It feels so good to go to an art show you can actually touch.

At this mini-show for textile artist Katrina Santa Ana Jose’s “The Room Breathes In,” you can actually sit down on one of her pieces. 

It’s a small foam cushion called “Soft Landing” (a steal at $250!) sewn with competing flannel-esque textiles on the outside. It’s warm and inviting with at least one patron sprawling out on “Soft Landing” to take a photo.

 

You know how good it feels to go to a show that’s actually functional? 

When I say “mini-show,” it’s not a comment on the substance of the show. It’s the fact that it’s actually quite small. Not just the collection itself (six pieces total), but the space it’s in.

Grüna Gallery is basically a makeshift hallway separating the facade and the artist studio of Louise Jones, who operates Grüna and is hosting “The Room Breathes In.” The location blends in with the rest of the brick-and-mortar retail on this block in Grosse Pointe Park.

It’s a bite-sized model I’d love to see more artists’ consider using their own space for.

Outside of the use of space and location, the show itself is a lovely one that likely wouldn’t feel as welcoming and comforting in a larger space, or if it was stuffed in as part of a group show. 

Like the natural fibers she’s using, Santa Ana Jose’s textile creations breathe. Aside from the cushion, the rest are hanging pieces — perhaps as standalone art but here mainly envisioned as curtains allowing light to pour into the mini-gallery. As guests walk by, they grab the fabrics and stretch them out to see the details and let go to watch the fabric waft back into its hanging position. It’s a simple yet utterly satisfying part of “The Room Breathes In.” It’s material you’re used to, but presented as art, which you’re never able to play with like this (gently, of course).

For this show, they are made from a bunch of leftover aprons and other oddities from a former butcher shop in Mount Clemens that she stumbled upon during an estate sale. You can see some of the original logos and uses for these materials still on her creations.

That’s the beating heart of her practice — breathing new life into old fabrics or, as it’s described in a release about the show, the “process of grief becoming material reconstruction.” Because the fabrics she’s using are natural fibers (for this show, mainly cotton and linen), they can “ultimately return to the earth, completing a cycle of reuse and regeneration.”

“Upcycling” is the common term thrown around, but that feels cheap and a bit overused for something like this exhibition, which feels elegantly simplistic and light and fresh. 

That’s likely because it’s got an actual ethos behind its creation that goes far beyond a buzzy term.

Katrina Santa Ana Jose’s “The Room Breathes In” is located at
Grüna Gallery, 15304 Kercheval Ave. in Grosse Pointe Park.

This story was originally published on Midbrow. 

 Wishy is my new favorite band, plus new music from Fontaines D.C. as they get ready to release their new album “Dopamine Chamber,” plus fresh selects from Logic1000 and Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 19, 2026

• “All The Rage” — Wishy
• “1000 Pounds” — Superchunk
• “She Walks” — Poster Children
• “You Can Have It All” — Yo La Tengo
• “Nervion” — Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth
• “False Prophet (ashnymph Remix)” — Nightbus
• “Marianne” — Fontaines D.C.
• “I Love You” — Spacemen 3
• “The Dreaming Moon” — The Magnetic Fields
• “Full Spectrum Dominance” — Dummy
• “Jersey (feat. Jam City)” — Logic1000
• “Destroy Everything You Touch” — Ladytron
• “Jumbo (Remastered)” — Underworld
• “Heaven’s on Fire” — The Radio Dept.
• “Mercury” — Automatic
• “It’s Starting” — RIO KOSTA
• “Kelly Watch the Stars (Vegyn Version)” — Air
• “Sad Makeup” — Yukimi
• “Selenge” — Céline Dessberg
• “Consulate Case” — Surprise Chef
• “Blueberry Beads” — John Carroll Kirby
• “Burnin’ Coal” — Les McCann
• “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone (Single Version)” — The Temptations
• “Sad Cowboy” — Goat Girl
• “New York, Let’s Do Nothing” — King Hannah
• “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab (Daniel Avery Remix)” — English Teacher & Daniel Avery
• “Radio Free Europe (Jacknife Lee Remix / 2025)” — R.E.M.
• “The Revolution Will Not Be Telefonin'” — Tonico 70
• “Groove” — Beans
• “Mágica” — El Michels Affair & Rogê
• “Pinball Number Count (feat. Dames Brown & Nicholas Payton)” — Brandon Williams
• “Brian” — Alfa Mist
• “Constellation” — The Circling Sun
• “She Raised Us in Sunset Park” — musclecars
• “Para Chick” — Tania Maria
• “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore (“1999″ B-Side)” — Prince

