When the Jim Beam Main Stage lights up at Royal Oak’s annual Arts, Beats & Eats festival on Sunday, Aug. 31, audiences will get a taste of Downriver pride and country-rock energy as Taylor Tucky kicks off the day’s lineup at 4 p.m.

The band, long a staple of the southeastern Michigan music scene, will take the stage ahead of national country stars Joe Nichols and Randy Houser — an honor that underscores just how far the group has come since its early days.

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Taylor Tucky was formed in 2012, born out of a desire among seasoned musicians to keep performing together without the constraints of competing projects. Guitarist and vocalist Chris Wietzke explained that the band’s origins came from necessity as much as inspiration.

“Taylor Tucky is actually our second entity,” Wietzke said. “We have another entity called Sinjon Smith, and we’re all professional players. We wanted to work as much as possible, but the singer for that entity didn’t want to work as much. Rather than everybody finding separate projects and running into calendar conflicts, we decided to form a new entity with the same players and a new singer.”

At the time, country music was riding high in the pop realm, making it an ideal lane for the group’s blend of rock roots and country flavor. Their name, however, came from something much closer to home.

“The name actually came from the original singer, who lived in Taylor,” Wietzke said. “His family was part of the Taylor-Tucky migration. When the auto industry started building plants here, a lot of people moved up from Kentucky to work in them and settled in Taylor. That’s where the term came from.”

Though some considered the phrase derogatory, the band embraced it as a badge of identity.

“It was a hard choice to use that name,” Wietzke said. “But, it’s cool to be a redneck. We went with it. We figured we were cutting edge with it. We’ve even played for the city of Taylor, and while some of the older folks weren’t too happy about the name, that’s when we knew we had a good one.”

Today, Taylor Tucky features a lineup of talented musicians from across the region. Bassist David Connors migrated from Cleveland, while drummer Lonnell Lewis and guitarist Marc Davis bring their own distinct energy. A key recent addition is vocalist Ryan O’Neill, who joined earlier this year after longtime frontman Perry Joe Zaremba retired.

“Our new singer, Ryan O’Neill, is a fantastic talent,” Wietzke said. “He’s got a strong career ahead of him, and we’re very lucky to have him.”

Musically, the band draws on both rock and country traditions.

“We’re rockers at heart,” Wietzke said. “Back then, if you were a rocker and you wanted to be a recording artist, you went to Nashville because that’s where country was changing from the twangy ’80s and ’90s sound into more rock-based music. That’s our heart and soul, too. But we made sure when we released our album that we included country elements like steel guitar, violin, and banjo, so it would still be recognized as country.”

The band’s 2019 debut album, “Where There’s Smoke,” highlights this fusion, with tracks like “I Bleed Country” alongside a cover of Heart’s “Straight On.” The title track has garnered more than 75,000 streams, and the album’s presence on the TouchTunes jukebox network has given the band a national reach.

“Being on TouchTunes was a big deal for us,” Wietzke said. “Typically, you have to be a major album seller to get on that network. We just got lucky that one of the administrators loved our music. Now, if you’re at a bar with TouchTunes, you can fire up some Taylor Tucky right from your phone. That’s pretty cool.”

Audiences at Arts, Beats & Eats can expect a mix of originals and crowd-pleasing covers.

“We do a mixture of both,” Wietzke said. “We’ll play songs from our first album, some new material we’ve released, and some popular covers. The reason behind that is covers are where the money’s at. We all have mortgages and families, so we’re not going back on the road full time. But we love writing and performing original music. We’d love recognition, maybe a Detroit Music Award, or for another artist to record our songs. But the main reason is we just love to entertain people.”

The group has been a fixture at Arts, Beats & Eats for several years, but this marks their first time on the national stage lineup. Their set will run about 30 minutes, giving them the chance to deliver a high-energy performance to a fresh crowd.

“We’ve been a staple at Arts, Beats & Eats for four or five years,” Wietzke said. “We were lucky to be presented with the national stage this year. We’re the low man on the totem pole, so we get a half-hour set — about eight or nine songs. But we’re going to make sure it’s all high energy. We want to kick off Sunday with a bang.”

Even with a busy summer — 21 shows in August alone — the band still cherishes the chance to perform at large-scale festivals. Among their favorite memories is a show in West Virginia for the World Scouts Gathering, where they played for an international crowd of 30,000 youth.

“It was awesome,” Wietzke said. “There were kids from Finland, Norway, Germany, and they all knew the words to our songs. Singing along with us, it was really cool.”

With another album in the works and an ever-growing fanbase, Taylor Tucky is proof that Downriver grit and Nashville polish can coexist. As they take the Jim Beam Main Stage on Aug. 31, they’ll be bringing both to Royal Oak, along with a sound that’s all their own.

Taylor Tucky performs at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31 on the Jim Beam Main Stage at Arts, Beats & Eats in Royal Oak. For more information, visit artsbeatseats.com. Follow the band on Instagram at @taylor_tucky.

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About Taylor Tucky

Taylor Tucky is a five-member country band rooted in Taylor, Downriver’s largest city. The group blends rock energy with modern country sounds. Formed in 2012, the group includes Chris Wietzke (guitar, vocals), David Connors (bass, vocals), Lonnell Lewis (drums), Marc Davis (lead guitar), and new frontman Ryan O’Neill. The 2019 debut album “Where There’s Smoke” features fan favorites like “I Bleed Country” and is available on Spotify, Apple Music and on the TouchTunes jukebox network nationwide. Known for high-energy live shows, Taylor Tucky has opened for Kane Brown, Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne, and more, earning recognition as one of Michigan’s top country acts.

Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor wasn’t kidding as he chanted “Nothing can stop me now” near the start of the band’s concert Friday night, Aug. 22 at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.

But the next part of that chorus phrase — “’cause I don’t care anymore” — was belied by a 95-minute show that was, indeed, a non-stop (and passionate) onslaught of meticulously crafted sensory assault, from the sonics to the ingenious visuals. It was a near-perfect kind of expression, one that played right to the expectations of fans who knew the group to be a consistently provocative live act but also accessible to any of the 15,000 at Little Caesars who may not have been as well-acquainted.

Those virtues were certainly to be expected, of course; when you have a group led by two EGO (Emmy, Grammy and Oscar) Award winners in Reznor and Atticus Ross, you’ll inevitably get something more clever than a basic rock band playing on a stage.

Nine Inch Nails’ first appearance in the metro area since a two-night stand in 2018 at Detroit’s Fox Theatre was decidedly that, blending the immersive qualities of vintage Pink Floyd with the artsy, almost avant garde physicality of David Byrne, with or without Talking Heads. The high concept even began with an opening 55 minutes from German EDM stalwart Boys Noize (celebrating his 42nd birthday on Friday), who performed from the rear of the arena floor and to the backs of those sitting in front of him — and well away from the general admission area beyond them. It seemed odd but was effective when he finished and a second later a black-clad Reznor appeared at a keyboard on a small square stage at the center of the arena, playing a hushed solo rendition of 2005’s “Right Where It Belongs” — back in the set for the first time in 16 years — and then joined by Ross, guitarist Robin Finck and and Alessandro Cortini during “Ruiner.”

After “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now),” the three walked to the main stage while drummer Josh Freese, returning after 17 years away from the band, played a drum solo with his larger-than-life image projected onto a sheer scrim in front. The next segment — which featured industrial-strength deliveries of “Wish,” “March of the Pigs” and “Gave Up” was a visual treat as well, with images of the quintet, including close-ups from a camera-toting crew member who roamed the stage throughout — soaring across the scrim and rear screens.

Best of that bunch was a percolating “Copy of A,” during which multiple Reznors, full and in silhouette, jetted above the band.

Reznor and Ross then returned to the satellite stage, joined by Boys Noize for a remix-style renditions of “Vessel,” “Closer,” “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” from his year’s “Tron: Ares” film soundtrack and “Come Back Haunted.” Boys Noize finished the latter as Reznor and Ross then journeyed back to the rest of the band for a closing barrage — sans scrim but still dramatically lit as the troupe pounded through “Mr. Self Destruct,” “Less Than” and “The Perfect Drug.” The group paid tribute to late friends collaborators David Lynch (“The Perfect Drug” from his 1997 film “Lost Highway”) and David Bowie (“I’m Afraid of Americans,” also from 1997), with Finck shredding at the end of the latter, with nods to Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.”

Hit singles “The Hand That Feeds” and “Head Like a Hole” were simply massive and mosh-worthy, setting up the gentle bleakness of “Hurt,” which Reznor and Finck began as a duo before the rest of the band built it into an elegant paean to angst.

In one of his very few comments to the crowd, Reznor thanked fans “for sticking with us…we really appreciate it.” The feeling was clearly mutual, and he can rest assured that they’ll continue to be there, still relishing what they saw on Friday and anticipating even more extravagant concert adventures to come.

SAN DIEGO — Sometimes, all it takes is a few sharp notes to create an era-defining guitar riff. Joey Santiago, lead guitarist for the Pixies, knows this well: his angular, melodic playing has defined some of the Promethean alt-rock band’s most memorable songs, from “Where Is My Mind” to “Monkey Gone to Heaven.”

Though frontman Charles Thompson (known on stage as Black Francis and Frank Black) is considered the Pixies’ creative powerhouse, Santiago has been a steady and vital ingredient to the band’s consistent success. Santiago and Black, once college roommates, founded the band nearly 40 years ago in Massachusetts (the Pixies’ 1993 to 2004 hiatus notwithstanding). Drummer David Lovering — a career magician on the side — has been with the band since the beginning. Original bassist and background-singer Kim Deal left in 2013 due to reported creative discord, finding success with The Breeders and in her solo career. Paz Lenchantin followed in her footsteps, playing for over a decade before being replaced by Emma Richardson just last year.

Even with that changing roster of bassists, the Pixies have not appeared to lose their musical footing. In 2024, they released a fresh batch of spooky surf-rock tunes on “The Night the Zombies Came,” sonically fitting in with their extensive discography. They have been touring regularly since their 2004 reunion, they are now on tour with the Austin-bred rock band Spoon and singer-songwriter Fazerdaze from New Zealand, including a show in San Diego on Aug. 27.

Santiago recently answered questions in a phone interview. His answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What does touring actually look like for you these days? Do you have any spots that you like to hit when you’re in San Diego?

A: We’re in the bus together. It’s actually the preferred way to do it. You know, after the show, we leave around one or two in the morning and we wake up in the next city, right? It’s like time travel. As for San Diego, my son goes to San Diego State University. He’s going to be a junior, and I’m going to be helping him move in. He’s actually going to go to the San Diego show, because he’s right there.

Q: You have two kids, correct? What kind of music are they into?

A: They’re more into rock, now, especially my son. He’s gravitating towards playing the guitar more. And my daughter’s kind of the same thing.

Q: Have you been trying to teach him, or did he kind of pick it up on his own?

A: I’ve taught him a little bit. I didn’t think I had much to teach him. But it’s funny — I do know more more theory than I thought I did.

Q: With touring, emotionally speaking, is it just kind of like another day at the office? Are there coping mechanisms you need to use?

A: At the end of the day, you’ve got to take yourself out of the equation. There are people coming in. I was reminded of that with my kids — they gave me some perspective. You know, people plan for this, these tickets were on sale for a while, they got babysitters, or their friends are coming in, and people are making a night of it. Those thought processes help.

Q: How’s it been playing with the with Emma Richardson? She joined you guys last year and played on your newest album. Does it feel solid?

A: Yeah, that’s what I was going to say, that she’s solid. She’s always on it. You know, her harmonies are right on the button, everything about her. She’s a joy to be around.

Q: Has it been a coincidence so far that the Pixies have really only had female bassists, or is that something that you guys sought out? Does it play to that nostalgia factor?

A: Well, we originally wanted a female bass player. From then on, the female backing vocals were recorded. So it just makes sense to always have that element.

Q: The Pixies seem to have some newer, younger fans that are joining the masses. Your opening riff of “Where is My Mind” kind of caught fire on social media, on TikTok —  tens of thousands of videos have used that sound. I’m curious about what you think of that as an artist. Do you think it’s cool that people are getting into you that way? Or is it kind of isolating that song from you guys, or cheapening it?

A: No. I think it’s cool that people I know think it’s cool, if that makes sense. Directly, if I saw it, that’s just the way it is. It is what it is.

Q: The Pixies have often been cited as one of the most influential rock bands of all time. You guys are credited with pioneering the whole quiet, loud, quiet dynamic. Do you think that that’s an accurate credit?

A: Yeah. I mean, that is very nice to hear. It really is. But you know, at the same time, we got influenced by other artists too. So it’s nice to be part of that vocabulary. If our band spurs other people to start a band, then kudos.

Q: Who were your influences? Did you have an ideal trajectory or ideal sound when you and Frank Black first started playing together in college?

A: Just different. We just wanted to be just different and interesting, really. What we listened to probably didn’t translate to what we sound like. For me and (Charles) too, it’s, you know, The Beatles’ “White Album.” You know, that classic stuff. Later on we got into the more alternative stuff. But our DNA, my DNA, is with that kind of genre.

Q: You had writing credits on a couple of the songs off the Pixies’ newest album — “Hypnotised” and “I Hear You Mary.” Do you see yourself doing more songwriting in the future?

