The full music lineup for the first-ever Oakaloosa Music Festival was announced today by festival organizers. More than two dozen of Detroit’s newest and brightest musicians will join headlining acts Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Girl Talk, at the philanthropic music festival taking place on Saturday, July 27 from 12 noon to midnight at Detroit’s Historic Fort Wayne.

 Oakaloosa festival tickets are currently on sale through Oakaloosa.com for $45 for general admission and $55 for a VIP Ticket, which includes a VIP entry, bar area and viewing location during the festival. A portion of the proceeds will help with the restoration and preservation of Historic Fort Wayne. Additional festival beneficiaries will be announced over the next two weeks on Oakaloosa.com and via @Oakaloosa on Twitter and Facebook.

The complete festival lineup is listed below. Two open spots remain in the lineup, slated for the winner of the Oakaloosa Battle of the Bands taking place during five days throughout July. The preliminary rounds will be held at 9 p.m. at the Hard Rock Café in Detroit (7/12, 7/18) and the Pike Room at the Crofoot in Pontiac (7/13, 7/19). The final round will be held on Wednesday, July 24 at 7 p.m. at the Crofoot Ballroom. More details for the Oakaloosa Battle of the Bands, including how to enter or attend, can be found on Oakaloosa.com.

Broder & Sachse Stage (along the River)
• 12:00 – 12:45pm Great Divide
• 1:00 – 1:30pm Cousin George
• 1:45 – 2:15pm Michael Bermudez
• 2:30 – 3:00pm See Jane Rock
• 3:15 – 3:45pm Otto Vector
• 4:00 – 4:30pm Battle of the Bands Winner
• 4:45 – 5:15pm Dagda
• 5:30 – 6:00pm Of Mice and Musicians
• 6:15 – 6:45pm Robert James
• 7:00 – 7:35pm Paulina Jayne
• 7:50 – 8:30pm Trick Trick
• 8:45 – 9:25pm Kaleido
• 9:40 – 10:25pm Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
• 10:45pm – 12:00am Girl Talk

 Barracks Stage
• 1:00 – 1:30pm Battle of the Bands Runner-Up
• 1:45 – 2:15pm Dan Henig
• 2:30 – 3:00pm White Shag
• 3:15 – 3:45pm Ryan Waldie
• 4:00 – 4:30pm My Pal Val
• 4:45 – 5:15pm Doss the Artist
• 5:30 – 6:00pm HIR-O
• 6:15 – 6:45pm Red Pill
• 6:45 – 7:15pm Drew 32
• 7:15 – 7:45pm Bizarre
• 8:00 – 8:30pm The Infatuations
• 8:45 – 9:15pm Ro Spit
• 9:30 – 10:15pm Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas
• 10:30 – 11:00pm Royce Da 5’9
• 11:15pm– 12:00am  Freddy Todd


“The wide range of genres featured in the Oakaloosa lineup is intended to reflect the diversity of Detroiters themselves,” said Adam Bleznak, Program Director for the Oakaloosa Music Festival. “We are looking forward to bringing all types music fans from across Detroit and the region to enjoy a completely unique festival experience at Historic Fort Wayne, one of the most amazing historic gems in Detroit.”

In addition to music, Oakaloosa supports positive service projects in Detroit and is dedicated to building a festival of community engagement. The festival plans on hosting a number of non-profit organizations at the event, to spread awareness of their initiatives. During the festival, there will be a designated area where guests can learn about organizations and volunteer opportunities. Non-profit groups interested in being a part of the festival or for volunteer opportunities, can email OakaloosaCharity@wearemodule.com to get involved.

Oakaloosa is organized and supported by Detroit Sports Zone, Inc., a non-profit group committed to exposing people of all ages to sports, cultural arts, mentoring, life-skill development and character building activities. Additional proceeds from the festival will be used to support the youth sports and mentoring programs provided through Detroit Sports Zone, Inc.

Oakaloosa is sponsored by Opportunity Detroit, Broder & Sachse, Asphalt Specialists, Inc., Real Detroit Weekly, Embarco Entertainment, The City of Detroit Recreation Department, Uber and Budweiser.

For more information and to stay up to date with all Oakaloosa announcements, visit Oakaloosa.com or follow @Oakaloosa on Facebook and Twitter.

DETROIT (BLANK) CITY - Ep. 2 DETROIT DIAMOND CITY from Cass Corridor Films on Vimeo.


Except:

As for the states that are creating the most manufacturing jobs, the chart shows the ranking, as Michigan tops the list followed by Texas, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Manufacturing companies in those states offer products and services that range from autos, furniture, tools, computers, computer software, toys, plastics, food, liquor, machinery, piping, chemicals, oil and gas.

"The auto industry will see some more jobs as foreign companies will invest in plants here," Cherin added. "And that means more jobs for making cars as well as in auto-related industries."

As for the future, the hope is that more companies like GE and Ford will bring jobs back home, said Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers.

"As prices rise for labor overseas, we think American firms will find it more to their liking here," Moutray said.

Another advantage the U.S. has for manufacturers is lower energy costs—thanks in no small part to an ongoing boom around natural gas found in shale formations.

"Companies like that. With shale energy lowering costs, it's a huge advantage to them," he said.

More American exports would contribute even more domestic manufacturing jobs, Moutray said.

Click HERE for the full article! 

A Girls Guide to Detroit from 4exit4 on Vimeo.

Detroit is a place that attracts a certain type of individual. Someone that's both tough and independent. That's especially true for the women who have chosen to stake their claim in one of the nation's most complicated cities. Fearless, talented, and ambitious, these women are shaping Detroit's future.