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Erykah Badu is heading to town on Sept. 11with the producer the Alchemist. It’s to support their upcoming album, which is out on Aug. 28—but still doesn’t have a name! Maybe the name of an album isn’t even important anymore… who knows! We do have a new single from the project called “Witch Doctor,” which kicks off the show today, plus new music from Dana and Alden, the Womack Sisters and lots more.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 18, 2026

• “Witch Doctor” — Erykah Badu & The Alchemist
• “Goin’ Home (Remix)” — McCoy Tyner
• “Les ‘Là-bas'” — Henri Texier
• “Moon & I (feat. Céline Dessberg)” — Azekel
• “El Gaucho (feat. Marcos Valle, Mirella Costa & Zaza Desiderio)” — Dana and Alden
• “All Blues” — Nicholas Payton & Butcher Brown
• “Troupeau bleu” — Cortex
• “You Ain’t the Problem” — Michael Kiwanuka
• “Sunshine Kisses” — Sabine McCalla
• “If I Let You” — The Womack Sisters
• “Shadows From Nowhere” — Blue Gas
• “Blue Shadows (feat. Karen O)” — The Avalanches
• “Keep It To Yourself” — Love Spells
• “Star Blanket River Child” — Brightblack Morning Light
• “Computer Love” — Romare
• “In Loving Memory” — Gabriels
• “Carry Me Higher (Elite Mix) [10 Inch Version]” — The Blessed Madonna, Joy Anonymous & Danielle Ponder
• “Puaj” — Salin
• “Ya Banat” — Kazdoura
• “Shmaali شمالي” — Yasmine Hamdan
• “She Will” — Savages
• “Hand Me A Cigarette” — Twisted Teens
• “Believe” — Benjamin Booker
• “Waiting on the Right Time” — Thee Sacred Souls
• “free fall” — berlioz
• “Love Is Stronger Than Pride (Ian Fink cover)” — Sade
• “The World Is a Ghetto (Laroye Rework)” — George Benson
• “Home is Where The Hatred Is (feat. Lisa Fischer) [Main]” — Brian Jackson, Masters At Work, Kenny Dope & Louie Vega
• “Please Forgive My Heart” — Bobby Womack
• “A Couple Minutes (A COLORS SHOW)” — Olivia Dean

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

On their new album, Death Cab for Cutie isn’t wasting anyone’s time. At a crisp 11 songs clocking in at 38 minutes, it’s a quick listen—same as an episode of award-winning television. 

It plays out like a prestige drama, too. 

After 22 years, the Seattle band ditched their longtime record label Atlantic and signed with ANTI-. Songwriter and lead singer Ben Gibbard recently went through a divorce and poured those emotions into this album, including the stand-out single “Riptides,” which shocked me when I first heard it. 

It felt like vintage Death Cab for Cutie, a band I grew up with. It was personal for Gibbard. It was personal for me because I’ve been listening to this band damn near my entire adult life. We’ve grown up together. So, like everything they release, it’s under a bit of scrutiny. Any relationship like that is going to need some vulnerability to make it.

Gibbard, per usual, gets personal with his lyrics.

These days
I say goodbye without opening my mouth
I just stare into the distance ’til you figure it out
‘Cause I feel
As invested as a border guard
Who’s seen too many people leaving to take it to heart

Musically, this song will feel like throwback Cutie, too. It’s crisp, simple and catchy; at this point, you could use them as the definition of indie rock. Maybe they invented it – the natural evolution of Midwest emo from the 1990s turning into something more polished and twee, which is the perfect bedding for Gibbard’s words (always the star of the show). 

They’re a band growing up and looking back. As fans, we’re reaping the rewards of their best (and most honest) work in years.

This story was originally published by Midbrow.

Saying farewell to WDET legend Jerome Vaughn after 34 years at the station before he retires by playing some of his favorites (which means a lot of Beatles), plus a moody Monday mix of songs from Macie Stewart, Martin Lundfall, Nightbus, new music from brother-sister duo Sam and Louise Sullivan and a lot more.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 17, 2026

• “Garter Snake (Audiotree Live Session)” — Macie Stewart
• “Like Swimwear (part two) [feat. Anna Butterss, Jay Bellerose & Josh Johnson]” — Jeff Parker & ETA IVtet
• “All I Need” — Radiohead
• “Everything in its Right Place” — Kamaal Williams
• “Lazarus” — David Bowie
• “New York is Killing Me” — Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven
• “Clap Hands (2023 Remaster)” — Tom Waits
• “Morning Sunrise” — Swish Jaguar
• “Gil Scott Heron – (Angola, Louisiana remix)” — Martin Lundfall
• “Angles Mortz” — Nightbus
• “Down on Love” — Sam and Louise Sullivan
• “I Made It” — Annie & the Caldwells
• “Coltrane” — Cymande
• “Billy Jack” — Curtis Mayfield
• “Live It Down” — Tyler Ballgame
• “Second Hand News” — Fleetwood Mac
• “18” — Suki Waterhouse
• “Lost Boys” — Phoebe Bridgers
• “Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You Soon)” — Julia Jacklin
• “Kick Stones (The Boys)” — Westside Cowboy
• “Easy” — Gotts Street Park & Celeste
• “Watching The Detectives (Live at Good Afternoon (Broadcast) / September 27th, 1977)” — Elvis Costello