A: I mean, the music thing, I just did that. I just presented it to the producer, and he liked it — I’m sure Charles liked it too — but I do that kind of stuff at home anyway. I never really presented it, because Charles just wanted to be the main songwriter at the time, which is fair enough, I guess. But lyric wise, I’m shocked that he asked me to do that.

Q: Are you guys working on new music actively?

A: Yes. We’ve worked out some demos and some maybe-keeper backing tracks, and we’ve worked out some recordings already that we’re going to want to finish up.

Q: And you’re sticking to that signature Pixies sound, or shaking it up?

A: We’ll see. That is a good question, and I do want to explore. But it’s all still going to end up sounding like the Pixies.

Black Keys fans got their fix of the band on Thursday night, Aug. 21, at the Pine Knob Music Theatre — more than nine months after they initially expected.

The Akron-formed, now Nashville-based duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney planned to end its 2024 tour last November at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. The trek was canceled over logistical issues that led to an acrimonious split with the group’s management, leaving the Keys to retreat, make a new album (“No Rain, No Flowers”) and, basically, get back on the horse.

And on Thursday Auerbach and Carney — one of rock’s most consistently exciting live acts during the past 25 or so years — seemed no worse for the wear.

Following a 55-minute opening set by Austin, Texas guitar hero Gary Clark Jr. — whose ferocious playing cut through a 55-minute set mired by a muddy sound mix — the Keys came out nodding to the band’s Midwestern roots. While video screens bore the logo for the fictional WTBK public access station out of Akron, the warm-up tape paid homage to another famous Rubber Capitol export (Devo) and then to its northern neighbor’s rock heritage with a bit of Bob Seger’s “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man.” Guitarist Auerbach and drummer Carney — with a tiger rug sitting in front of his kit — then played as a duo in front of a red curtain, reaching back to the raw, bluesy garage glory of its earliest albums with a medley of “Thickfreakness,” “The Breaks” and “I’ll Be Your Man.”

As they tore into “Your Touch,” the curtain parted to reveal another five musicians, mixed mostly for sonic texture over much of the hour-and-45-minute show. The 23-song set shot both wide and deep into the group’s career, sampling from 10 of its 13 albums over the course of the show. Four came from “No Rain…” — including the live debut of the track “Down to Nothing” — but, disappointingly, none from last year’s fine “Ohio Players.”

The 8,000 or so fans were nevertheless pleased with what they got, and by the Keys’ return in general. The group’s own excitement could be heard in the adrenalized tempos of many of the songs, while Auerbach was his usual six-string madman self, ripping through hot solos on every song and stretching out in particular on “I Got Mine,” “Everlasting Light,” “A Little Too High” and “Man on a Mission.” Auerbach also made room for special guest “Little” Barrie Cadogan from England, who stepped out on “Lo/Hi,” “Weight of Love,” “Too Afraid to Love You” and “Next Girl” and dueled with Auerbach towards the end of “Heavy Soul.”

Keyboardist Ray Jacildo took the occasional spotlight spot as well, including a synthesizer solos on “Psychotic Girl” and a cover of Canned Heat’s “On the Road Again.”

The night included the Keys’ key hits — “Gold on the Ceiling,” “Wild Child,” “Howlin’ For You,” “Fever” — while Auerbach noted that 2010’s “Tighten Up” “couldn’t have happened without Motown.” “Thank you for that.” For the encore, meanwhile, a characteristically epic “Little Black Submarines,” which Auerbach started solo, preceded a hip-wiggling “Lonely Boy.” “Thanks for hanging out with us,” Auerbach told the crowd, promising to “see you next time.”

And most at Pine Knob on Thursday would say that can’t come too soon.

Sure, the idea that Taylor Swift could perform at the Super Bowl in February 2026 mostly exists as speculation being pushed by her most ardent fans.

But this theory still received some serious consideration from entertainment industry experts Monday. During Monday’s episode of the industry podcast “The Town,” host Matthew Belloni and Bloomberg entertainment editor Lucas Shaw explained why it’s plausible that the pop mega-star could perform for the Halftime Show at Super Bowl LX, which takes place Feb. 8, 2026 at the San Francisco 49ers Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

“I just feel like, if you’re her and you’re coming off the biggest (world) tour ever, the only way to top that is do the Super Bowl, which is the biggest stage in the world,” Shaw said. While there’s “buzz” that Swift could soon announce that she’s doing a Las Vegas residency, specifically at The Sphere, Shaw said he could see her more likely doing the Super Bowl.

“The Sphere would make a little bit of sense because if you’re coming off this big tour, like it’s hard to top it,” Shaw said. However, he also said: “I just feel like the Super Bowl is a little more in line with where her life is at the moment than The Sphere.”

And, where is Swift’s life at right now? Well, she’s dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. And, for her first ever podcast appearance, she chose to appear on his football-themed “New Heights” podcast, which he co-hosts with brother Jason Kelce. During the show, she talked about quickly becoming an NFL fan as soon as she began dating Kelce ahead of the 2023 season.

“Oh my god, I fell in love with it,” Swift said. “I became obsessed with it.”

For the most part, the NFL has become enamored of her — except for a segment of male NFL fans who resent so much attention being paid to her.

Her relationship with Kelce is associated with the “Taylor Swift effect”: a documented surge in sponsorships, ratings and female viewership across all demographics on the days she has attended games. Ahead of Super Bowl in 2024, when Kelce’s Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell agreed that Swift’s interest in the NFL had encouraged young women to watch the sport. “I think that’s great for us.”

With that, it’s easy to see why the NFL would be eager to sign up Swift for a halftime performance — ahead of Metallica. The San Francisco-band would be very excited to perform at the Super Bowl in 2026, according to drummer Lars Ulrich. He recently told Howard Stern that doing the show in the Bay Area would be “a dream come true” and a “right fit.” However, Ulrich admitted: “We haven’t been approached” and “ultimately it’s not our decision.”

It’s not known when the NFL will announce its next halftime performer; the league announced Kendrick Lamar for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show last September, People reported. 

Some Swift fans seem to believe that Super Bowl LX is a done deal, according to the theory they concocted after listening to the hints — or “Easter eggs” — they believe she dropped on “New Heights,” according to Shaw.

“All of the craziest Swifties out there have noted two things,” Shaw began. “One is that the 49ers mascot is Sourdough Sam and, two, that this is the 60th Super Bowl.”

But how did Sourdough Sam, an 1840s gold miner figure, even come up out of what Swift said on “New Heights?”

After the superstar announced her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” she revealed that she had developed a new “obsession” since ending her Eras Tour at the end of 2024. She said she had started baking bread and that sourdough has “taken over my life in a huge way.” She admitted to thinking about bread “60% of the time now.”

Fans have suggested that her mention of “60%” could be a nod to Super Bowl LX, the 60th such NFL event, according to People. They also observed that her New Heights appearance began with her thanking Jason Kelce for “screaming for, like, 47 seconds,” as he enthusiastically listed her accomplishments to welcome her to the show.

Swifties have since wondered if the number 47 “could be a connection” to the singer’s 47th stop on her Eras Tour. That stop in July 2023 was at Levi’s Stadium, according to People.

On “The Town” podcast, producer Craig Horlbeck said that a Swift Halftime Show in 2026 makes sense because this could be Kelce’s last year playing professional football before he retires.

But Belloni asked: “What if he’s not there?” Belloni was referring to the possibility that the Chiefs won’t make it to the Super Bowl in 2026 (they were handily defeated 40-22 in the 2025 Super Bowl).  “Really, you’re prepared to make the prediction (that the Chiefs will be there)?” Belloni asked.

Horlback replied: “I mean, me saying the Chiefs are going to make the Super Bowl is not the craziest prediction.” But Belloni laughed: “Like, that’s a lot to bet on. You got to decide these things early on. And if they have a crushing loss in the AFC championship, what does she, cancel?”

At the start of its new album, “No Rain, No Flowers,” the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach sings that “Baby, the damage is done/It won’t be long ’til we’re back in the sun.”

That’s starting to become the case for the Nashville-based duo.

Last year the Keys — Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, friends since childhood growing up in Akron, Ohio — had to cancel a planned tour in support of its critically lauded previous album, “Ohio Players,” due to mismanagement and business conflicts of interest. The group scorched the earth, firing those involved and creating a new team, and openly expressing their dissatisfaction.

Auerbach and Carney also made new music — their 13th studio album, “No Rain, No Flowers,” which came out earlier this month, just 16 months after “Ohio Players.” After that’s sets collaborations with Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, Beck and others, the new 11-song set finds the Keys again playing nice with others, this time working with notable songwriters such Rick Nowels, Daniel Tashian, Scott Storch, Desmond Child and others.

It’s also returned the Keys to the road — in Europe earlier this summer and now back in North America, where the pair is making up for frustratingly lost time…

• Carney, 45 — nephew of the late saxophonist Ralph Carney — says he and Auerbach remain angry about the situation they found themselves in last year but are regaining their equilibrium. “I think it’s slightly reassuring to know that basically every peer of ours has been having to navigate the same bull****, and hopefully things will change for the better, for the artists and for the fans, soon. Basically it’s an exclusive problem to the United States, and I think every musician who tours has been encountering it throughout the years, and it’s just gotten to the point where it’s (expletive).”

• Carney adds that it was important, and natural, for the Keys to get back to work on another album as soon as possible. “‘Ohio Players’ is one of the favorite albums we’ve ever made. We worked our asses off on it, and in light of what happened last year the record became dead in the water, essentially, ’cause touring as a way to of promotion was gone. So we just did what we do — went in and made another album. Music is our passion; the whole point of starting that band is ’cause wanted to make albums. So we just went in and made another album.”

• The Keys have been co-writing with others since working with Danger Mouse on 2008’s “Attack & Release” and have become more interested in and adept at it on most of the albums since. “We figured out a way to incorporate a third person into our democracy,” Carney says. “Basically it’s like a three-way democracy, or however many people are in the room. If everyone’s on board, great, if everybody’s not on board you’ve got to move on to the next thing. It’s us wanting to give it an idea and being able to somehow convince these people to get in a room with us and then try to make something. That’s become our recent fascination.”

• Writing with Desmond Child — who’s written hits for Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Cher, Kiss Ricky Martin and many more — on the “No Rain…” track “Make You Mine” was a standout experience, according to Carney. “He’s another guy that’s just incredibly talented and has put the time in and the hours learning his craft and is a master of it — and also just a pleasure to be around. He’s got the greatest stories, too. Getting to sit in a room with a guy like that and watch him work is super inspiring. He approaches his while craft so seriously; I’ll get texts from him at midnight, still, about revisions to songs we haven’t released yet, that he wants to change. He’s (expletive) serious.”

• Carney says that since completing “No Rain…” he and Auerbach have continued to work on new material which he anticipates will likely come out sooner than later. “We’ve been kind of working at a pretty quick clip lately, kind of like we were in the first 10 years of the band when we were basically making a record every year, year and a half. We’ve been on that same path lately. It’s just what we do. We have so much stuff right at this point now, extra songs from every record. This record could’ve been 18 songs long; we just have a surplus of music, and when we feel like, ‘OK, this makes a good collection for an album,’ or maybe we should put out a series of singles, we’ll create a project. Just making the music and then figuring out what you have is a fun way to work.”

The Black Keys and Gary Clark Jr. perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21 at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, 33 Bob Seger Drive, Independence Township. (313)471-7000 or 313Presents.com.

Regina Hall and Anna Faris are returning to the scene of the crime — and horror and comedy — in the film series that launched their careers.

Both comedic actresses are set to star in a reboot of the Wayans Brothers’ “Scary Movie” franchise, expected in theaters on June 12, 2026, according to Deadline.

Marlon Wayans first teased the news in an Instagram post Friday, captioning a throwback photo of the women in the first film, along with the eyes emoji and the acronym “SM6″ (for “Scary Movie 6”).

The funnyman — one of the horror parody’s original stars and creators — is reportedly co-writing and producing the movie alongside his brothers Shawn and Keenen and their longtime collaborator Rick Alvarez.

Faris and Hall, who played friends Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meek in the first four films, issued a statement confirming their involvement.

“We can’t wait to bring Brenda and Cindy back to life and be reunited with our great friends Keenen, Shawn and Marlon — three men we’d literally die for (in Brenda’s case, again),” they said.

The new installment marks the first time in 18 years the Wayans brothers are coming together to write an original script for the “Scary Movie” franchise, which grossed nearly $900 million at the box office.

Michael Tiddes, another collaborator who directed them in “A Haunted House” and “A Haunted House 2,” is on board to helm the film, which is set to start production this fall.

A brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal are heading back to theaters as “The Breakfast Club” returns for its 40th anniversary.

Arguably the crux of the Brat Pack canon, John Hughes’ coming-of-age classic — starring Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson — will be re-released in cinemas nationwide on Sept. 7 and 10, just in time for the new school year.

First premiering in theaters in 1985, the box office hit follows the five high school stereotypes amid a grueling Saturday in detention. The day slowly but surely gives way to heartfelt confessionals, impromptu dance routines and unexpected love connections as Brian (Hall), Andrew (Estevez), Allison (Sheedy), Claire (Ringwald) and Bender (Nelson) drop their public personas and realize they’re not as different as they previously thought.

The film, dubbed “endearing” in the Daily News’ original review, almost immediately became a cultural sensation. Its theme song, Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” climbed to the top of the charts.