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Toby Barlow
PRODUCED BY: 4exit4
DIRECTED BY: Amanda LeClaire & Andrew Miller
CINEMATOGRAPHY BY: Andrew Miller, Mandy Moran & Jamin Townsley
EDITED BY: Andrew Miller
MUSIC BY: Eddie Logix eddielogix.com/ Passalacqua itspassalacqua.com/ Phantasmagoria phantasmagoria.bandcamp.com/ Doc Illingsworth illingsworks.com/

Artist Adding To The Beauty of Detroit

Mom hanging out at the Start Gallery

"It's like NYC in the 70's. So the Empire State Building isn't fully leased. The solution is to demolish it? The city is on the brink of bankruptcy, so auction off the Statue of Liberty to the highest bidder?"

~My Mom. Her response after asking me to name items Kevin Orr has listed as "assets and potential salable goods" on his Detroit financial balance sheet.

 


All yoga participants receive free River Days admission after the session.

For more info, click HERE.

 


Tonight for Third Thursdays, 55+ galleries throughout the city stay up past their bedtime with extended hours, special events, live entertainment & amazing Detroit art.

Click HERE for more information! 

2013 River Days Festival 5K Is This Saturday!!!!!

 

Click HERE to register!

Detroit's Downtown Development Authority outlined the plan Wednesday, saying the project would cost an estimated $650 million. The plan is subject to approval by Wayne County -- $365 million would be funded through private investment and the $284 million in public investment.
According to the DEGC, the new development has the potential to create 8,300 jobs and have a statewide impact of $1.8B.


detroit joe louis monument

Everyone knows Detroit's got problems.

Friday morning, the city's emergency financial manager announced a suspension of some payments to unsecured bondholders.

Detroit topped the list of Forbes' 'most miserable cities' list this year.

The city's finances had to be taken over by the state of Michigan.

And former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is likely going to jail for a long, long time.

But we're banking on the city getting its act together — and it's not just because things can't get any worse.

We've put together 25 signs Detroit is on the mend. Here's the summary:

In several major economic indicators, Detroit's rate of improvement has matched or exceeded the national average.

Kilpatrick aside, the city enjoys strong leadership

The auto industry is booming

And its sports teams keep winning titles.

Hear us out.

Click HERE to read the full article! 

DETROIT IS LIKE a canvas of chaotic art, a Gerard Richter or Pollock, standing starkly out against the blank white room that surrounds it. You find yourself drawn in, compelled to stop and gaze at it. Whether it’s ruin porn or the saga of Kwame or now our new state-appointed Emergency Financial Manager, it’s hard to look away.

The national press has duly documented this most recent drama, how Governor Snyder appointed Kevyn Orr as the Emergency Financial Manager to studiously go through the city’s books and find a way to stave off bankruptcy. Orr is like some old man in a ramshackle rooming house desperately digging through every drawer to find change for the fare as the sound of the last bus barreling down the street shakes the whole structure. It isn’t pretty.

Recently, Mr. Orr made the surprising suggestion the city pay its debts off by selling various treasures from the Detroit Institute of Arts. The thought being that an auction of a few pieces by Van Gogh, Matisse, Bruegel and Copleys might be enough to satisfy our hungry creditors. I’m sure he had a good reason for suggesting such a thing (after all, city services can’t really be cut much deeper. As the excellent documentary “Burn” points out, this is a city where the Fire Commissioner vacuums his own office). Still, the logic behind Mr. Orr’s tactic escapes me. Since a variety of legal constraints exclude the possibility of any works being sold, all his proposal did was make a lot of very serious people extremely upset. Perhaps that was his goal, who knows. I sincerely believe he has good intentions. As opposed to many here who view him and his mission with suspicion – many were angry at him before he even began –I wish him every success and I do not envy him his task.

His is an exceedingly difficult job. This week he is going into negotiations with the various institutions that own Detroit’s city bonds, institutions that include various large banks.

If he were to ask me, I would offer one very simple solution: Ask the banks to pay back the banks. Maybe not all of the debt, but they could cover a good chunk of it and without even having to write a check.

I am not talking about a loan; we are poor as church mice with nothing to mortgage really (except for perhaps José Valverde’s contract; seriously, we’ll give that to you cheap). Also, I am not asking for a favor or a kindness or an act of benevolence. And I am not talking about class war; no, nothing fancy like that. But there is a logic to why they should help us out, and it goes like this:

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MLB Pitches Youth Academy For Tiger Stadium Site

Photo Credit: freep.com

Major League Baseball is pitching a plan to bring the game back to the site of the old Tiger Stadium, although its vision for a MLB Urban Youth Academy at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull faces financial hurdles and lacks support from a key city official.

Darrell Miller, the league’s vice president of youth and facility development, said Monday that his office is considering several possible Detroit locations for an academy, particularly the old stadium grounds. He declined to identify the other possible sites.

The academy would provide free year-round baseball and softball instruction for youngsters and involve the construction of ballfields, indoor facilities, batting cages and offices.

Major League Baseball has built four such academies in Houston, New Orleans, Puerto Rico and Compton, Calif. Three other locations are under development in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Hialeah, Fla. Major League Baseball says more than 10,000 youngsters have attended its academies since the first site opened in Compton in 2006. Nearly 350 academy participants have gone on to play collegiate baseball or softball, and close to 200 have been chosen in the MLB’s First-Year Player Draft.

Miller said the league would like to establish youth academies in or near every city with a major league team.

He said it’s too early to put a price tag on a Detroit proposal, but said academies typically cost $3 million to $6 million. Major League Baseball will contribute a portion of the necessary investment — but not all. In January, Commissioner Bud Selig committed the league to a $1.5-million investment for a planned Reds MLB Urban Youth Academy in Cincinnati.

Click HERE for the full article! 
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