— In The Groove with Jerome Vaughn —

• “I Want to Hold Your Hand” — The Beatles
• “Strawberry Fields Forever” — The Beatles
• “Let’s Work” — Prince
• “You Haven’t Done Nothin'” — Stevie Wonder
• “For What It’s Worth” — Buffalo Springfield
• “Hello, Goodbye” — The Beatles

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Diving into new music from Azekel, JIM, Kokoroko, Nate Smith, Don Glori, Phoebe Bridgers, Getdown Services and Kurt Vile.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 14, 2026

• “Mountain Top” — RIO KOSTA
• “What It Gave Me” — Jordan Rakei & Jalen Ngonda
• “Comin’ Home Baby” — Mel Tormé
• “Lived In Bars” — Cat Power
• “Moon & I (feat. Céline Dessberg)” — Azekel
• “I’m So Glad” — Magic Sam
• “KEEPS ME WARM” — JIM
• “Da Du Dah (Aleh Remix)” — Kokoroko
• “SPOTTIEOTTIEDOPALISCIOUS” — Kassa Overall
• “PATCHWORK” — Nate Smith, Kiefer, CARRTOONS & Kenny Beats
• “All Blues” — Nicholas Payton & Butcher Brown
• “Sundancer” — Don Glori
• “Miffed It” — Way Dynamic
• “Haunted” — Phoebe Bridgers
• “Lost Boys” — Phoebe Bridgers
• “Summer Sweat” — Hannah Cohen
• “Golden Gate” — Miranda Lee Richards
• “Germfree Adolescence” — X-Ray Spex
• “Backstairs” — The New Pornographers
• “Buena” — Morphine
• “Up on the Sun” — Meat Puppets
• “Days” — Television
• “Rein Me In” — Sam Fender & Olivia Dean
• “Cha Cha Slide” — Getdown Services
• “Glory” — Sault
• “Si, Si, Si” — Abelardo Carbono & Quantic
• “Pelota (Cut a Rug Mix)” — Khruangbin & Quantic
• “Cajun Moon” — J.J. Cale
• “Hey Joe” — The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• “Zoom 97” — Kurt Vile
• “22° Halo” — pôt-pot
• “You Ain’t the Problem” — Michael Kiwanuka
• “Rite of the Ancients” — The Budos Band
• “Spanish Grease” — Willie Bobo
• “Slipping into Darkness” — Funkees

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

It’s a Throwback Thursday, but we start off with fresh 2026 releases from Jordan Rakei, Bruno Berle, GENA, Nightmares on Wax & Adrian Sherwood, and Ezra Collective with Greentea Peng. Throwbacks begin with Stevie Wonder at his most political, plus Dusty Springfield, Wings, The Temptations and The Clash.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 13, 2026

• “Enemies” — Jordan Rakei
• “Big Brother” — Stevie Wonder
• “Crystal Blue Persuasion” — Tommy James & The Shondells
• “Son of a Preacher Man” — Dusty Springfield
• “pawnshop” — Kara Jackson
• “Right Side of My Neck” — Faye Webster
• “Let ‘Em In” — Wings
• “Cool Cat” — Queen
• “Bennie and the Jets (2014 Remaster)” — Elton John
• “I Got the… (2006 Remastered Version)” — Labi Siffre
• “Amor Inteiro” — Bruno Berle
• “Please Go Easy With Me” — S.E. Rogie
• “Swing Lo Magellan” — Dirty Projectors
• “Douwannabwithastar” — GENA
• “Golden (edit)” — Jill Scott
• “Losalamitoslatinfunklovesong (Re-Work)” — Bugz In the Attic
• “Flippin’ Eck” — Nightmares On Wax & Adrian Sherwood
• “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)” — The Temptations
• “Hercules” — Aaron Neville
• “Helicopters” — Ezra Collective, Greentea Peng & War Child Records
• “Ghetto Defendant” — The Clash
• “Jimtastic Blues” — Greentea Peng
• “Rain Can’t Reach Us (feat. Tony Allen)” — Yannis & The Yaw
• “Run (feat. Andreya Triana) [Sofia Kourtesis Remix]” — Quantic
• “Beige Days” — SOYUZ
• “Midnight (Acoustic)” — Jessie Ware
• “Seventeen” — Sharon Van Etten
• “Returning To Myself” — Brandi Carlile
• “Wind” — John Carroll Kirby
• “That Girl” — Stevie Wonder
• “You Could Be More as You Are” — Saâda Bonaire
• “Penthouse Samba” — Marina Zispin
• “Feather” — Little Dragon
• “Schools of Eyes” — Wye Oak