Its dialogue, both improvised by the cast and penned by Hughes — who was 59 when he died of a heart attack in New York City in 2009 — remains commonly quoted even four decades later.

“The fact that the film has had the life that it’s had, that it’s transcended generations, was certainly not something that any of us anticipated when we made the film,” Estevez told the Daily News in 2019. “How could you?”

The last time “The Breakfast Club” was widely available in theaters was in 2015, when a remastered edition was released in honor of its 30th anniversary. A year later, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry, citing a “vivid” message that’s still relevant in present day.

“‘The Breakfast Club’ is one of the great films about identity, alienation and connection,” said Jim Orr, Universal Pictures’ president of domestic theatrical distribution. “The film’s honesty, humor and humanity continue to connect with audiences of all ages. We’re honored to bring it back to theaters so that a new generation can experience its power on the big screen.”

Tickets for the 40th anniversary screening of “The Breakfast Club” are currently on sale.

Maroon 5 will be wrapping its upcoming Love Is Like fall tour on Nov. 25 at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. But guitarist James Valentine promises that fans will see anything but a road-weary band at that date.

“Oh, no, the last show … those are always special,” Valentine says via Zoom from his home in Toluca Lake, California. “There’s a real excitement, plus all the kinks have been worked out, so I would encourage everybody to come out ’cause they’re usually pretty great.”

Enter to win 2 tickets to Maroon 5’s Nov. 25 Detroit show

Maroon 5's 23-date tour, which begins Oct. 6 in Phoenix, comes in support of "Love Is Like," the group's eighth studio album — the latest entry in a career of more than 135 million records sold worldwide, three Grammy Awards and 20 Top 20 hits, including "This Love," "She Will Be Loved," "Moves Like Jagger," "Payphone" and "One More Night." Frontman Adam Levine, meanwhile, has achieved solo fame acting ("Begin Again," "American Horror Story: Asylum") and also appeared as a coach in "The Voice," which he co-produces.

The group's last album, "Jordi," came out in 2021. Valentine said the band "knew in the future a new album was going to be worked on at some point." The process began in January 2024 when Levine sent his bandmates the idea for a song that became "Priceless," the first single from "Love Is Like," which features a guest vocal by Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink.

"(Levine) was like: 'Hey, guys, I'm fired up. I want to write. Let's go!'" recalls Valentine. "And with that song, it was off to the races. We knew it was time because Adam felt inspired."

"Love Is Like" features nine more tracks, with Lil Wayne guesting on the title track and Sexxy Red on "I Feel Like." And in Valentine's estimation, the new album, for the most part, hearkens back to Maroon 5's early days, such as the multi-platinum 2002 debut "Songs About Jane."

"Each record we've done has sort of gone in such different directions," Valentine notes. "I think there's been a constant evolution. But ('Priceless') felt like it was going back to some of the sounds that we were making early in our career. I think it was time to go back to some of those early influences, like '70s soul and funk.

"So this album, at least more than the most recent albums, has more of those elements. About half the record has that sort of feeling."

Valentine predicts the tour shows will be "really special," especially since the production is being helmed by the company that worked with Maroon 5 on its Las Vegas residency at the Park MGM. "We might bring some elements of that, yeah," he says. "We haven't toured in the U.S. much for the last couple of years because of the Vegas residence — which we really loved, but I also missed being out there and seeing the country. So we're excited to be doing that again."

Maroon 5, Claire and Claire Rosinkranz perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 25 at Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit.  313-471-7000 or 313Presents.com. 

Enter below for a chance to win two tickets to the Nov. 25 Maroon 5 performance at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The contest runs from Aug. 14-25. One entry per email address and/or phone number. The winner will be selected Aug. 29.

For complete rules and regulations, click here.

Maroon 5 to end fall tour with stop in Detroit

By LEANNE ITALIE, AP Lifestyles Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Orange you ready for it?

Taylor Swift swathed her bombshell album announcement in a shade she’s calling Portofino Orange Glitter after donning the color onstage during the latter part of her latest tour.

So now, will “The Life of a Showgirl” usher in the pop star’s Orange Era? On the “New Heights” podcast Wednesday night, Swift leaned toward a yes.

“I’ve just always liked it, Jason,” she said, addressing interlocutor Jason Kelce, while sitting next to boyfriend Travis Kelce. “It feels like kind of energetically how my life has felt. And this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour.”

In all its glory, the color can evoke creativity, enthusiasm, energy, optimism and more. While some see a downside in the brighter hues, perceiving them as clownish or silly, orange is more often exuberant or inviting, color experts said.

The positive sentiments are precisely how Swift described the mood she wanted to capture on the album: “so exuberant and electric and vibrant.”

Here’s an exploration of the color orange, from pale peach to deep terra cotta.

Orange brings all the feels

Laurie Pressman, vice president of Pantone Color Institute, said Swift’s shifting of her color story to a bright orange feels like a “new personality coming out.”

“And she looks so happy,” Pressman said. “She’s glowing and she’s basking.” The orange hue Swift is going with is the perfect expression of positive vibes, Pressman said. The closest shade in Pantone’s vast library of color is called “Exuberance.”

“Even when you go down to the peaches, which are very pale,” she said, referencing the spectrum of orange, “there’s a deliciousness, there’s a warmth that comes with that. There’s just a softness, a tactility. There’s a sweetness to it.”

In its deeper tones, orange is also all goodness, Pressman said.

“Going all the way over to the darker terra cottas, there’s an earthiness and authenticity, but also warmth. Whereas red is about being bold and dramatic, orange is more friendliness, more approachable,” she said, noting a previous era of Swift’s.

As saffron, it can have religious connotations

The saffron shade is a different story in a contemporary context in India, said Dheepa Sundaram, who researches Hindu nationalist politics as an assistant professor of religion at the University of Denver.

In ancient Hinduism and Buddhism, she said, monks and other spiritual figures who renounce worldly life clothe themselves in saffron garb as a way to express their piety.

“Some people have speculated that it’s because saffron (the spice) was really cheap as a dye and sort of fit with the poverty roles of monks and aesthetes. Kings and royalty preferred more expensive colors like the colors of rubies and emeralds,” Sundaram said. (Nowadays, though, saffron is among the world’s most expensive spices.)

Fast forward a couple thousand years, give or take, to a right-wing policy strategy wielded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s powerful Bharatiya Janata Party that aims to implement Hindu nationalist views and embraces the saffron color as a symbol. Incendiary, anti-Muslim songs have been dubbed “saffron pop.”

“The color saffron has become their color. They have sort of positioned themselves as true Hindus, and this has become part of that schtick,” Sundaram said.

So what about that glittery Portofino orange?

Swift and Kelce frolicked last year in Lake Como, but did they also hit up Portofino and soak up some orange-hued charm in the coastal village known for its colorful buildings?

That’s unclear, which didn’t stop the mayor of Portofino and the Portofino Yacht Marina from jointly hopping on the orange Tay train for the album announcement. On Tuesday, the Italian Riviera playground for the rich and famous, via Instagram, issued the “it” couple an open invitation to visit.

“We are ready to welcome you, and we are already preparing an official Portofino Yacht Marina T-shirt for you… with a logo in perfect orange!,” read the Italian-language post. “Between sunsets on the sea, music and the magic of the main square, Portofino awaits you. And it already shines in your color.”

The luxe destination features ocher- and terra cotta-colored buildings along the port that reflect on the water, particularly during sunsets.

The gingers are ready for it!

We went directly to the source, redheads, to suss out the orange appeal.

Sara Schafer, a 40-year-old lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the ginger-haired mother of two ginger-haired daughters. All three are dedicated Swifties. Schafer also proudly owns a bright orange car.

“We’re all really excited. It’s a great day when we have Swiftie news,” she said. “I love everything orange. It’s like happy sunshine.”

Scott Walls, a hospital operations manager in Norwalk, Connecticut, is also a ginger, but he doesn’t count himself among the Swifties. He’s a huge New York Knicks fan, though. And what are the Knicks’ team colors? Bright orange and blue, often proudly worn by mega-fans like Spike Lee.

“I’ve got a ton of Knicks stuff,” said Walls, 32. “And it’s funny that growing up in Westchester (New York), I played on a basketball team that had orange and blue as the colors.”

He encountered some light teasing as an orange-haired kid growing up in small-town Pelham. “Sometimes people would make comments. I didn’t like it so I’d fight back. My brother is also a redhead and he would celebrate it more,” Walls said.

Schafer added: “You know what they say, redheads are the feistiest. We feel everything more deeply.”

Orange has a young appeal in home decor

Amy Wax, a color expert focusing on residential and commercial design, called orange a universally feel-good hue that evokes youthfulness in interior spaces.

“I’ve done dining rooms in a really, really rich rusty orange. It kind of takes the traditional red dining room and updates it. It feels more contemporary,” she said.

Swift’s stage design featured orange touches, including a projection of a mysterious orange door, confirmed by Swift on the podcast as a clue she was heading into a new era.

Orange also works for transitional spaces like hallways. “A light orange in a hallway can feel very pleasing and energetic,” Wax said.

Orange blends beautifully with browns, cream colors and other neutrals, she said.

Who can pull off wearing orange?

Natalie Tincher, founder of the BU Style consulting company and personal wardrobe stylist, said people shouldn’t fear wearing the color. There’s likely a shade out there for everyone. Swift’s own tour included lots of orange stage costumes, including the work of the late Italian designer Roberto Cavalli.

Vibrant orange will pop and softer oranges can lend harmony with softer skin tones, Tincher said: “Incorporate it into a scarf, a handbag or a trouser if you don’t want it reflecting your face.”

And what company is known for its orange luxury goods? That’s right, Hermès. The “Hermès Orange” and “Hermès Amber” are signatures of the French fashion house known for its silk scarves and pricey handbags.

On a more egalitarian level, and despite the seasonal nature of — dare we utter the words — pumpkin spice, Tincher sees orange in some shade or another as perfectly acceptable year-round.

For the bright, bold shades, consider pairing a loud orange with a lighter tone, Tincher said. Or go all in with a bright monochromatic orange look.

“And browns are very big right now as a neutral so you could do a rich brown with a bright orange,” she said. “Mom’s rules aren’t the case anymore.”

Associated Press journalist Colleen Barry contributed to this story from Milan.

A reboot matching the brilliance of its predecessor? Ugh, as if. But Alicia Silverstone is “confident” Peacock’s upcoming “Clueless” series will do its very best to “honor” the original.

Silverstone, 48, who starred as fashion-forward “virgin who can’t drive” Cher Horowitz in the 1995 film — which celebrated its 30th anniversary last month — is executive producing the streamer series, and told the “Today” show she’s “really excited” for the reboot.

“The goal is to make it honor what everyone loves about ‘Clueless’ and Cher,” she told Savannah Guthrie Thursday, “But also bring something fresh and new to it. … We’re in baby stages right now.”

“Clueless” also previously lived on the small screen with an ABC sitcom that aired from 1996 and 1999, as created by the uber-quotable film’s writer-director Amy Heckerling.

Time hasn’t lessened the impact of Heckerling’s modern cinematic take on Jane Austen’s “Emma” — with enduring fashion and pop cultural nods that include Iggy Azalea’s 2014 music video for “Fancy” and a 2023 Super Bowl commercial with Silverstone reliving some of Cher’s best moments.

Just last month, the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills unveiled a “Clueless” suite, replete with fuzzy pens, a Polaroid camera, a Cher-inspired (mostly) wardrobe and a nearly $2,000 price tag.

The new “Clueless” won’t be NBC-owned Peacock’s first time rebooting a ’90s favorite set in Southern California.

In 2022, the pretty nascent platform re-imagined Will Smith’s beloved “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” sitcom as a present-day drama, “Bel-Air,” executive produced by the Oscar winner. The show’s upcoming fourth season will be its last.

Last year’s return of Linkin Park was not really on many bingo cards.

The heavy rock group — which formed in 1996 in Agoura Hills, California, and once dubbed the Biggest Rock Band in the World Right Now by Kerrang! magazine in 2014 — had been silenced by the July 2017 suicide of vocalist Chester Bennington. Its surviving members pursued other creative endeavors, but queries about continuing were met with noncommittal answers.

So it seemed fans would have to be comfortable with a legacy that included more than 100 million records sold worldwide, eight platinum or better albums and 21 Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, including angsty No. 1’s such as “Somewhere I Belong,” “Numb,” “Breaking the Habit,” “Burn It Down” and “Until It’s Gone.” The group also collaborated with rapper Jay-Z on the double-platinum “Collision Course” in 2004.

But last April came word that Linkin Park’s booking agent was soliciting concert dates for the band, and during the late summer, the group announced its reformation, adding Emily Armstrong from the band Dead Sara on vocals and Colin Brittain on drums after co-founder Rob Bourdon opted not to join bandmates Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell and Joe Hahn.

Additionally, Alex Feder became Linkin Park’s touring guitarist after Delson decided to leave the road and focus on writing and recording — but is nonetheless stoked by a return with a new album, “From Zero,” which was No. 1 around the world and No. 2 in the U.S.

“The band got successful when we were very young, and we kind of went on this rocket ship for 20 years,” Delson, 47, says via Zoom. “In the time that we’ve had (off), while we haven’t been putting out new stuff, I think everyone’s had the space and fresh eyes to think about what’s energizing. And I think for all of us, the decisions to do what we’re doing came from a place of opting in as opposed to having it just be habitual. That’s also why everything sounds so fresh and inspired.”

