Afrobeat sound, merging American R&B and funk with Nigerian and Ghanaian traditions to create a new sound in support of his antiestablishment beliefs. Kuti’s musical output and influence waned in the 1990s, but in the past decade a resurgence of interest in his work culminated in the Broadway hit “Fela!”
Multimedia artist John Sims created Afro-Dixie Remix in response to the now-controversial song “Dixie” by Stephen Foster. Sims’ creative resistance features “Dixie” recordings as spiritual, jazz, funk, calypso, samba, soul, R&B, Hip hop and blues. The Detroit listening party advances the experience with collaborations from Detroit-area writers and musicians.
Mexican artist, vocalist and cabaret star Astrid Hadad has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most provocative stage acts since the Weimar Republic was in bloom.” Hadad combines ranchero, bolero, rumba and rock with extravagant costumes that are like portable sets, a hallmark of her performances.
This year marks the 24th anniversary of the Concert of Colors. The event, which will take place July 14 through July 17 around Midtown Detroit, is produced by the Arab American National Museum, along with partners the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, ACCESS, Midtown Detroit Inc. and the University of Michigan–Detroit Center, to bring together metro Detroit’s diverse ethnic communities by presenting music from around the world. The festival has become a beloved highlight of metro Detroit’s summer festival season and one of the few remaining free-admission local music festivals. For this year’s schedule, visit www.concertofcolors.com.