Listen to In The Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Exploring new music from Meshell Ndegeocello, who is getting ready to release an album of covers and duets on Blue Note, plus fresh selections and first spins from Dawn Richard, Danielle Ponder, Ciaran, the Durutti Column, Jess Williamson and more.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 12, 2026

• “enough” — Dawn Richard
• “Sun and Moon” — Danielle Ponder
• “The Fall” — Rhye
• “Sargasso Sea” — The Durutti Column & Caoilfhionn Rose
• “K-Bar” — Ciarán
• “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” — Meshell Ndegeocello & Cynthia Erivo
• “Don’t You Want Me” — Meshell Ndegeocello & Cat Power
• “I Used To Live In A House” — Novablood
• “My World (feat. Aidan, Bawo & Ox Eye)” — Jam City
• “Summer Nights” — Dana and Alden
• “Tamborero” — Bomba Estéreo
• “Heaven (Nicolas Jaar Remix)” — Kasper Bjørke
• “The Whole of the Moon” — The Waterboys
• “Tart Tart (The Reflex Revision)” — Happy Mondays
• “Train In Vain (Stand by Me)” — The Clash
• “Hit the North, Pt. 1” — The Fall
• “Let Forever Be” — The Chemical Brothers
• “Wire” — Omni
• “Lie In the Gutter” — Peel Dream Magazine
• “First World Problem” — Unknown Mortal Orchestra
• “I Wanna Know If It’s Good To You? (2026 Remastered)” — Funkadelic
• “Nabed Nade Ei Piny Ka (Rework)” — Owiny Sigoma Band
• “Ankle Injuries” — Fujiya & Miyagi
• “Goodbye to All That” — Jess Williamson
• “Keep It To Yourself” — Love Spells
• “Alberto Balsalm (Aquarium Drunkard’s Lagniappe Session)” — Dungen
• “Roots” — Ian Carr & Nucleus
• “Ibs” — Duval Timothy
• “Booger’s Bounce of Joy” — Karate Boogaloo
• “Acid and Honey” — Babe Rainbow
• “Rainmaker” — John Carroll Kirby
• “It’s My House (12″ Remix)” — Diana Ross

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

It’s been more than 12 years since Future Islands went viral for their performance on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” 

It completely changed the trajectory of this Baltimore band that had been together for nearly a decade for their television debut, released a handful of albums and had played hundreds of shows together. Still, getting on TV was absolutely huge. With how much has changed since then, could a band even go viral like this anymore? Future Islands lead singer Samuel T. Herring and his dance moves (alongside that killer guttural growl of his)? The stoic-ness of his band featuring Gerrit Welmers on keyboards and William Cashion on bass?

I’m looking back with Future Islands to look ahead, because it wasn’t just a flash in the pan moment for them. They had staying power before the performance and after. 

And, sure, while their sound hasn’t evolved much since those days, it’s been tightened and refined and damn near perfected on their latest single, “One Day,” which is featured on a new double album called “From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth” that brings together live favorites, b-sides and rarities and other oddities.

It’s surprising, however, that “One Day” was considered one of those tracks. It’s Future Islands in full force, doing their hyper-emotional, new wave thing all shaped around Herring’s remarkable voice and vulnerable lyrics. It’s a massive track with a ticky hi-hat that I’m addicted to. You can dance to it, you can brood to it, you can fall in love or break up to it. This thing is versatile and show Future Islands at their best – even after all these years…

This article was originally published on Midbrow.

New music discovery from guitarist Rich Ruth and Allison de Groot, who have a new album coming out in October, plus bridging the musical gaps between Antibalas, Franc Moody, Julia Jacklin, Alvvays and Brandi Carlise, who will be performing at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre on Friday, Aug. 21—we’ll be giving away tickets all week on In The Groove.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 11, 2026