Delson says that during the interim after Bennington’s death, he and the others “were just messing around, doing stuff in the studio” on their own and collectively, without much in the way of a plan. Shinoda had worked with Armstrong on his own projects and invited her to sit in with the others, initially in a casual and exploratory fashion.

Then, the guitarist recalls: “Emily said at one point: ‘Hey, I’m happy to just come here every day, whether you need me or not. I want to be around what’s happening.’ The amazing thing about this album was everything just kind of fell into place, naturally, just based on: ‘Hey, this is fun. We like doing this. Let’s do more of it.’ It was the desire to just hang out together, be creative, and then the music led the way.”

The group brought some other helps into the fold to help make “From Zero” — including Teddy Swims, Nick Long of Dark Waves and Mike Elizondo — and Delson says the group quickly regained its trial-and-error approach marked by frank discussions and a variety of opinions.

“Our process is to support what’s working,” Delson explains. “So if the guitar isn’t, like, super compelling, just mute it and then write new guitar parts. There was a lot of experimenting going on, just like we always did.”

Linkin Park debuted the fresh material during a livestreamed performance Sept. 5 and then set off on a short tour of dates to showcase it and the new members, with a more comprehensive global trek that began Jan. 31 in Mexico — including its first Detroit area appearance since 2014 — and is booked into June 2026. Delson’s decision not to tour, meanwhile, is for a combination of preserving his mental health, as well as simply because “I really love being in the studio, and I feel like that’s where I’m most energized, and I really thrive and I contribute the most.

“For me, it’s about making authentic, clear decisions and wanting to bring great energy to whatever I’m working on.”

Delson still remains involved in matters such as the live show’s set list, and while his bandmates are on the road, he’s building a cache of new ideas for a next album in Los Angeles. “I would just say I’m having a lot of fun right now working on all the creative with my bandmates,” Delson explains. “It’s been a lot of fun and really rewarding.”

And the silver lining is having a new kind of experience with Linkin Park than he’s been able to have before.

“It’s pretty cool in a way,” Delson says, “’cause I never got to see the show ever, in real time. If you’re on the stage, you don’t really get to see what’s going on. And now I do.

“I’m excited people are finally getting to hear this record, and the streaming and everything is just crazy. There’s a lot of activity now. (The band is) definitely up and running.”

Linkin Park and Pvris perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14 at Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit.  313-471-7000 or 313Presents.com. 

On sale 10 a.m. Aug. 8

• Los Lonely Boys: Nov. 7, Flagstar Strand Theatre, Pontiac, ticket prices vary.

• Tye Tribbett: Nov. 14, Fisher Theatre, Detroit, broadwayindetroit.com, ticket prices vary.

• “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”: Nov. 21-23, Fisher Theatre, Detroit, BroadwayInDetroit.com, ticket prices vary.

Canceled

• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Canceled, previously scheduled for Aug. 24, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Independence Twp., www.ticketmaster.com/search?q=bone+thugs.

Note: Events are subject to change; check with venues for updates. Tickets on sale at 313Presents.com, LiveNation.com, Ticketmaster.com or the XFINITY Box Office at Little Caesars Arena.

Beats

• Thomas Rhett: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 8, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Independence Twp., with Tucker Wetmore and Dasha, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• The Fray: 7 p.m. Aug. 8, The Fillmore Detroit, 2115 Woodward Ave, Detroit,  www.thefillmoredetroit.com, ticket prices vary.

• Rage Against Machine tribute: 7-10 p.m. Aug. 8, Wildwood Amphitheater, 2700 Joslyn Ct., Orion Twp., orion.events, with Limp Bizkit tribute, bring lawn chairs or blankets, $20+.

• Neil Diamond tribute featuring Will Chalmers: 8 p.m. Aug. 8-9, The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester, 248-453-5285, doors at 7 p.m., ages 21+, www.theroxyrochester.com, $35+ each.

• Nelly: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Independence Twp., with Ja Rule, Eve, St. Lunatics and Chingy, lineup subject to change, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• Lord Huron: 7 p.m. Aug. 9, Meadow Brook Amphitheater, Rochester Hills, with S.G. Goodman and Jackamo, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• J Boog: 7 p.m. Aug. 9, Saint Andrews Hall, 431 E Congress St., Detroit, www.saintandrewsdetroit.com, ticket prices vary.

• Chayce Beckham, Corey Dakota: Aug. 9, District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte, doors at 7 p.m., ages 21+, district142live.com, $26.96 – $33.40+, ages 21+.

• Toto: 6:45 p.m. Aug. 11, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Independence Twp., with Men At Work and Christopher Cross, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• Rod Stewart, Cheap Trick: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Independence Twp., 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• Matthew Ball-The Boogie Woogie Kid: 1-2 p.m. Aug. 12, for Troy seniors at The Troy Community Center, (in the Theater Room), 3179 Livernois Road, Troy, 248-524-3484.

• CAKE: 8 p.m. Aug. 13, Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre, Sterling Heights, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 13, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Independence Twp., 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• Count Basie Orchestra: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 13, The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, Detroit, with special guest David Benoit, doors at 6:30 p.m., thearetha.com, ticket prices vary.

• Linkin Park: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, with Pvris, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

Ballet/Dance

• Black Box Theatre Series: Aug. 9-10, Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance to host The ARK Initiative’s Biennial Black Box Theatre Series performance “Building Community”. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Aug. 9 and 3 p.m. Aug. 10, Varner Recital Hall, 371 Varner Drive, Rochester, https://oakland.edu/smtd, general admission-$27+.

• Open Auditions: Aug. 10-11, dancing and singing auditions for Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” at Grosse Pointe Theatre, 315 Fisher Road, Grosse Pointe, submit a pre-register audition form at www.gpt.org/auditions. Callbacks are Aug. 12.

• Auditions for “The Nutcracker Ballet”: Aug. 16 and Aug. 23, River Raisin Centre for the Arts, call 734-770- 0326 or visit www.riverraisincentre.org for more information and registration, River Raisin Ballet. Auditions take the form of a ballet class, for dancers ages 6 to 19.

Car shows

• 30th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise: Activities throughout the week leading up to the official Dream Cruise day, (9 a.m.-9 p.m. Aug. 16), including car shows, car parades and entertainment in communities along Woodward Avenue, from 8 Mile Road to M-59, www.woodwarddreamcruise.com.

• Roadkill Nights: Aug. 9, downtown Pontiac, with racing on Woodward Avenue, presented by MotorTrend, powered by Dodge, https://bit.ly/3Fn25nv, www.hotrod.com/roadkill-nights, ticket prices vary. Several streets in downtown Pontiac will be closed for RoadKill Nights over the weekend. From 5 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8 to 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, closures will include Woodward Ave. from Huron St. to S. Saginaw St. Some streets will be closed from 4 a.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday, only.

• Cars & Coffee event: 8:30-10 a.m. Aug. 9, Ford Piquette Plant Museum, 461 Piquette Ave., Detroit, antique and classic vehicles are welcome in the museum’s parking lot, coffee and donuts while supplies last, (trailer parking is available with an RSVP to info@fordpiquetteplant.org), ticket prices vary. Also, Racing-The Heart & Soul of Ford Motor Company is 10 a.m. Aug. 9, presentation about Henry Ford’s history and racing his Model T, featuring Todd Bryan, president of the Henry Ford Heritage Association, and an engineering supervisor at Ford Motor Company, www.fordpiquetteplant.org.

• OCC Car Show and Auto Lab Tour is 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 9, at Auburn Hills Campus, Parking Lot 10, 2900 Featherstone Road, Auburn Hills. The event features classic and muscle cars, food trucks and a tour of Oakland Community College’s state-of-the-art Automobile Servicing and Collision Auto Repair labs. Tickets are not required. Local auto enthusiasts can register to display their vehicle at the show by visiting www.eventbrite.com/e/occs-community-car-show-vehicle-registration-tickets-1410715190109?aff=oddtdtcreator. For information, contact Lina Gerchak at lxgercha@oaklandcc.edu.

• Rockin Rods n’ Rochester Car Show: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Aug. 10, Walnut Blvd., Rochester, Rochester Lions Club, $20 per car, register at www.rochesterlionsclub.org, free spectator admission, donations welcome.

• EV-themed Cars & Coffee: 9 a.m.-noon, Aug. 10, Michigan Science Center, 5020 John R St., Detroit, 313-577-8400, www.mi-sci.org, in the front parking lot on John R St in Detroit, free event and includes admission to Mi-Sci from 9 a.m. to noon. Attendees and those who wish to display a vehicle in Mi-Sci’s parking lot must register in advance.

• Woodward Dream Festival: Wednesday, Aug. 13 and Friday, Aug. 15, at M1 Concourse, Pontiac. Corvettes on Woodward is 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 13, with Michigan’s largest gathering of Corvettes, headlined by an American flag display made entirely of Chevrolet Corvettes. Family-friendly activities include special appearances by Detroit Tigers’ mascot PAWS and local magician, Anthony Grupido. Tickets for Corvettes on Woodward are $20 per person which includes parking. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Open Hands Food Pantry. Woodward Dream Festival is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 15, with a curated selection of muscle cars, customs, and hot rods available for viewing, and family-friendly activities including musical entertainment, food trucks, and the Meijer Family Kid Zone featuring slot car racing, RC cars, pedal cars, arts and crafts. General admission tickets for the Woodward Dream Festival start at $35+. Children 11 and under get in free with a paid general admission ticket, m1concourse.com/calendar.

• Cruise & Groove Car Show: 6-9 p.m. Aug. 14, in the Oak Park Water Tower Social District, 14700 Kingston St., Oak Park, with classic cars, live music, food, and family activities, free admission. Classic car owners interested in participating can register their vehicles online at  https:/linkcuts.org/g9k8iypze, or by email at mbishop@oakparkmi.gov, or by calling 248-691-2350. Spaces are limited, first-come, first-serve basis.

Festivals

• Cheers to Chesterfield Festival: Aug. 7-10, Brandenburg Park, live music, kids’ activities, food trucks, (opens at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon on Saturday and Sunday), Bassmaster Weigh-in at 3 p.m. each day, fireworks on Friday night, kids fishing tournament at noon Saturday, https://parks.chesterfieldtwp.org, www.facebook.com/ChesterfieldTwpPR.

• 10th annual Kimmie Horne Jazz Festival: 6-9:30 p.m. Aug. 8, and 3-9:30 p.m. Aug. 9, on the front lawn of the Southfield Municipal Campus, 26000 Evergreen Road, musicians, vendors, food trucks, www.cityofsouthfield.com/residents/events, free admission. Evergreen Road will be closed between the roundabouts as well as the City Hall front circle drive beginning at 2 p.m. Aug. 8 and will reopen at approximately 11:30 p.m. Aug. 9.

• Milford Memories: Aug. 8-10, Art in the Village art show, 1 mile kids run and 5K race at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, cornhole tournament Saturday and Sunday, rock climbing wall, beer tent and live entertainment, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., after 5 p.m. $5 admission and ages 21+, Acorn Farm’s annual Polish Pottery Sale is at 367 N. Main Street in Milford, www.milfordmemories.com.

• International Gem & Jewelry Show: Aug. 8-10, Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave., Novi, www.backyardpoolshow.com, gen admission is $8, parking is $10.

• Shelby Township Art Fair: Aug. 9-10, River Bends Park, 5700 22 Mile Road, Shelby Twp., www.shelbyartfair.org/festival, featuring artists, vendors, live music and entertainment, free parking and shuttle bus from Woodall Park near the Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center, 4101 River Bends Drive. Art Fair 5K Walk/Run check-in begins at 4 p.m., Aug. 7, https://runsignup.com/race/mi/ShelbyTownship/ShelbyTownshipArtFair5KRunWalk.

• 38th Annual Festival of Flight: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 10, Oakland County International Airport, Waterford Twp. Air show is 1:30 to 3 p.m. featuring The Redline Airshow, a father-son aerobatic duo, plus other performers soaring above the crowd by parachute and plane; display of vintage and modern planes and vehicles from military to civilian, “Kids Zone” play area, food vendors, aircraft and helicopter rides-$50 per person. The Oakland County Health Division and Oakland County Emergency Management will host a health and safety fair with giveaways including first aid kits, power banks and lock boxes/bags, www.oakgov.com/community/airports/open-house-air-show, admission and parking are free.

• Hot Blues & BBQ: 6-10 p.m. Aug. 14 at Sibley Square Park, 48900 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, featuring Chris Canas Band, BBQ food trucks, beer and wine tent, children’s rides until 9 p.m., crafts, inflatables, www.wixomgov.org.

• 5th annual LGBTQ+ Dinner and Dance: 6-9 p.m. Aug. 15, Ann Arbor YMCA. for families and friends, free and open to all LGBTQ+ community, their families, allies, and supporters. An Ann Arbor YMCA membership is not required to attend. Event features fun crafts, a dress-up and make-over station with photo opportunities, music and dancing, dinner catered by Fed Up Ministries, drag bingo, and performances by JahJah Shee (Mx. Trans Michigan), www.annarborymca/pride.

• Greekfest: Aug. 15-17, (noon-11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday), at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 21800 Marter Road, St.Clair Shores, Greek food and pastries, entertainment with bands, dancers and music groups, children’s rides, games for all ages, magic shows, www.assumptionfestival.com.

