The Festival of the Arts is pleased to welcome the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to the National City Music Cafe. Thirty members of the orchestra under the direction of conductor, Jeff Tyzik, will take the stage at 1:00pm on Saturday, June 7, 2008.
The ska/punk/reggae group from France, Babylon Circus, will headline the Masco/Metro Times Stage on Sunday, replacing the canceled Miriam Makeba performance.
Babylon Circus is a ten-piece group from Lyon, France, whose multilingual antics and big-top energy defy a genre by mixing ska, rock, reggae, swing and jazz influences, and French punk. They sing in both French and English, sometimes mixing the two, and many of their songs are politically focused. Debuting in the United States in 2008, Babylon Circus is quickly developing a U.S. following that will soon catch up with their widespread European popularity. Their unique sonic spectacle creates enormous power on stage - the kind where you don’t want the show to end.
Just added to Sunday’s Wayne State/WDET Stage line-up is blues guitarist Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters. One of the finest new blues guitarists to emerge during the ’80s, Ronnie Earl often straddled the line between blues and jazz, throwing in touches of soul and rock as well. His versatility made him one of the few blues guitarists capable of leading an almost entirely instrumental outfit and his backing band the Broadcasters became one of the more respected working units in contemporary blues over the course of the ’90s, following Earl’s departure from Roomful of Blues. Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters will perform on the Wayne State/WDET Stage on Sunday, June 8 at 6:50pm.
Sandscapes, the World-Champion sand sculpting team from California has begun to create a 75-ton sand sculpture on Cass Avenue. This year’s theme is the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Despite a few rain drops, the team has managed to get a good start on the sculpture, which will be completed by Sunday. Stay tuned for progress updates.
A fall sustained by Miriam Makeba in South Africa last week has forced the cancellation of her U.S. dates, including her June 8 performance at the Detroit Festival of the Arts. Although deeply sorry to disappoint her loyal fans, Ms. Makeba’s doctors are not allowing her to travel. The Detroit Festival of the Arts, along with her many Michigan fans, wish her a speedy recovery.
By now you’ve probably noticed a common thread through all of the 2008 Festival materials. This year’s graphic design is based on an original acrylic painting by Detroit artist Gilda Snowden. Titled Bright Stars At Night, the original painting is 60″ x 48″ and was created in 2007 as part of a series. The original piece will be on exhibit during the 2008 Detroit Festival of the Arts at the historic Scarab Club, 217 E. Farnsworth.
Gilda Snowden is a native Detroiter and is currently a Professor of Fine Art at the College for Creative Studies and the Gallery Director of the Detroit Repertory Theatre Lobby Gallery. As a active participant in the Detroit art community, Gilda began exhibiting her work while still a graduate student at Wayne State University, where she received a BFA, MA and MFA in painting. She has been exhibiting her work steadily since 1977, in such varied venues as the Sherry Washington Gallery, GR N’Namdi Gallery, Saginaw Art Museum, the Mark Masuoka Gallery in Las Vegas, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Gilda has a total of five works in the DIA’s permanent collection.
The painting is featured on the 2008 commemorative festival poster, which is available for purchase at the Festival. A limited number of signed posters will also available.
The Arts League of Michigan will again present “All That Jazz” Friday night at the Masco/Metro Times stage, but this year brings a very special program in honor of the late Detroit Jazz icon Donald Walden. Featuring the Detroit Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Marcus Belgrave and Kenn Cox, the program which was inspired by Donald Walden’s composition “To Miles with Love” will include many Walden originals performed by his colleagues and admirers. Donald Walden, who passed away in April at the age of 69, was a renowned saxophonist, mentor and teacher.
Besides getting a fresh new look, we are now offering this additional “Latest News” page allowing DFA fans and artists keep up with the most recent news regarding everything Detroit Festival! (road closings, new performers, stage & artist relocation, performance time changes / cancellations, etc). Enjoy our new look & keep up-to-date by checking this page frequently!