Concert of Colors

I’ve been attending the Concert of Colors for many years. This year I was surprised by how beautiful the Max M Fisher Music Center looked and how many more local vendors and community groups have started to be involved recently. I hope that continues in the future.
I also like that the Concert of Colors has some of the most diverse musical acts of any concert in the community. There are so many incredible local and international talents. Read the other reviewers postings to get a sense of that.
I love too that you can wander inside the beautiful Max M Fisher Music Center, but then also stroll outside into the side street and plaza area for more music and vendors. It seems a little odd when you first see the setup but now I think every space is used well and efficiently.
What I love most though is that the Concert of Colors is free and (more importantly) that it is free because both the community and corporations have worked to keep it that way. That represents the best of Detroit, and our ability to work together. For all of that, it’s a 5 star worthy production, but because of a few problems with the event I’d give it a little less than 5 stars if I could (although very close).
What I don’t like (to start with) is that the dates and event structure change year-​to-​year. Why not just keep it a fixed weekend every year? This year they added an initial day at the DIA. Great idea in a way to celebrate both the Concert of Colors and the DIA, but it also seemed odd to do that on a random day of the week.
My suggestion (since no one asked) is to go bigger and make Concert of Colors a week long event every year with various things to do around the city. Get restaurants involved, contact filmmakers to show movies, have local bands give panel discussions and think big. But pick small venues to save on costs. Bring in Motown people, Heidelberg Project people, auto industry and graphics people too and show off our creative talent. Make Concert of Colors our SXSW and advertise it nationally that way. Heck if Comcast/​NBC is already a sponsor give them the rights to broadcast some of the performances in exchange for advertising (Comcast used to show some of the concerts on local access before).
Anyway, going back to the review itself, I also still prefer the entirely outdoor venue idea. Chene Park is where it used to be held and Chene Park has a beautiful amphitheater with the Detroit River and Canada behind it and a field area for vendors. I don’t miss the field setup but I miss the river and amphitheter. I do like the Max M Fischer Music Center very much though and I’m sure it has better sound, lighting, and facilities for performers.
What I also don’t like is that 90% of the staff are very nice but 10% actually have been rude on both of my recent visits. I can’t score an event lower due to personalities of volunteers or staff but I hope that gets changed in their training. The vendors all are very friendly though, outdoors and indoors.
I also want to echo what Kevin J said in his review. The food court choices are terrible. For a diverse event, why not bring in a lot of diverse food choices? Maybe it’s the venue that doesn’t permit that? The scheduling also almost every year presents those logistical problems that Kevin J mentions. Plus, that indoor «Music Box» stage is awkward for so many reasons. I wish they opened it up and made it more of a public space and found another outdoor stage.
I complained a lot but I wanted to be thorough. It is a great event which I think is one of the best around locally.

It’s great we have a free music festival showcasing acts from all different genres and cultures. They’ve had some great acts through the years, too. And it’s expanded from it’s current home at the Max Fisher to include bands playing at New Center Park — a venue I love — and the north lawn at the DIA. I wasn’t able to catch anything at the DIA lawn as I was working that night. With more outdoor stages I think I’m finally ready to retire my grousing that Concert of Colors was better when it was at Chene Park. The main stage at the Fisher is awesome, and it’s certainly prestigious because that’s where the symphony plays and that also means it goes without saying the acoustics are great, but the smaller «Music Box» stage in that building gets a big «meh» from me. The sound is decent but that room has no character. Unfortunately, that’s where Wayne Kramer (of the MC5, if you don’t know) and Melvin Davis were relegated to playing. Not only that but their set overlapped with Seun Kuti playing with Egypt 80, featuring members of his legendary father Fela’s band. Some very poor scheduling there. I ended up leaving Seun Kuti early, and could see by a sudden influx of new attendees from the other auditorium I would have missed more than half of the Wayne Kramer and Melvin Davis set had I stayed in the other auditorium. It was truly an embarrassment of riches, and I guess it’s a nice problem to have, but one that could have been easily avoided with better scheduling. A music fan shouldn’t have had to choose between 2 premier acts like that. It’s distracting to have a hoard of people leaving a third of the way through Seun Kuti’s set — as I did — and distracting to have a hoard of people arriving 2 thirds of the way through the Kramer/​Davis set. If only they had pulled a Run DMC/​Aerosmith move and all did a jam together!
My other complaint/​piece of advice would be to avoid the food court in the Max Fisher. It’s overpriced and the food isn’t good — bland fare sitting in metal heating trays over Sternos for God knows how long. I’ve made the mistake of eating there one previous year, and didn’t repeat it this time. There was a sea green colored food truck outside selling all vegetarian fare, and a booth selling ice cream that I hit up instead. Both hit the spot. There seemed to be less vendors along the strip of a side street closed for the fair than in previous years. I did find a table selling ballcaps with Native American patterns and themes that were pretty awesome. I considered buying one with a cattle skull and a funky pattern but couldn’t really justify spending money on it when I already have a bunch of ballcaps and it would be a sporadically worn novelty item for a paleface. Still, they were pretty cool to look at.
My complaints aside, they say you get what you pay for, and for a free show the Concert of Colors certainly provides far more than that. I’ve attended for quite a few years now, and I plan to keep attending for years to come.

A wonderful event in downtown Detroit every summer. Something truly worth looking forward to each year. Organized by the Arab American National Museum, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, New Detroit and ACCESS this festival (now 4 days long!) is a fabulous gathering and celebration of global music and culture. From Puerto Rican drums and dance to African influenced choirs and hip-​hop, rock, reggae, soul, motown legends, Japanese drums, bollywood, jazz, funk… you name it, this festival’s got it! Even poetry!
Taking place primarily at the Max Fisher (DSO) building there are always multiple stages and performers happening at any given moment so there’s plenty to see and do both inside and out. This past year featured a street fair with plenty of crafts, arts, and eats for purchase along with an outdoor stage (which took advantage of the beautiful, although hot, weather!). This year also featured cocktails by locally produced Hard Luck Vodka along with plenty of food vendors for snacks. You’re also welcome to bring your own treats to picnic if you should choose.
And the best part? It’s FREE. Yes, admission to the concert is completely free. It’s amazing! If you’ve never been please make it a point to visit next year. It’s truly a remarkable experience that is worth supporting and attending year after year after year!