• St. Malachy Summerfest: Aug. 15-17, featuring games, crafts and vendors show, Vegas Hall, Bingo, live music, Classic Car Show on Sunday, (10 a.m.-4 p.m.), and more, at St. Malachy Catholic Church, 14115 E. 14 Mile, Sterling Heights; 586-264-1220, stmalachychurch.org.

• Macomb County Pride Festival: Loud & Proud is noon-6 p.m. Aug. 16, Main Street, downtown Mount Clemens (Cass Avenue to Market Street), street fair, performances on a main stage, family-friendly activities, macombcountypride.com/pride-2025, free and open to the public.

• AfroFuture: Aug. 16-17, celebration of Black music, art, fashion, food and culture at Bedrock’s Douglass site in downtown Detroit. Events the week before the festival including a bar crawl, restaurant week, a movie night and spoken word event, www.detroit.afrofuture.com, ticket prices vary.

• Old-Time Radio Show: 7 p.m. Aug. 16 and 2 p.m. Aug. 17, Troy Historic Village, 60 W Wattles Road, Troy. This year’s Old-Time Radio Show is science-fiction themed, $15 for Troy Historical Society members and $17 for non-members, www.TroyHistoricVillage.org.

• Campus Kids Days Back to School Bash: 1-5 p.m. Aug. 17, at Campus Martius Park, 800 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Downtown Detroit Partnership’s free event includes activities, giveaways and hands-on activities for families, 400 free backpacks (while supplies last) courtesy of Corewell Health, Crayon bounce house, lawn games, exploration stations with the Michigan Science Center, crafts, complimentary Faygo floats (while supplies last), magic shows at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., health and wellness instruction with Corewell Health team members.

• Dragon Forest: Immersive three-acre trail experience is at the Detroit Zoo, 8450 W 10 Mile Road, Royal Oak, through Sept. 7. Tickets for Dragon Forest start at $6 in addition to the Detroit Zoo entrance fee, ticket prices vary, https://detroitzoo.org/events/dragon-forest.

Theater

• “Slaying Holofernes”: Aug. 7-9, Matrix Theatre Company, 2730 Bagley Street Detroit, www.theatreartemisia.org, ages 18+, tickets are $12.51.

• “Frozen Jr.”: Aug. 8 and Aug. 10, Flagstar Strand Theatre, 12 N Saginaw St, Pontiac, Pontiac Youth Theatre, www.flagstarstrand.com, ticket prices vary.

• “Web of Murder”: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12-14, Wylie E. Groves High School Little Theatre, 20500 W. 13 Mile Road, Beverly Hills, $15 at the door (cash/check only), 248-495-0998, jwrtheatre@gmail.com. The Oakland Theatre Project presents a theatrical collaboration of theatre teachers and directors from Oakland and Macomb counties.

• “The Little Mermaid”: Aug. 15-24, at 2nd Street Performing Arts Center, 1123 2nd St., Wyandotte, www.2ndstpac.com, tickets are $26.39+.

• “The Music Man” musical: 7 p.m. August 15; 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Aug. 16; and 1 p.m. Aug. 17, at Milford High School’s Center for the Performing Arts, presented by Huron Valley Community Theater, www.hvCommunityTheater.org. The story of a con man, Harold Hill, who poses as a children’s band organizer to sell instruments and uniforms to the residents of River City, Iowa.

• “Radical Empathy”: Through Aug. 24, (Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.) at Theatre NOVA, 410 W. Huron St., Ann Arbor, www.theatrenova.org, 734-635-8450, $30 general, $25 seniors, $15 students.

Art

• Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC): fall registration for classes begins Aug. 7, BBArtCenter.org, 248-644-0866, four new exhibitions will open on Aug. 22-Sept. 18, Lynn Galbreath- “Conversations”; Birmingham Society of Women Painters- “Explorations”; Robert Morris- “Earth Projects” and Students of Ed Duff, BBArtCenter.org.

• “On Being Human”: exhibit through Sept. 4, art by Joan Witte, Community Art Gallery at First Merchants Bank, 22635 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

• Drop-In Workshop: Rod Puppets is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 6-7, 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Aug. 8, and noon-4 p.m. Aug. 9, Detroit Institute of Arts, Art-Making Studio, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, www.dia.org.

• “Crosscurrents”: opening Aug. 9, exhibit through Oct. 8, Library Street Collective, 1274 Library St.. Detroit, group exhibition of works by El Anatsui, Nick Cave, Myrlande Constant, and José Parlá, open Wednesday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m., lscgallery.com.

• Poolside Performance: Tales from Thonis-Heraclion is 6:30 p.m. Aug. 14, Cranbrook Art Museum, 39221 Woodward Ave. Bloomfield Hills, https://cranbrookartmuseum.org/events/poolside-performance-thonis-heraclion.

• Suzanne Guimond Wilson: Glass Art exhibit is open through Aug. 23, Anton Art Center, 125 Macomb Place, Mount Clemens, www.facebook.com/AntonArtCenter, www.theartcenter.org.

• The Art of Ballet Costuming: A Celebration of Design & Dance exhibit through Aug. 29, The Gallery, 610 W. Elm Ave., Monroe, (10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday).

• Inside|Out Art: Detroit Institute of Arts installations of DIA reproduction artwork have been placed at locations in communities throughout the metro area, on exhibit through October, https://dia.org/events/insideout-2025.

• Farmington Hills Seeks Artist Submissions: The City of Farmington Hills Cultural Arts Division seeks artists for the 2025-2027 Public Art Program to showcase their work at Farmington Hills City Hall. Applications can be submitted at tinyurl.com/FHPublicArt25. Artists are not required to live in Farmington Hills.

• Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US exhibit through Sept. 21, Cranbrook Art Museum, 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, https://cranbrookartmuseum.org. Curator-led tour is 11:30 a.m. July 25, online tour tickets include general admission.

• Mini-Golf at Cranbrook Art Museum: 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, https://cranbrookartmuseum.org/mini-golf, 248-645-3323.

• “The Sea and the Sky”: The Sea and the Sky, and You and I” exhibit through Aug. 30, the Shepherd, 1265 Parkview St., Detroit, lscgallery.com, open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.

• Floral Whispers: through September, Strand Art Gallery, Flagstar Strand Theatre, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac, www.flagstarstrand.com. Hours are noon-4 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.

• Guests of Honor: “Armor as Fashion” is through April 26, 2026, Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, https://dia.org.

• University of Michigan Museum of Art: 525 South State St., Ann Arbor, 734-764-0395, umma.umich.edu, ticket prices vary.

Beats, continued

• Little Big Town: 7 p.m. Aug. 15, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Independence Twp., with Wynonna Judd and Shelby Lynne, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.

• Griffin Benton: 7 p.m. Aug. 15, El Club Detroit, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., https://elclubdetroit.com, $27.20+.

• Summer Carillon Concert Series: 6 p.m. Aug. 15, Oakland University’s Elliott Tower, 578 Pioneer Drive, Rochester, bring your lawn chairs and blankets, https://calendar.oakland.edu/smtd.

•Madeleine Kelson: 8 p.m. Aug. 15, at 20 Front Street, Lake Orion, 248-783-7105, www.20frontstreet.com, doors at 7:30 p.m., $22.73+.

• Discipline: 9 p.m. Aug. 16, The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, doors at 7 p.m. all ages, general admission $20 advance, $30 day of show, https://thelovingtouchferndale.com, 248-546-3696.

• Dan Navarro: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 17, The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, https://theark.org, doors at 7:30 p.m., $25/$35.

• Harmony in the Hills: Concert in the Garden, North Star Saxophone Quartet, is 7 p.m., Aug. 20 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 620 Romeo St. Rochester, https://stpaulsrochester.org.

• LCD Soundsystem: Aug. 21, Masonic Temple Theatre, 500 Temple St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m., 313-548-1320 or themasonic.com, ticket prices vary.

Choral music

• New Century Chorale: New Century Chorale, an adult community choir of 30 members, seeks new members. New members night is 6:45 p.m. Aug. 18, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 711 S. Saginaw, Flint. Rehearsals are Monday nights, www.newcenturychorale.org, 810-771-8255.

Classical/Orchestra

• Michigan Philharmonic: 7 p.m. Aug. 15, Ford House, 1100 Lake Shore Road Grosse Pointe Shores, fordhouse.org, general admission is $25+.

Comedy

• Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle: Cactus Tate-Aug. 10; Ashley Gavin-Aug. 7-9; at 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak, www.comedycastle.com, 248-542-9900, ages 18+, ticket prices vary.

• One Night Stans: J Chris Newberg-Aug. 7-9; Johnny Beehner-Aug. 14-16; at 4761 Highland Road, Waterford Twp., www.onenightstans.club, 248-249-1321, ages 18+, ticket prices vary.

• Aziz Ansari: 7 p.m. Aug. 16, Fisher Theatre, Detroit, BroadwayInDetroit.com, ticket prices vary.

• Chris Distefano, comedian: Aug. 22, Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. 4th St. Royal Oak, www.royaloakmusictheatre.com, 248-399-3065, ticket prices vary.

Concerts in the Park

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on at these outdoor concerts. In case of inclement weather, check websites and Facebook for updates.

• Summer Music Series: 7-8:30 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 22, at Knight Amphitheater at Riverside Park, 3311 Parkways Blvd., downtown Auburn Hills, www.auburnhills.org/community/downtown.

•  Concerts in the Park: 7 p.m. Aug. 8, Beverly Park, 18801 Beverly Road, Beverly Hills, www.villagebeverlyhills.com.

• Ryan Bills Trio: 9 a.m.-noon, 3rd Sunday of the month, June through September, Java & Jazz Series at the Beverly Park pavilion, 18801 Beverly Road, Beverly Hills, www.villagebeverlyhills.com/department/beverly_park_events.php.

• In the Park Summer Concert Series: 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 27, at Shain Park, Merrill Street and Bates Street, Birmingham, www.bhamgov.org/summerconcerts, free, family-friendly concert series. If inclement weather, call 248-530-1650 to check event status.

• August Summer Concerts: 6:30-8 p.m. Thursdays, Aug. 7-28, Brandenburg Park, 50050 Jefferson Ave., Chesterfield Twp., Parks & Recreation free park entry, extended splash pad hours, food trucks, Aug. 7 concert is during Cheers to Chesterfield Festival, https://parks.chesterfieldtwp.org, ww.facebook.com/ChesterfieldTwpPR.

• Summer Sounds: Fridays-Sundays through Sept. 1, (5-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3-6 p.m. Sundays, also 3-6 p.m. Labor Day), The Mall at Partridge Creek, Center Court, 17420 Hall Road, Clinton Twp., https://shoppartridgecreek.com/event/summer-sounds, family-friendly music.

• Music Series in Dinan Park: 6-8 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 28, Dinan Park, downtown Farmington, www.downtownfarmington.org.

• Rhythms in Riley Park: 7-9 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 29, Riley Park, downtown Farmington, www.downtownfarmington.org.

• Summer Concert Series: 7 p.m. Aug. 14, Heritage Park Amphitheater, 24915 Farmington Road, Farmington Hills, www.facebook.com/CityofFarmingtonHills. No alcohol or pets, bring lawn chairs or blankets.

• Fenton Concerts In The Park: 7-8:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sept. 4, Rackham Park, behind the Fenton Community & Cultural Center, 150 S. Leroy St., Fenton, https://slpr.net/programs/special-events/fenton-linden-summer-concert-series-2025.

• Summer Concert Series: 6:30-9 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 31, Lake St. Clair Metropark, Thomas Welsh Activity Center, Harrison Twp., www.metroparks.com/concerts. Metroparks vehicle pass required to enter.

• LOLive! Concert Series: 6:30-8 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 27, Children’s Park, downtown Lake Orion, downtownlakeorion.org. If inclement weather forecast, concert will be moved indoors to 20 Front Street at 20 Front St., Lake Orion. Sarah Darling is Aug. 13.

• Summer concert series: 7-9 p.m. Thursdays Aug. 14 and Aug. 21, Central Park, downtown Milford, www.meetmeinmilford.com/downtown-events/summer-concert-series.

• Uptown Friday Night Concert Series: 7-9 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 22, Macomb Place, Main Stage by the Anton Art Center, Mount Clemens, www.facebook.com/DowntownMountClemens.

• Music in the Ville: Bands-7-9 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 27, Town Square on Main Street, downtown Northville. Other concerts include Thursday night acoustics on Center Street, and Friday night acoustics in Old Church Square on Center Street, www.downtownnorthville.com.

• Summer Concert Series: 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 20, Oak Park Community Center Grounds, 14300 Oak Park Blvd., Oak Park, https://oakparkmi.gov.

• Free concerts at Wildwood: 7-8:30 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 14, Wildwood Amphitheater, 2700 Joslyn Ct., Orion Twp., www.facebook.com, www.orion.events, free, tickets at orion.events, bring lawn chairs or blankets.

• Oxford Summer Concert Series: 6:30-8 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 14, Centennial Park on Lapeer Road, downtown Oxford, https://downtownoxford.info/events/oxfords-summer-concert-series.

• Music in the Parks concert series: 7 p.m. select Thursdays at Pontiac Parks, bring blankets or lawn chairs, pontiac.mi.us. La Traizon is Aug. 7 at North Kiwanis Park, 775 Stanley Ave.; Evening Star is Aug. 28 at Murphy Park, 441 MLK Jr. Blvd. S.; and to be announced, Sept 4 at Beaudette Park, 786 Orchard Lake Road, www.pontiac.mi.us/government/mayor/events.php.