• “I’m Not Ready for the Change” — Nation of Language
• “Mercury” — Automatic
• “You got time and I got money” — Smerz
• “Lo Life” — Antibalas
• “Treat Yourself” — Franc Moody
• “Lydia Wears a Cross” — Julia Jacklin
• “Belinda Says” — Alvvays
• “Gods in Heat” — Ista
• “Ill Times” — GUM & Ambrose Kenny-Smith
• “Elephant” — Tame Impala
• “If You’re Here” — Cornelius
• “C + F” — Sam Prekop
• “Nervion” — Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth
• “Fire” — Waxahatchee
• “The Joke” — Brandi Carlile
• “Highway Anxiety” — William Tyler
• “When I Was Younger” — Bonny Light Horseman
• “Cello Song” — The Books
• “Fake Palindromes” — Andrew Bird
• “Pretty Pimpin” — Kurt Vile
• “Hold on, Hold On” — Neko Case
• “Hot Scene” — pôt-pot
• “Siestas ahí” — Juana Molina
• “French Navy” — Camera Obscura
• “Heaven’s on Fire” — The Radio Dept.
• “Power of the Moon” — Ezra Furman
• “Rock & Roll” — The Velvet Underground
• “Veni Vidi Vici” — Black Lips
• “No Room for Doubt (feat. Willy Mason)” — Lianne La Havas
• “Golden Lady” — José Feliciano
• “Love and Happiness” — Monty Alexander
• “Summertime” — Rosinha De Valença

Listen to In The Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

 

New music discovery from Moses Boyd, the poet Aja Monet (alongside Meshell Ndegeocello + Georgia Anne Muldrow), Azekel, Tiago Caetano, corto.alto… and that’s just the first hour! Plus, getting ready for Big Thief, who are performing tonight at the Masonic.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 10, 2026

• “Days Go By” — James Blake
• “Say Yeah” — Moses Boyd
• “elsewhere” — aja monet, Meshell Ndegeocello & Georgia Anne Muldrow
• “Babystar (Kid Fonque Remix)” — Matthew Herbert & Momoko Gill
• “Moon & I (feat. Céline Dessberg)” — Azekel
• “Eco do Futuro (feat. Céline Dessberg)” — Tiago Caetano
• “Amami (feat. Minami Kizuki)” — Yussef Dayes
• “All The Way (Shy One Remix)” — Jamie Woon
• “APRIL (feat. anaiis)” — corto.alto
• “Mantra” — Jordan Rakei
• “Opaline Bubbletear” — Dummy
• “Blue Dada” — Dummy
• “Limit to Your Love” — James Blake
• “Mere Saath” — Lifafa
• “Go Back (feat. Damon Albarn)” — Tony Allen
• “Nature Boy (12″ Version)” — Central Line
• “Every Party Has a Winner and a Loser” — Erlend Øye
• “Time” — Star Moles
• “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” — Broken Social Scene
• “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” — Stars
• “Echo’s Answer” — Broadcast
• “The Weight of My Words (Four Tet Remix)” — Kings of Convenience
• “Lazy Lover” — Brazilian Girls
• “Scale It Back (feat. Little Dragon)” — DJ Shadow
• “Intimidated (feat. H.E.R.)” — KAYTRANADA
• “Black Magic” — Jarvis Cocker
• “Only You Know” — Dion
• “Incomprehensible” — Big Thief
• “anything” — Adrianne Lenker
• “That Summer Feeling” — Jonathan Richman
• “American Music” — Violent Femmes
• “Strange Powers” — The Magnetic Fields
• “Are You Glad to Be In America?” — James Blood Ulmer
• “The Book I Read (Remastered)” — Talking Heads
• “Sycamore” — Bill Callahan
• “Swingin Party” — The Replacements
• “Sunny Afternoon” — The Kinks

Listen to In The Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

If you’re looking for the Loomi Cart on (most) Thursdays at Bumbo’s Bar in Hamtramck, it’s not hard to miss. Just walk outside to the patio where chef Andrew Stevick is getting the coals hot inside of a shopping cart that he’s rigged into a grill. 

It’s one of the most bizarre set-ups I’ve seen, but instantly makes Stevick’s pop-up a visually intriguing one. 

The food follows suit. 

Stevick’s cooking is colorful and rustic. His al pastor tostada offers big slabs of marinated meat and chunks of pineapple all splayed over a massive fried chip. It’s a meaty portion, essentially spilling over the plate and feels like something you’d get at a friend’s holiday barbecue (if your friend was as good a chef as Stevick).

Or how about a watermelon salad that’s served like a steak and just as satisfying to cut into? This is a surprising, beautifully bright dish with the fresh watermelon activated by lime juice and tajin, covered in a chipotle vinaigrette, jellied and pickled jalapeños on top, and a sprinkle of queso fresco. It’s a full-on sensory display: the satisfying feel of cutting into it, the flavor itself, and the humble presentation — a paper plate in the bar’s backyard, smoke from the shopping cart grill filling the air.

Open late

“We usually sell 80% of our food by 9 p.m. and then I like to stick around for the industry people. It picks up with all the late-nighters,” says Stevick. “That’s what people want in Detroit. There’s not enough good late-night food. I can only go to Grandy’s Coney Island so many times.”

Stevick’s ethos of serving service industry folks and staying open late adds another layer of flavor and character to Loomi Cart, which is undoubtedly the best food I’ve had in the city this year. 

