Grammy-winning fiddler and vocalist for the Lost Bayou Ramblers, Louis Michot has long interpreted tradition through a modern lens. His 2023 solo debut, Rêve de Troubadour, is a spectral, shape-shifting album steeped in Louisiana French. 

Its 2024 follow-up, SEAUXLEAUX, pushes further by melding field recordings, Cajun melodies, and electric textures into something both rooted and experimental. Both records were released by Nouveau Electric Records, a label Michot founded in 2018 to promote the evolving sound of French Louisiana.

The River Raisin Ragtime Revue (R4) is a professional theater orchestra dedicated to educating and entertaining via the performance, preservation and restoration of significant American music. R4 highlights the development of our country’s original popular musical style – ragtime. 

Utilizing a meticulously-researched and engaging narrative, R4 transports the audience to the cultural and social conditions of turn-of-the-century America. Special emphasis is given to the contributions of African American composers and the obstacles they overcame in attempting to gain acceptance of this unique, original art form.

Gnote~7 is an energetic soulful band with expertise in many genres including funk, jazz, blues and old-school R & B. This performance will explore all of these genres in Gnote’s infectious style. Come prepared for a rollicking good time with high energy provided by a band that embodies what makes Detroit music special.

One of the Silent Era’s most influential masterpieces, Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau, 1922) set the template for the horror films that followed. In the town of Wisborg, Germany, estate agent Knock sends his associate, Hutter, to Count Orlok’s castle in Transylvania, where the Count wishes to purchase an isolated house in Wisborg.

What begins as a simple real estate transaction quickly turns into something far more unsettling. Hutter journeys deep into the heart of Transylvania and the eerie castle of the otherworldly Count Orlok—portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck in a performance that has inspired its own mythology. But is the Count merely an eccentric nobleman, or something much more sinister?

This screening is accompanied by a live score from The Detroit Bureau of Sound, led by “cactus virtuoso and sonic evangelist” Zac Bru.

Making its North American debut at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Rebetiko is a poignant and visually stunning puppet performance by Marseille-based Anima Theatre. Directed by Yiorgos Karakantzas and written by Panayotis Evangelidis, the piece draws on the Greek urban folk music of the 1920s—rebetiko—as a sonic thread through a contemporary odyssey of exile, displacement, and resilience. Merging handcrafted puppetry, live and recorded music, and haunting video projections, Rebetiko creates a dreamlike landscape where memory and migration intertwine.

Originally conceived as a meditation on forced relocation and state violence, the performance is both timely and timeless. Through deceptively simple gestures and richly layered imagery, Rebetiko offers a rare kind of catharsis—one that honors loss while affirming our shared humanity. (60 min.)

Recommended for ages 8+

The Friday, October 25 performance will be followed by a public conversation on migration—both global and national—featuring leading scholars, advocates, and legal experts. Moderated by Professor Anya Sirota, the talk-back will reflect on the performance’s themes and the urgent realities of displacement and border politics today.

Brought to Michigan through the University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative, and with support from Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, this performance exemplifies the power of international cultural exchange and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Mahogany Jones—internationally acclaimed inspirational hip hop artist, cultural ambassador, and proud Detroiter—delivers a powerful live performance celebrating the reinstallation of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ African American Art collection. 

This special event honors the legacy of Black artistry through a genre-blending experience of hip hop, soul, jazz, and spoken word, brought to life by a full ensemble of top-tier musicians and performers.

Violinist Miranda Cuckson, who teaches at the Mannes School of Music at The New School, is as comfortable with Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber’s 17th-century solo sonatas as she is with Georg Friedrich Haas’s prismatic, microtonal Violin Concerto No. 2—written for her in 2017. 

Blair McMillen, a professor at Bard College, has also explored a wide range of repertoire, from William Bolcom’s lyrical Graceful Ghost to Annie Gosfield’s wildly inventive Brooklyn, October 5, 1941, a work for piano and tennis balls. Together, Cuckson and McMillen have performed and recorded several modern American masterpieces, demonstrating a remarkable breadth of taste and technique.

For this performance, the duo will present works by Sergei Prokofiev, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lili Boulanger, Ross Lee Finney, and Eleanor Alberga.

Thomas X, an accomplished Native hip-hop artist from the Red Lake Nation in northern Minnesota, has embarked on a remarkable career journey. Beginning as part of Rez Rap Records, he has grown into a formidable solo artist, captivating audiences with his distinctive style and powerful lyrics.

Beyond music, Thomas X is deeply committed to his community. He serves on the Red Lake School Board and as Executive Director of the Red Lake Boys & Girls Club, underscoring his dedication to the well-being and development of local youth.

Thomas X’s impact extends far beyond the stage. He is a powerful example of how art, education, and community engagement can come together to create meaningful change. Through his music, leadership, and unwavering commitment to young people, Thomas X continues to uplift and inspire both his community and a global audience.

Presented with American Sign Language interpretation

Gwen Laster’s New Muse 4tet performs music inspired by African mythology, social justice, current events, and the African Diaspora lexicon. 

The quartet is the creation of Guggenheim Fellow, award-winning violinist, and conceptual composer Gwen Laster. 

She is joined by Jerome Fellow violist Melanie Dyer, cellist Teddy Rankin Parker, and drummer Andrew Drury.

Carlos y Charlos are two Los Angeles County-born multi-instrumentalists, Juan Carlos Reynoso (banjo sexto) and Charles De Castro (diatonic accordion), who initially came together to play the songs they love from their Norteño idols, like Los Alegres de Terán and Carlos y José, to Texas accordion legends such as Santiago Jimenez Sr. and Narciso Martinez. 

The addition of bassist Patrick Morrison solidifies the band’s current sound. Their blend of traditional polkas, waltzes, and classic Norteño repertoire keeps the party going while staying true to the roots of Norteño and Mexican music.