• Village of Rochester Hills outdoor summer concerts: Fridays through Aug. 29, Festival Park, The Village of Rochester Hills shopping center, 104 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, TheVORH.com.

• Music in the Parks: 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 14, at Romeo Village Park, 115 W. Newberry, Romeo. Concerts at Bruce Township Park are 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 10 and Aug. 17, at 223 E. Gates, Bruce Twp. Concerts at Washington Township Park are 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 7 and Aug. 21, at 57900 Van Dyke, Washington Twp., family-friendly, bring lawn chairs, www.rwbparksrec.org.

• Summer Concert Series: 7 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 14, Centennial Commons Park, downtown Royal Oak, www.royaloakchamber.com/summer-concert-series.

• Sights & Sounds Concert Series: 4-9 p.m. Aug. 13, Royal Oak Farmers Market, 316 E 11 Mile Road, Royal Oak, live music, food truck rally, www.romi.gov/1533/Farmers-Market.

• Wild Summer Nights Concert Series: 5-8 p.m. Wednesdays through August, Detroit Zoo, 8450 W 10 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, concert begins at 6 p.m., https://detroitzoo.org/events/wild-summer-nights-concert-series, free with zoo admission, bring a blanket or chair

• Summer Concert Series: Taylor Tucky (country) is 7-8:30 p.m. Aug. 8 and Pink Floyd vs The Doors (rock tribute) is Aug. 22, at Stony Creek Metropark, Eastwood Beach, Shelby Twp., www.metroparks.com/concerts.

• Kimmie Horne Jazz Festival: 6-10:30 p.m. Aug. 8, and 3-10:30 p.m. Aug. 9, Southfield Municipal Campus front lawn, musicians, vendors, food trucks, www.cityofsouthfield.com/residents/events, free admission.

Summer Wind Down Concert: 7-9 p.m. Aug. 15, featuring Jackie C. and the Detroit Rhythm Band on the Southfield Municipal Campus front lawn, 26000 Evergreen Road, hosted by Southfield Parks & Recreation Department, www.cityofsouthfield.com/residents/events.

• Music In The Park: Thursdays through Aug. 28, at Dodge Park, 40620 Utica Road, Sterling Heights, https://sterlingheights.gov/1236/Dodge-Park-Thursdays.
• Summer Sensation Concert Series: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 7 and Aug. 21, at Stine Community Park, 241 Town Center Drive, west off Livernois between Big Beaver and Wattles Roads, Troy, food truck, troymi.gov, bring lawn chairs or blankets.

• Walled Lake Summer Concerts: 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 13, at Hiram Sims Park, 1299 Quinif Drive, https://walledlake.us.

• Family Fun Nights and Summer Concert Series: Thursdays through Aug. 21, Family Fun Night is 6-7:30  p.m. concerts are 7-9 p.m. at Sibley Square Park, 48900 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, www.wixomgov.org.

Film

• Movies in the Moonlight event: Aug. 9-”Wicked”, Upper Level of the East Parking Platform, at the corner of E Fourth and East Street, downtown Rochester, pre-shows start at 8 p.m. movies begin around 8:30 p.m. movie lot opens at 7 p.m., admission is free, no alcohol or glass in the movie lot, bring lawn chairs, www.downtownrochestermi.com/movies-in-the-moonlight.

• Birmingham Outdoor Movie Nights: Aug. 8- “Moana 2” and Sept. 5- “Trolls”, Booth Park, located on the west side of North Old Woodward Avenue, south of Harmon Street in Birmingham. Pre-show entertainment at 6:30 p.m., movies start at 7:30 p.m., www.ALLINBirmingham.com/events.

• Southfield Parks & Recreation to host “Park It” outdoor movie “Kung Fu Panda 4” (Rated PG, 2024), Aug. 11, at the Southfield Municipal Campus front lawn, 26000 Evergreen Road, Southfield. The event will feature live entertainment beginning at 6:30 p.m., an inflatable bounce house (socks required), face painting, hot dog and lemonade for purchase, free admission, 248-796-4620, www.cityofsouthfield.com.

• AMC Theatres: AMC Forum Sterling Heights, 586-254-1381; AMC Star Gratiot Clinton Township, 586-791-2095; AMC Star Great Lakes Auburn Hills, 248-454-0314; AMC Star John R Madison Heights, 248-585-4477, amctheatres.com.

• Cinemark Southland Center, Taylor, 734-287-0629, www.cinemark.com/theatres.

• Detroit Film Theatre at Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, dia.org, ticket prices vary.

• Emagine Theatres: Birmingham 8, 248-723-6230; Emagine Palladium in Birmingham, 248-385-0500; Canton, 734-787-3002; The Riviera in Farmington Hills, 248-788-6572; Hartland, 810-207-5757; Macomb, 586-372-3456; Novi, 248-468-2990; Rochester Hills, 248-378-2991; Royal Oak, 248-414-1000, emagine-entertainment.com, ticket prices vary. Summer Kids Series movies, through Aug. 22, featuring a different animated film each week, tickets are $3 each. “Freakier Friday” opening night special Girls Night Out Mother/Daughter event, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 8, at Emagine Rochester Hills, with local vendors selling hair tinsel and glitter tattoos.

• Farmington Civic Theater: 33332 Grand River Ave., Farmington, www.theFCT.com.

• Milford Independent Cinema: 945 E Summit St., Milford, milfordcinema.org/tickets, $5+.

• MJR Theatres: MJR Chesterfield, 586-598-2500; MJR Universal Grand, Warren, 586-620-0200; MJR Troy, 248-498-2100; MJR Marketplace, Sterling Heights, 586-264-1514; MJR Partridge Creek, Clinton Twp., 586-263-0084; MJR Waterford, 248-666-7900, MJR Southgate, 734-284-3456, mjrtheatres.com.

• Oxford GQT Theater: 248-628-7101, gqtmovies.com/theaterinfo/x01tk-gqt-oxford-7.

• Redford Theatre: 17360 Lahser Road, Detroit, redfordtheatre.com, ticket prices vary.

• Regal UA, Commerce Twp.: 844-462-7342, regmovies.com/theatres/regal-ua-commerce-township.

• Romeo Theatre, Washington: 586-752-3455, romeotheatre.com.

Food trucks

• Shed 5 Flea market: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 10, Eastern Market Sheds 5 and 6, 2934 Russell St., Detroit, 100 curated vendors, including vintage clothing dealers, handmade artisans, antique sellers, and food trucks, www.mercantilefairs.com.

• Food Truck Mondays: 4:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays, May-August, Beverly Park, 18801 Beverly Road, Beverly Hills, www.villagebeverlyhills.com/department/beverly_park_events.php.

• Food Truck Wednesdays: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 20, BCTV Studio Parking Lot,  4190 Dublin Drive, Bloomfield Twp., www.bloomfieldtwp.org/foodtruck.

• Downtown Street Eats: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday, through Oct. 10, bringing more than 80 of Metro Detroit’s best food trucks and restaurants to Cadillac Square and the Woodward Esplanade, DowntownDetroit.org/events.

Fundraisers/Charitable events

• “Pain to Purpose”: wellness fundraiser to support The V Foundation’s cancer research is 9 a.m.-noon, Aug. 10, at Adams Manor, 3800 Adams Road, Oakland Twp., co-hosted by Live Well Lead Well and B.T.R. Nation, featuring actor and comedian Dave Coulier as headliner, sharing his personal cancer journey. Activities include guided nature walk, healing-centered wellness tools, breakfast bites, mocktails, limited tickets available, $250 per person, to purchase tickets or donate, visit LiveWellLeadWell.us.

• “Project Backpack” Giveaway: Noon-2 p.m. Aug. 10, at Mike Morse Law Firm parking lot, 24901 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield. The giveaway is open to all Metro Detroit students in grades K-5, while supplies last. Each backpack includes supplies such as pencils, crayons, scissors, pencil pouches, and a sharpener. The  family-friendly event features food trucks, live entertainment, children’s activities, inflatable games, and raffles for prizes. Backpacks will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required at www.855MIkeWins.com.

• Volunteers of America Michigan annual Operation Backpack campaign with this year’s Backpacks 4 You at the Detroit Zoo. Each backpack will be stuffed with new school supplies, two free tickets to The Detroit Zoo, a complimentary haircut from Douglas J, and books provided by Molina Healthcare. Registration is required and families must sign up in advance at www.voami.org/operationbackpack to reserve their backpack and a scheduled pickup timeslot. The backpack distribution event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 13 at the entrance to The Detroit Zoo, 8450 W. 10 Mile Road, Royal Oak.

• Oakland Uncorked is 7-10 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Oakland County Farmers Market, 2350 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., featuring samples of wine, beer and gourmet bites with live music, shopping local artisans and participating in a silent auction. Tickets are $60/person and can be purchased at WaterfordChamber.org. This event is presented by the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce, Michigan United Credit Union, Oakland County Parks and the Oakland County Farmers Market. For more information, call the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce at 248-666-8600 or email info@waterfordchamber.org.

• Classic Cars for the Cure: 7-10:30 p.m. Sept. 20, at 1330 North Crooks Road, Clawson to support cancer research at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. The gala is to be held indoors in a private garage, with strolling supper, live ‘50s and ‘60s music by Stella and her band Intrigue, a performance along with dance and swing lessons from the Oakland University Dance Team, classic automobiles on display. Guests are asked to wear cocktail attire or 1950s and 1960s flair. Tickets are $250 each, karmanos.org/cars25.

Museums

• Ford Piquette Plant Museum: 461 Piquette Ave., Detroit. Open Wednesdays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10-$18. Optional guided tours take place daily at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m., www.fordpiquetteplant.org, 313-872-8759. Cars & Coffee event is 8:30-10 a.m. Aug. 9, antique and classic vehicles are welcome in the museum’s parking lot, coffee and donuts while supplies last, (trailer parking is available with an RSVP to info@fordpiquetteplant.org), ticket prices vary. Racing-The Heart & Soul of Ford Motor Company is 10 a.m. Aug. 9, presentation about Henry Ford’s history and racing his Model T, featuring Todd Bryan, president of the Henry Ford Heritage Association, and an engineering supervisor at Ford Motor Company, www.fordpiquetteplant.org.

• Ford House: historic estate of Eleanor and Edsel Ford, 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores, www.fordhouse.org, 313-884-4222, www.fordhouse.org/events, admission is $7 per adult and $5 per child, ages 6+, free for 5 and younger.  Outdoor Summer Concert Series-Michigan Philharmonic is set for 7 p.m. Aug. 15 and The Dave Hamilton Band on Sept. 12, ticket prices vary.

• Michigan Science Center (Mi-Sci): 5020 John R St., Detroit, 313-577-8400, www.mi-sci.org. Regular museum gen. adm. is $17+. Standard Mi-Sci films are available as a $6 add-on to general admission tickets. Mi-Sci is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday and until 8 p.m. the first Friday of each month. Kids Town exhibit provides a tinkering space for children 5 and under to explore creativity as part of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) concepts – while under the supervision of parents and caregivers. Tyrannosaurs – Meet the Family exhibit extended through August. EV-themed Cars & Coffee is 9 a.m.-noon Aug. 10, in the front parking lot on John R St in Detroit, free event and includes admission to Mi-Sci from 9 a.m. to noon. Attendees and those who wish to display a vehicle in Mi-Sci’s parking lot must register in advance.

• Cranbrook Institute of Science: 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, https://science.cranbrook.edu. The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, and noon-4 p.m. Sunday, $14-general admission, $10.50-ages 2-12 and ages 65+, free for ages under 2 and members.

• Troy Historic Village: 60 W. Wattles Road, Troy. Register online to reserve a timeslot at www.TroyHistoricVillage.org. Walk-ins are also welcome. Regular hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Admission is free to members, $7/Adult, $5/Senior, $5/Youth 6-17 for non-members, free for ages under 6.

• Meadow Brook Hall: Guided House Tours and Self-Guided Tours, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester. Visit meadowbrookhall.org/tours for tour times and ticket prices.

• Rochester Hills Museum: open for drop-in hours, Fridays and Saturdays, from noon-3 p.m. with guided tour of the Van Hoosen Farmhouse and Red House, at 1 p.m., 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills, www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms, free admission for museum members, $5/adults, $3/seniors and students for non-members.

• Detroit Arsenal of Democracy Museum: seeks volunteer groups from veteran and military groups to assist with restoration. The museum is also seeking building materials and equipment to support the ongoing restoration of its vintage industrial space at 19144 Glendale Ave., Detroit, including floor grinders, clear epoxy and Thinset products for floor repairs, www.detroitarsenalofdemocracy.org.

• Detroit Historical Museum: 5401 Woodward Ave. (NW corner of Kirby) in Midtown Detroit, detroithistorical.org. Permanent exhibits include the famous Streets of Old Detroit, the Allesee Gallery of Culture, Doorway to Freedom: Detroit and the Underground Railroad, Detroit: The “Arsenal of Democracy,” the Gallery of Innovation, Frontiers to Factories, America’s Motor City and The Glancy Trains, regular museum general admission is $10. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. “Detroit Lions: Gridiron Heroes,” exhibition featuring the history of the Detroit Lions, detroithistorical.org. Free admission for educators and public and school librarians through August to the Detroit Historical Museum and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

• Heroes vs. Villains: Detroit’s Comic Book Story exhibit through May 2026, Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward Ave. (NW corner of Kirby) in Midtown Detroit, detroithistorical.org.