To boot, the energy his pop-up brings to Bumbo’s on a Thursday night truly feels like a thriving nightlife scene you’d expect in cities and countries overseas with a more robust embrace of nighttime economy and culture.

Worldly flavors

Stevick’s perspective and flavor profile are both from his own background and travels.

After closing the brick-and-mortar version of Loomi in Ann Arbor in 2022, Stevick took a sabbatical and headed to South America, traveling and cooking through Peru, Argentina (where he says he got the idea for the mobile shopping cart grill), and Mexico. Stevick took those experiences and blended them with his family’s Palestinian roots to mix Middle Eastern influence with South American cooking with a sprinkle of his time living in Arizona in a Mexican neighborhood.

All of that experience and flavor shows up on every plate from Loomi Cart, one of the most exciting and visually stunning culinary experiences in the city right now.

This story was originally published on Midbrow.

Sometimes it’s good to just hang out inside of a song that feels like a sunny day.

There doesn’t need to be a destination or some grand lyrical proclamation. It’s a hang-out song; a cruiser.

Some of my favorite movies are “hang-out” movies that just feel like a slice of life instead of a plot-driven narrative. That’s the sonic vibe Kurt Vile has captured (yet again) on “Zoom 97.” It’s the latest taste we get from his upcoming album “Philadelphia’s Been Good To Me,” out at the end of the month via Verve.

Vile has spent most of his career boosting up the city of Philadelphia (much like a proud Detroiter, so I totally get it). On this song, he’s really going for it. The whole affair is a jangly, airy affair that feels like being stoned in middle school and just walking around the park. In this case, Vile is a bit stoned and casually behind the wheel.

Jump in my whip (Yeah), my engine whines, yeah
Zigzag my way down Lincoln Drive, yeah
Puck on my lip, feel I can fly
For a while

This isn’t groundbreaking stuff lyrically, but damn it feels good! You can feel Vile’s bite of bliss oozing through the sparkers. It’s infectious. Because even when things outside of Vile’s pretty Philadelphia may not be the greatest, he’s grateful for what he’s got.

World’s been meltin’ in front of my eyes, yeah
My baby girls, they keep me high, yeah
Ain’t on no trips though, no LSD
True love is the pure drug for me

Vile isn’t breaking new musical ground here. That’s not the point; it’s truly something I don’t want from him. He’s sitting down inside of his sound, perfecting it bit by bit, album by albu … and these dollops of tunes from his latest effort show me that he’s the sharpest he’s ever been at being himself – blissed out and buzzed with nowhere in particular to be.

This story was originally posted on Midbrow.

Add Aldous Harding’s fifth album “Train on the Island” to the best of 2026 list.

I’ve had this album on repeat since it came out just a couple weeks ago. There’s something magnetic about Harding’s latest effort, where lyrics feel like a parade of inside jokes and loose references to experiences we’ll never know that somehow still feel specific to me.

“I’m gonna write what I know / Things I ain’t known for a long time” absolutely vaults me, like I’ve got to get to the typewriter right away. 

That’s a lyric from the track “One Stop,” which was released as the first single from “Train on the Island” with good reason. The simple melody of the piano slowly builds as Harding sings over it, switching voices as she goes but always delivering every lyric with great authority and purpose.

Harding is yet again working with longtime producer John Parish, who is best known for his work with PJ Harvey alongside Tracy Chapman and Eels. 

If you’re looking for a musical reference point, I keep coming back to the late 1960s / early 1970s folk scene with names like Nick Drake and Norma Tanega in my head. There’s some fuzziness of J.J. Cale’s laidback guitar sound on this album, too.

I think Harding’s strength is her ability to make you feel what she’s feeling with the delivery of every lyric, with the strum of every chord. I feel like I’m living this album with her, like we went through these experiences together. 

That’s the gift of a great songwriter, to let you in even though you don’t even know the half of it. Harding’s “One Stop” is excellent work and her latest album will no doubt be considered a milestone of musical releases from this year.

This article was originally published on Midbrow.

The banality of life is hard to capture in a song.

My New Band Believe makes it seem easy with their latest track, “Love Story,” a stunning multi-dimensional ballad from former Black Midi bassist Cameron Picton. It’s from their debut self-titled out now on Rough Trade.

There’s an urge to compare to the past when something new comes out. That’s fine. In this case, the closest I can come to is the earnestness of the Zombies’ “The Way I Feel Inside.”

It’s all within the delivery, the production and vocal similarity. Picton has got a bit of the Zombies’ Ron Argent in his throat. I can’t think of any other group that matches the sonic sensibilities of My New Band Believe. Contemporary Zombies? Yes, please.

It’s in the lyrics and storytelling that “Love Story” soars. It feels like you’re in the head of someone stuck at work, fantasizing about how much they love their partner that they’re excited to get home to. 