• Dossin Great Lakes Museum: 100 Strand Drive, Belle Isle, Detroit. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday, detroithistorical.org, general admission tickets are $5, free for children under 6. Free admission for educators and public and school librarians through August.

• Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society: open 1st/2nd/4th/5th Sundays of the month and 3rd Fridays, 1-4 pm, (holidays excluded) with exhibits including “Four Communities” exhibit at The Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road, Orchard Lake. Admission is free, donations welcome, www.gwbhs.org, 248-757-2451.

• Hammond Planetarium: at Henry Ford College, in the Science Building, www.hfcc.edu/campus-life/planetarium.

• Henry Ford Museum: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, 20900 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, Ford Rouge Factory Tours Monday-Saturday, purchase tickets online, prices vary, thehenryford.org.

• Monroe County Museum: 126 S Monroe St., Monroe, monroemi.gov, facebook.com/MonroeMuseums. Museum admission and activities are free and open to the public.

• Motown Museum: 2648 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, motownmuseum.org, 313-875-2264. “Henry ‘Hank’ Cosby: An Original Funk Brother” is a newly opened exhibit. Museum is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sun., gen. admission-$20, ages 4 and under admitted free. The fourth annual Motown Mile outdoor exhibit, “Keeper of the Dream,” celebrates the legacy of Motown Museum’s founder Esther Gordy Edwards. The installation’s eight panels can be viewed while walking down the Riverwalk, through fall.

• Pontiac Transportation Museum: 250 W. Pike St., Pontiac. Admission to the museum is $15, $12 for seniors and veterans, $8 for children ages 6-12, free for children ages 5 and younger, 50% off for Pontiac residents with ID. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, www.pontiactransportationmuseum.org. First Thursday Lecture Series is 7-8:30 p.m., first Thursday of the month, free.

• Royal Oak Historical Society Museum: Hours are 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, 1411 W. Webster Road, Royal Oak, royaloakhistoricalsociety.com, 248-439-1501, $10+ suggested donation.

• Westin Book Cadillac at 100 Exhibition: Westin Book Cadillac, 1114 Washington Blvd., Detroit, presented with Detroit Historical Society, exhibit explores the 100-year history of the Book Cadillac hotel, https://detroithistorical.org.

• The Wright: The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit, 313-494-5800, open Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and open until 7 p.m. on Thursday, closed on Mondays, reserve timed tickets at thewright.org, $30+ gen adm., $20 for seniors 62+, $15 for youth, ages 5-17, free for under 5.

• The Zekelman Holocaust Center: 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, admission is $8 adult, free with membership, www.holocaustcenter.org, 248-553-2400. “Nothing to Do But to Try” exhibition explores some of the earliest works of 20th-century artist and Holocaust survivor, Boris Lurie (1924–2008), on exhibit through December 2025.

To submit an event, email to kblake@medianewsgroup.com. Allow two weeks’ notice for scheduled events.

Fitz and the Tantrums has been making hands clap for a little while now.

The soul-pop quintet formed during 2008 in Los Angeles and 15 years ago released its debut album, “Pickin’ Up the Pieces.” There have been five more since then, with “HandClap” from 2016’s self-titled album hitting the Top 10 on several Billboard charts and going on to become a sports anthem.

Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick and company are currently back on the road promoting the group’s latest album, “Man on the Moon,” which came out July 25, preceded by the first single, “Ruin the Night…

• Taking stock of the Tantrums’ career to date, Fitzpatrick 55, says, “What a blessing. This is our sixth studio album, plus I’ve been lucky enough to make two solo records, so (“Man on the Moon”) is my eighth album, which just blows my mind.”

• The group has worked hard to expand and broaden its sound, according to Fitzpatrick, which has not always been easy. “Our first record was really Motown influenced, and when we went to make our second record everybody wanted us to make the same record again. I didn’t want to do it, so (2013’s) ‘More Than Just a Dream’ was different and we got a lot of flak for that, and we lost a lot of fans from that. So every time we’ve evolved there’s always a little bit of trepidation — ‘Are fans gonna follow us? Are we going too far? Is this too radical?’ One of the gifts of having done this for so long, and on this record, is there’s supreme confidence we cand o what we want. We’ve established a track record of taking on these different journeys, but they all kind of finally bring you back home. We had the confidence on this record to say we don’t have to question these choices we’re making.”

• “Man on the Moon,” Fitzpatrick says, “was almost like a full-circle moment for us — can we kind of look through our history and all of our influences and go back to the beginning in many ways and really sort of dig back through our early influences of Motown and soul and form yet another twisted sort of perspective on it. You can really hear us doing that, I think. I really worked my butt off on this record.”

• Fitzpatrick says a Motown influence was definitely mined for “Man on the Moon’s” title track. “It’s just sort of the general vibe, that classic string section sound. It’s been a crazy couple of years in the news cycle and stuff; we were writing that song and there was one crazy headline after another. There’d be, like, four of them in one day, and everybody in the studio’s brains were just exploding. That was the motivation for the message and the lyric of the song — ‘I want to stay out of touch/I want to stay away’ and this idea of being the man on the moon, getting away from it all. But that string section, to me, is classic Motown.”

• The “Man on the Moon” album is also distinguished by the relative brevity of its songs, with only two of 14 tracks coming in at more than three minutes long. “I don’t think people have an appetite for the long song anymore — at least I don’t,” Fitzpatrick says. “I get bored. It’s funny; I’ll listen to some older songs, some of them are four and a half or five minutes, but it was a different time. I like the feeling of when a song ends and you feel like it ends too soon and have this uncontrollable urge to press repeat. And then on a not-fun sort of perspective is that we, as musicians, survive on Spotify, and a song that’s longer than two minutes tends to not get played as much on (random shuffle). That’s just a sad truth. It’s crazy, but that makes it a challenge. We have one song on the album that’s 1.44; is that too short? If it is then I guess just listen to it again and give us the extra play on the algorithm.”

Fitz and the Tantrums and Ax and the Hatchmen perform Saturday, Aug. 9 at the Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave. Doors at 6:30 p.m. (313)833-9700 or majesticdetroit.com.

The pandemic was the final act for some movie theaters but others found a way to bounce back.

And it’s these innovative theater owners, who not only survived the shut down and surge in streaming subscriptions implemented new ways to engage audiences and are now enjoying what the industry calls the next great era of cinema.

“I think movie theaters will always be around,” said Joel Kincaid, vice-president of operations for MJR Theatres, during last week’s grand opening of MJR’s new state-of-the-art IMAX auditorium at MJR Troy Cinema.

“As long as they continue to adapt and evolve,” Kincaid added, while greeting a wave of guests excited to see “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” on what is a really big screen.

Not to mention a really big investment for MJR.

“It’s in the millions,” Kincaid said, of the second IMAX screen to be installed at one of MJR’s 10 Michigan theaters.

Patrons of MJR Southgate were the first to experience MJR’s IMAX screen two years ago.

“We’re thrilled to bring this next level IMAX experience to our guests at MJR Troy,” said the VP prior to the opening. “Combining the cutting-edge visuals and sound of IMAX’S 4K laser technology with our signature zero-gravity recliners, VIP privacy pods and LUX Loungers this will undoubtedly be the golden standard for moviegoing in Metro Detroit.”

Among those who would agree is Paul Gantz.

“We have seen investments in the future of moviegoing payoff in a big way,” said Gantz, co-founder of Emagine Entertainment, who was featured in a special report by Cinema United, a trade organization founded in 1948, representing more than 31,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and more than 30,000 screens in 80 countries worldwide. “The enthusiasm that our customers show is undeniable.”

Big changes

Watching movies from the comforts of home is nice but it’s nothing like the experience of IMAX as many fans will tell you.

The rumble in your seat.

The sounds.

The amazing details in the big picture.

“You feel connected to the movie,” said Jordan Kitson of Eastpointe, who attended MJR’s IMAX event featuring free food, drinks, popcorn, candy and a short film highlighting why IMAX is as incredible as everyone says it is.

Among the Hollywood directors promoting the fantastic screens is writer-director Christopher Nolan, who has been shooting with IMAX cameras since “The Dark Knight,” according to an article by the Associated Press.

“The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled,” Nolan said. “The headline, for me, is that by shooting on IMAX 70mm film you’re really letting the screen disappear. You’re getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You’ve got a huge screen and you’re filling the peripheral vision of the audience.”

A recent example is Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.”

The film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who oversaw the development of the first atomic bomb during World War II, Nolan and his effects teams were faced with the immense task of recreating the blast with all of its blinding brilliance.

“We knew that this had to be the showstopper,” Nolan said, adding that high resolution cameras are enabling directors to do all of the amazing things with pictures that they’ve only been able to do with sound in terms of an oversize impact for the audience.

Paul Feig concurred.

However, the Clinton Township native and Hollywood director of such blockbuster films as “Bridesmaids,” “The Heat,” “Spy,” and “Ghostbusters” said the medium has to match the content.

“There are movies that benefit from the scale and filmic quality of the large format physical 70mm film. But digital technology has gotten so advanced that most audiences will be hard put to tell the difference between 70mm and high-end digital. For 70mm to be effective it needs to be shown in a large format venue like IMAX, of which there are fewer theaters,” Feig told The Macomb Daily. “When I made ‘Ghostbusters,’ we released an IMAX version that had been shot on digital cameras and the scope and quality were comparable to 70mm without us having to incur the higher costs of that format. So, to me, 70mm is more of a personal creative choice for a filmmaker but not necessarily something that most audiences will be aware of unless it’s advertised to them.”

When they do know their movie is on IMAX that’s where they want to see it.

“We see patrons exchanging their tickets all the time in order to see a movie on IMAX,” said Gantz, who built one of the state’s largest movie screens just before the pandemic at their Canton location as part of Emagine’s Super EMX branding.

Construction of the screen required a 15,000 square foot addition to the complex, and was completed in a breakneck pace of only 104 days.

Since then, two other screens, measuring roughly the size of a regulation NBA basketball court have been added in Novi and Batavia and according to Gantz are always the first to sell out.

“We served 5.7 million guests last year and we’re ahead of the pace in 2025,” he said, of their attendance in all theaters.

AMC, which has 9,789 screens at 871 locations in 11 countries, announced XL at AMC last year, which was an initiative that boosts existing extra large screens with stunning 4K laser projection. According to Cinema United the concept was piloted in Europe at the company’s ODEON Cinemas locations and after encouraging customer feedback decided to expand to 50-100 screens in the U.S.

Theater goers

Technology plays a big role in movies.

But it’s not everything.

Brian Kitson of Eastpointe is a reader and when Warner Bros. Pictures started releasing the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s world of wizards in movie theaters across the country he was there.

“I’ll never forget those midnight releases,” he said, recalling the thrill of waiting in line late at night in order to be the first among his friends to see the latest installment in the “Harry Potter” franchise.

“I read all of the books so getting to see them come to life on the big screen was magical,” said Kitson, who attended MJR’s big screen debut.

Joining him was Nicholas Miller of Hamlin Park, whose fondest memory was going to the movies with his grandfather, who died not long after they enjoyed a night out together.

“We love going to the movies,” said Micah Moss of Detroit, who attended MJR’s big screen debut along with her husband Caleb Moss. “The popcorn. The VIP seats. “We probably go once a week.”

VIP seats are cozy vignettes that theaters are providing for audiences who want a little more comfort and privacy, for a little more money, that feature leather recliners and a side table like you might have at home.

“It’s a lot different from watching a movie at home,” said Caleb, who was particularly excited to see “Black Panther” among other Marvel movies on the big screen.

Micah said she’s always been a fan of movie theaters.

“I will never forget seeing ‘Aladdin,’ for the first time,” said Micah, recalling one of her earliest memories of going to the movies with her family. “I went with my parents. It was such a good experience.”

Caleb said he had a similar experience with “Indiana Jones.”

Troy Mayor Ethan Baker said it is all about the experience that theaters are providing now.

“Just think about it. Back in the 80’s and 90’s we were all sitting on uncomfortable seats (very close together) because it was our only option,” said Baker, who was very pleased to see MJR investing in their business and replacing the old seats with new recliners. “Now the theaters are competing with streaming movies at home so they have to be able to provide that family room atmosphere here.”

Even still, Baker said theaters have always provided audiences with a fun escape.

As a young man working his way through law school, Baker said the theater was a break from his usual studies. It also gave him a fun place to take his girl, Bethany, now his wife and the mother of their three children.

“The movie theater brings families together and it’s a good way for them to bond,” added Baker, remembering how excited his daughter was after seeing Disney’s “Up.” “For years after she would always say, ‘Remember when we went to see ‘Up’ dad?’”

“Movies mean a lot to people,” Baker said.

They also mean a lot to actors, many of whom have gone out of their way to promote movie theaters.

“If it weren’t for folks like Tom Cruise and Christopher Nolan I think it’s entirely conceivable that the studios could have cut their ties with us and left us in the dust pile,” Gantz said, referring to the golden era of streaming television mined during the pandemic. “They believe in the value of the communal experience and services that come with seeing a movie on the big screen.”