This fantasy is poetic, grand and elegant (much like the solo piano that opens up this track), but this is just a Tuesday night; not some anniversary dinner. This is finding the romance in everyday life spent doing the dishes and cooking dinner with someone you could spend the rest of your life with. 

I’m not sure it gets any more romantic than that.

You are the love of my life
Nothing compares to
A lonely minute with you
Pull me close in the night
Two knots you tie
To keep me on your side
I’m in the back of your mind
Always beside you
When you feel left behind
You want potatoes or rice tonight?
Pick up some onions
I’m making dinner

It’s a safe bet that this song (and ultimately entire album) will end up on many end of year best of lists. Deservingly so, but it will exist far beyond a critic’s pick for 2026.

The magic of this track is the snapshot of banality that it pins against churning orchestral elements, a soft-handed vocal delivery and lyrics that are so specific that you can’t help but relate to the romance of caring for someone day in, day out – even when it’s trash day and you’ve got to be the one to take out the garbage.

This story was originally published on Midbrow.

Alongside comfort classics from Talking Heads, TV on the Radio, Doves, Wes Montgomery and Abdullah Ibrahim are some of the year’s most interesting newer releases from James Blake, Benjamin Booker, pôt-pot, Nirosta Steel and others.

In the 2 p.m. hour, pianist Michael Malis and Constantine Novotny perform their new album “Another Shore, Another Country” live in our studios ahead of their Concert of Colors performance on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Hellenic Museum of Michigan.

Malis’s original song cycle is based on the poetry of C.P. Cavafy, the seminal poet of the Greek diaspora. They will also perform traditional songs in an intimate, stripped-down setting, evoking the beauty and majesty of Greece.

Malis is a recipient of Greek America Foundation’s 40 Under 40 Award. His music has been described as “downright transcendental” and he has shared the stage with luminaries such as Marcus Belgrave, Marion Hayden, Tyshawn Sorey and many others.

Novotny is a baritone who has performed with Apollo’s Fire Singers, American Bach Soloists, Audivi, and many others. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and St. John the Divine Cathedral.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for July 17, 2026

• “Please Go Easy With Me” — S.E. Rogie
• “Soweto” — Abdullah Ibrahim
• “(Nothing But) Flowers” — Talking Heads
• “O Tempo (Foi O Meu Mestre)” — Fabiano do Nascimento & Vittor Santos e Orquestra
• “Thinkin Bout You” — Flea
• “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand” — James Blake
• “Train on the Island” — Aldous Harding
• “I’m Confessin’ (That I Love You)” — Joe Webb
• “Bossy Nova” — Gabrielle Cavassa
• “Northern Shuffle” — Julian Lage
• “NRG” — Pigeon
• “22° Halo” — pôt-pot
• “West Side” — Studio
• “FRESH FEELING” — Nirosta Steel
• “There Goes the Fear” — Doves
• “SAME KIND OF LONELY” — Benjamin Booker
• “Province” — TV on the Radio
• “Fishbrain” — Mount Kimbie
• “Gently Trapped” — Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer & Dafnis Prieto
• “Open the Door” — Betty Carter
• “Four On Six (Remastered 2025)” — Wes Montgomery
• “Spellbinder” — Gabor Szabo

Listen to In The Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

You never really know why you’re attracted to a certain style of music, but I’ve always had an ear for dub. It’s a wonderful side product of the ska / reggae movement that emerged from Jamaica in the 1960s. 

With dub tracks, they’re making them heavier, with bigger bass and more reverb and a sense of weightlessness with the vocals, as though the singer were drowning and their voice only carries through when they come up for air.

A recent discovery in this vein is Hollie Cook’s sensational dub treatment of her album called “Shy Girl In Dub!” It brings dubbed-out versions of her songs from the record “Shy Girl” under the production lens of Ben McKone, who lovingly adds echo and reverb and pumps up the bass on all 12 of these heavyweight dubs.

It’s been tough to pick a favorite of that dubbed-out dozen, but I’m currently in love with “Dub Me In Your Arms” and its throbbing bassline and gentle stabs of piano. (Reminds me of another great Jamaican track where the Chosen Few cover Smoky Robinson’s “Tears Of A Clown.”) 

When Cook’s voice comes hovering over this track, she’s in full command. It sounds like she’s from another world; like a voice emerging from the static of a television set late at night, surrounded by this swirl of noise and rhythm and crisp snare pops.

Both Cook’s original “Shy Girl” album and this new dub reset are absolutely worth your time.

This story was originally posted on Midbrow.

In Detroit, there’s always a lot of action in liquor store parking lots.

Fender benders. Loitering. Impromptu barbecue pop-ups. Arguments and negotiations. Entrepreneurs hustling their wares. You name it.

This is the first time, however, I’ve witnessed one hosting a World Cup watch party.

Most of the World Cup games so far have been broadcast on a TV or projection screen in the parking lot of Marcus Market, a small liquor and grocery store near Wayne State’s campus.

They sell everything from tacos out of a counter in the back to beer and fresh produce and cigarettes and kayaks (they technically haven’t sold one yet but they are for sale).

It’s a popular spot with college kids and people from the neighborhood; a major community hub of commerce and social interaction in the city’s Cass Corridor.

And now it’s a de facto sports hub for the initiated or those just passing by and curious what the shouting is all about.

Under a pop-up tent in a corner of the parking lot, there’s a loyal band of soccer fans each with their own rooting interests. The crowds have swelled to nearly 90 people for the U.S. men’s soccer matches. Brands and sponsors noticed, dropping off swag for fans.

Other times, often for day games victimized by the sun and heat, it’s just a handful of diehards.

Some are sitting in camping chairs they brought. Some are sitting on milk crates pulled from the back of Marcus Market and provided by cashier Sishir Cherry Buddharaju, who started this whole thing.

“It’s the best way to watch the World Cup,” says Buddharaju, who’s known around the neighborhood simply as Cherry.

Fans are more than welcome to head into Marcus Market and buy a snack or a drink, but it’s really not a sales tactic for the store, he says.

“Most World Cup viewing parties are in bars or you have to RSVP,” says Buddharaju. “There’s not many that are free, that you can stay as long as you want and you don’t have to spend any money.”

In fact, at a lot of these parking lot games, there’s not much drinking at all. It’s become a lazy cliche mostly plastered on sports advertisements, but these watch parties have become bigger than the game itself.

It ended up being more about strangers in the neighborhood getting to know each other and hanging out outside the structure of a bar.

Buddharaju says at least a few regulars have become friends since the watch parties started back in June, showing up together and making plans after the games. Another watch party regular said he’s worried he won’t see his friends as much when the games end. It’s the most time he’s spent with them in a while.

“It almost feels like a summer camp sort of thing because it’s essentially the same group of strangers that show up every day,” says Buddharaju. “They all became friends from just being at the same place every day together for two hours for 30 straight days.”

There’s been some trials and tribulations along the way. A heavy rain forced them to take the television inside the nearby Bronx Bar to watch the rest of the England versus Mexico match. During Argentina versus Cape Verde, a powerful storm popped up quickly and ravaged their set up within seconds, sending the pop-up tent flying and the TV crashing to the ground. 

The screen is cracked and partially blacked out now, but the group watches on.

After Spain beat Belgium 2-1 in the quarter-finals, a handful of fans watching the game thank Buddharaju for setting up once again and start stacking milk crates and put away the 10×10 tent they’ve been watching under. They ask Buddharaju when the next game is and if he’ll be grilling hot dogs again.

“It’s a weird feeling,” laughs Buddharaju, “because I was going to do this even if nobody showed up. It was just going to be me outside watching the World Cup in the parking lot.”

But there hasn’t been a game that he’s watched alone yet. There’s always someone from the neighborhood walking up, sitting down, and watching with him – and the rest of the neighborhood.

There’s still a handful of World Cup watch parties being hosted in the Marcus Market parking lot. They are free and open to the public.

• Tuesday, July 14 – at 3 p.m. for France versus Spain

• Wednesday, July 15 – at 3 p.m. (teams to be determined)

• Saturday, July 19 – at 3 p.m. (World Cup Final)

This story was originally published on Midbrow.

I’m seeing more examples of indie bands (whatever that means today) finding their way to an audience by presenting a solid cover. Australian group Royel Otis is one that stands out, with their solid, true-to-form cover of the Cranberries’ “Linger.”

Chicago indie rockers Friko are another example, first arriving to my ears via their forceful cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes,” which, admittedly, is a ballsy one to cover (but they nailed it).

It got me hooked enough that I started digging into the brand new sophomore album, “Something Worth Waiting For,” and have completely fallen in love with the title track.

It starts out like a blurry vision; like an acoustic guitar and a distant voice are just barely making their way out of a dusty vinyl groove off in the distance, before blossoming into this massive anthemic swell of waiting for the good thing even though you might not measure up yourself.

“So I’m waiting for something more
Something worth waiting for
I wanna see you and me
Waking up, glad to be
So I’m waiting for something more
Something worth waiting for”

This is exactly what you love to see from an artist on their sophomore release. More space, bigger sound, the growth they always dreamed up after praying that anyone would even care about the debut in the first place. Luckily for Friko, they’re continuing to carve out a space for themselves and their new stadium-ready sound.

For anyone looking to check them out in Detroit, they’ll be playing at The Loving Touch on Oct. 17.

This story was originally published by Midbrow.