“It’s just a different experience,” Gantz said, adding that he believes that there’s room for everyone to be successful but that movie theaters have to get better in order to compete.”

Industry report

“Every single day, exhibitors (theaters) around the world strive to find creative ways to elevate the moviegoing experience,” said the report by Cinema United highlighting what movie theaters are doing to achieve that goal.

These goals include:

• Reinvesting in their communities,• Technological innovation• And more than a movie: this includes everything from new food offerings, special screenings for autism and dementia viewers to heated seats and special merchandising such as collectible popcorn tins.

Emagine has two major partners who provide the collectible tins, which right now are as hot as Johnny Storm, on a regular basis including Goldenlink and Snap Company. The recent release of “The Fantastic Four” featured a Galactus Tub popcorn vessel that had a price tag of $70. Gantz said they only ordered 108 tubs for the entire chain thinking because of the price they wouldn’t move.

“We sold 105 on the first day,” Gantz said. “This is an emerging avenue for our industry and we will continue to look to provide items and merchandise that our guests clearly want.

Many theaters across the country are also partnering with groups and organizations in their community.

One example in the report was The State Theatre in Iowa.

Since 1897, movie goers have shared a communal experience at the State Theatre, and it remains an irreplaceable part of the community.

The team that runs the day-to-day operations, Fridley Theatres has 97 screens and 17 locations throughout the state, and while it has a storied past it doesn’t rely solely on its history as the main draw.

The theatre regularly partners with the chamber of commerce for events like last fall’s Halloween movie and theatre ghost tour. Every April, the State Theatre participates in Washington’s annual Farm to Film Fest, hosting opening ceremonies for the festival and screenings of local films.

“In an age of megaplexes, the State Theatre is an anomaly in the movie industry,” said Adam Nihart, director of Theatre Operations for Fridley Theatres. “It isn’t lost on us that the perfect combination of historical significance, community support, and caring management makes it a success.”

According to Cinema United, watching a movie on the big screen is here to stay.

“Theatres are the cornerstones of small towns, rural communities, and major cities all around the world,” Cinema United said in their March report. “Going to the movies is ingrained in our social fabric, and movie fans of all ages continue to flock to theatres of all sizes to see movies on the big screen.”

As a filmmaker Feig said he makes movies for large groups of people to see and enjoy.

“We engineer our films to have maximum impact for a live audience to interact with and react to,” Feig said. “While the advent of streamers making movies has thankfully allowed us to get some of our films made, nothing can ever replace the effectiveness of having our movies play to full theaters of people versus individuals watching in their homes. Simply put, I believe movies just mean more to people when they first experience them on the big screen.”

There are Barenaked Ladies concerts, and then there are Barenaked Ladies concerts in the Detroit area.

And then there are tour-ending concerts in the Detroit area.

The Toronto quartet has a long love affair with these parts as an acknowledged second home, a relationship that dates back to a 1994 showcase performance at the State Theatre (now the Fillmore Detroit) and includes 24 headline dates at the Pine Knob Music Theatre — where it recorded 2007 concert album and video “Talk to the Hand: Live in Michigan.” Thanks to that and routing logistics, Pine Knob has also been the site for the final concerts of BNL’s last few Last Summer on Earth tours, the latest coming Saturday, Aug. 2 with Sugar Ray and Fastball.

It was another combination of kindred and complementary spirits, but even moreso than other versions of the package. Members of all three bands — whose biggest hits came during the 90s — repeatedly spoke about it on stage as a favorite tour, ever. Just glancing at side stage made that evident throughout the night as the musicians all watched each other’s set, with Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath dancing and playing cheerleader in full view. They even dubbed themselves, collectively, Naked Sugar Balls, and that spirit was certainly contagious for the 9,500 fans at Pine Knob, another crowd of characteristically spirited BNL fans.

Closing nights are known for their shenanigans, of course, and those started early on Saturday. Astute fans noticed female undergarments placed on Fastball’s amplifiers and drum kit, and BNL’s Ed Robertson came on stage at one point to mop around singer-guitarist Miles Zuniga’ feet (an inside joke referencing a karaoke party a couple nights prior in Cleveland). The Austin group was also the beneficiary of the Last Summer esprit de corps as well; when drummer Joey Shuffield had to leave the tour early on, Sugar Ray’s Dean Butterworth — who was celebrating his birthday on Saturday night — threw in for the rest of the trek, while BNL’s Kevin Hearn played keyboards.

And on Saturday Robertson returned to join Fastball for its last two songs, “Fire Escape” and “The Way,” as he has throughout the tour.

Sugar Ray also found underwear on its amplifiers at the start of its set, and all four Barenaked Ladies’ crashed the stage early on, dressed as characters from “Scooby Doo” and, in Robertson’s case, Ken from “Barbie.” And during BNL’s show crew members dressed as aliens and monsters danced around the band as it played “Lookin’ Up.”

The hijinks complemented rather than distracted from the music, however, and only made Saturday’s show a touch more special for all concerned.

Fastball, for instance, may be known primarily for “The Way” but showed it had more than that during its half-hour set, including blazing versions of “Sooner or Later” and “Hummingbird,” which it dedicated to McGrath.

The white-suited Sugar Ray, with McGrath in exuberant, tattooed carnival barker mode, came out swinging with two of its biggest hits — “Someday” and “Every Morning” — and covered Ginuwine’s “Pony” and Ugly Kid Joe’s “Everything About You” in an “unnecessary 90s medley” before leading the Pine Knob crowd through the communal exuberance of “Fly.”

Barenaked Ladies closed things out with its usual action-packed array of musical dexterity and good humor (Robertson, also per usual, slipped a reference to the Big Beaver Road exit into “Pinch Me”) during its hour and 45 minutes on stage. The hits — “The Old Apartment,” “Brian Wilson,” the “Big Bang Theory” theme song, “One Week” and the bulletproof singalong “If I Had $1000000” — were spread throughout the set, but the group kept new material from 2023’s “In Flight” front and center, too, including acoustic performances of “One Night” and “What Do We Need?”

Among other highlights BNL wound its regular adlibbed rap into a swinging Hearn-sung rendition of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” while “Hello City” finished with a bit of the standard “I Love You.”

Multi-instrumentalist Hearn, celebrating his 30th year in the band, stepped forward as guitar hero on songs such as his moving “Big Backyard” as well as “Pinch Me” and “Clearly Lost” and traded licks with Zuniga on a cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” sung by drummer Tyler Stewart. Bassist Jim Creeggan, meanwhile, sang lead on the do-woppy “Just Wait” and led the crowd through “Sesame Street’s” “Mahna Mahna” during his bass solo.

BNL paid tribute to the late Brian Wilson with a bit of his “Love and Mercy” before launching into a tongue-in-cheek medley that included of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” Beyonce’s “Texas Hold `em,” Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” and Alphaville’s “Forever Young,” while Robertson wrapped Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch” by kissing a fan in the front row.

The night, and tour, finished with all 10 Naked Sugar Balls members on stage for a rendition of Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69,” visibly enjoying their final song together and giving the Pine Knob faithful what will surely be an enduring memory of the summer of ’25.

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“If we don’t split now, it’ll be much harder later.” How many relationships reach that ledge, where one person says something to that effect to their partner? Many, that’s how many. Too many to quantify.

In “Together,” the droll, fiercely well-acted codependency horror movie, Alison Brie delivers the news to Dave Franco, when their characters, Millie and Tim, a put-together schoolteacher and a coming-apart musician, have gotten a little too close in tricky, arguably unhealthy ways. But is it too late? Are they stuck with each other?

The Australian writer-director Michael Shanks makes his feature debut here, and for a movie so ardently devoted to body horror — a literalization of this couple’s particular dynamic — it has an unusually sprightly sense of humor. Brie and Franco, as you may know, are a married couple, and “Together” uses their ease with each other’s bodies and verbal rhythms to highly useful ends. Even when Shanks hits the primary theme of his movie a little too insistently, the actors are vivid throughout. Brie, especially, is spectacularly effective in every emotional register, in the keys of D (Distress), E (Eh what’s going on with our suction-lips?) and C (Commitment is all).

After a murky, fragmented prologue indicating another couple’s recent disappearance, “Together” gets down to its cautionary tale of city folk giving the country a try. Like “Se7en” and various other genre thrillers, this one’s intentionally dislocated so that it could be any big city — though probably New York, or possibly London— and any charming little town a couple of hours away. (The movie was filmed near Melbourne and Victoria, Australia.)

At a going-away party for Millie, whose new teaching job requires her and Tim’s move to a nice little burg on the train line, Tim suffers a mistimed and painfully public proposal of marriage. Millie is thrown for a loop, and the pause Millie takes before responding, two, maybe three seconds, lands like a day and a half. Brie is a wizard of timing and naturalistic cadence, and the film’s strategic introduction to their characters works like a flop-sweat charm.

After the move-in upstate, things seem initially better yet very quickly worse. The new house has an unexplained odor. Tim, insecure and itchy for a sense of career purpose, commits to a band tour, while Millie befriends a genial faculty colleague (Damon Herriman) who lives down the lane. The woods near Tim and Millie’s house are lovely, dark and deep, plus strange: Remnants of a ruined chapel of some kind have settled into the mucky earth. More suddenly, these two fall down into a literal and metaphoric well of trouble, a hidden entrance to an underground cavern laden with secrets as well as a pool of clear water that looks safe enough to drink.

From there “Together” escalates in cannily paced fashion, thanks to director Shanks’ forward momentum and editor Sean Lahiff’s destabilizing visual rhythm. After their underground discovery the couple isn’t the same. The teacher down the lane offers a sympathetic ear and some insights to Millie, who confesses her doubts about Tim, who cannot leave her alone for long. The neighbor responds with advice from Plato’s “Symposium” and Aristophanes’ theory (as written by Plato) of two human beings completing each other, aka the “Jerry Maguire” principle. “Together” relies on much blood and some severing of body parts, true, but from one angle it’s a romcom with an all’s-well capper that “Jerry Maguire” didn’t have the nerve to try.

Filmmaker and screenwriter Shanks goes a bit far with his completion-theory thesis, with the Spice Girls’ “2 Become 1” on the soundtrack and perhaps one too many examples of the physical extremes undergone by Millie and Tim. The effects, however, are pretty terrific, especially in the neighborhood of the eyeballs. I’ve probably said too much, but it’s in the elegantly wrought teaser trailer, and while “Together” has a very different authorial voice (male) than last year’s “The Substance” (female), “Together” tells its fantastical tale a lot more efficiently.

It works, I think, largely because Shanks has the guts to write a male protagonist (though Millie has the edge, on the page and in the performance) who is no hero, no villain, just a mass of garden-variety insecurities, all too reliant on his partner for a sense of direction. Maybe these times have made it easier for male filmmakers to lay off redemption arcs and stalwart heroics, and lean into chaos and the humor of despair.

But an actor always has the last word in a character’s life, and here the key actor is Brie. While the combination of Brie and Franco serves the story well, in nearly every moment they share on screen she’s the one who makes urgent sense, both dramatic and comic, of every new relationship obstacle. On paper, Millie’s doubts conveniently fade when the story requires as much, and that’s very much a product of the man who wrote and directed this film. On the screen, with Brie, you buy it. And unless your ick tolerance is low to low-medium, you’ll likely roll with the merry ick of “Together.”

“Together” — 3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for violent or disturbing content, sexual content, graphic nudity, strong language, and brief drug content)

Running time: 1:42

How to watch: Premieres in theaters July 31

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

By LINDSEY BAHR, Associated Press

The best of the internet’s cat videos are coming to the big screen this weekend. Cat Video Fest is a 73-minute, G-rated selection of all things feline —silly, cuddly, sentimental and comedic—that’s playing in more than 500 independent theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

A portion of ticket proceeds benefit cat-focused charities, shelters and animal welfare organization. Since 2019, it’s raised over $1 million.

The videos are curated by Will Braden, the Seattle-based creator of the comedically existential shorts, Henri, le Chat Noir. His business cards read: “I watch cat videos.” And it’s not a joke or an exaggeration. Braden watches thousands of hours of internet videos to make the annual compilation.

“I want to show how broad the idea of a cat video can be so there’s animated things, music videos, little mini documentaries,” Braden said. “It isn’t all just, what I call, ‘America’s Funniest Home Cat Videos.’ It’s not all cats falling into a bathtub. That would get exhausting.”

Now in its eighth year, Cat Video Fest is bigger than ever, with a global presence that’s already extended to the UK and Denmark, and, for the first time, to France, Spain, Japan and Brazil. Last year, the screenings made over $1 million at the box office.

In the early days, it was a bit of a process trying to convince independent movie theaters to program Cat Video Fest. But Braden, and indie distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories, have found that one year is all it takes to get past that hurdle.

“Everywhere that does it wants to do it again,” Braden said.

Current theatrical partners include Alamo Drafthouse, IFC Center, Nitehawk, Vidiots, Laemmle and Music Box. The screenings attract all variety of audiences, from kids and cat ladies to hipsters and grandparents and everyone in between.

“It’s one of the only things, maybe besides a Pixar movie or Taylor Swift concert, that just appeals to everybody,” Braden said.

And the plan is to keep going.

“We’re not going to run out of cat videos and we’re not going to run out of people who want to see it,” Braden said. “All I have to do is make sure that it’s really funny and entertaining every year.”