On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, we dip into the archives for Words + Music from past in-studio guests, including greats Lyle Lovett, Alison Krauss, Gregory Porter, Joan Baez and many many more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for November 23, 2025 (all in-studio stuff!)

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “God Is God” – Joan Baez
• “On My Side” – AHI
• “All Day I Dream About” – Joe P
• “Brown Eyed Lover” – Allen Stone
• “The Joke” – Brandi Carlile
• “Bring My Flowers” – Tanya Tucker
• “Everything Old Is New Again” – Barenaked Ladies
• “Stolen Moments” – Cautious Clay
• “Ain’t Got Time For Hate” – Shemekia Copeland
• “Telepathic” – Ani Difranco
• “Whooping Crane” – Lyle Lovett
• “The Moment Has Passed” – Jeff Tweedy
• “Oh, Miss Claudia” – Rodney Crowell
• “Hill Country Love” – Cedric Burnside
• “Back To Me” – Grace Potter
• “Rake” – Cowboy Junkies
• “Sweet Talk” – Iron & Wine
• “When You Give It Away” – Bruce Cockburn
• “Don’t Lose Your Steam” – Gregory Porter
• “Gentle On My Mind” – Alison Krauss
• “El Invento ” – Jose Gonzalez
• “Steppin’ Out” – Joe Jackson w/Graham Maby

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, “Double Fantasy” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono turned 45 this week, plus a look at the upcoming Ann Arbor Folk Festival—happening Jan. 30-31!

Also, we’ll remember the late songwriter Todd Snider with some neat in-studio performances from Acoustic Cafe.

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

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for November 22, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “Bitter Rivals” – Sleigh Bells
• “Piranhanana” – Shovels & Rope
• “By The End Of The Night” – Amber Mark
• “Heartbreaker” – Indigo De Souza
  
• “Wildfire Skies” – The City Lines
  
• “Talkin’ Seattle Blues” – Todd Snider
  
• “Dearborn” – Bahamas
  
• “Godspeed” – Mavis Staples
  
• “Celeste” – GoldFord
• “Witch Dance” – Florence & The Machine
• “Honeydew (No Light)” – Josh Ritter
  
• “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen (Night At The Opera turning 50)

• “Monument” – Greensky Bluegrass (A2FF, January 30)
• “Hold On Tight” – Amos Lee (A2FF, January 31)
• “Shake Shake” – Jon Muq (A2FF, January 31)
• “A Little Bit Of Everything” – Dawes (A2FF, January 31)
• “The Well” – The Crane Wives (A2FF, January 31)
• “My Generation, Pt. 2” – Todd Snider (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Black Myself” – Amythyst Kiah
• “I’m Losing You” – John Lennon & Yoko Ono (Double Fantasy is now 45 y/o)
• “Bring On The Lucie (Freeda Peeple)” – John Lennon
  
• “Everybody Knows” – The Legal Matters
  
• “Long Haired Country Boy” – Todd Snider (Acoustic Cafe performance)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, some great covers  and originals from Mavis Staples’ new album “Sad And Beautiful World.” Plus some other songs Mavis chose by the original artists!

Also, the Detroiter who started the iconic Bloodshot Records in Chicago, new Sampa The Great, Detroit’s Nick Behnan, the late Motown artist Ted Lucas and lots more.

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

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for November 15, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “Sad And Beautiful World” – Mavis Staples
• “God Speed” – Frank Ocean
• “Cold At Night” – Mountain Goats
• “Stay In Your Lane” – Courtney Barnett
  
• “The Line” – Nick Behnan
  
• “What A Racket” – Joe Jackson (as Max Champion)
  
• “Hit Single’” – Joe Jackson
  
• “Can’t Hold Us” – Sampa The Great
  
• “Hold On To The Light” – Jack Johnson & Hermanos Gutiérrez
• “Ain’t Nobody Making Me High” – Bartees Strange
• “Evelyn Wood” – The Hangabouts
• “Hater’s Anthem” – Infinity Song
• “I’ll Find A Way (To Carry It All) – Folk Bitch Trio
  
• “It’s So Easy (When You Know What You’re Doing)” – Ted Lucas
  

• “Chicago” – Mavis Staples
• “We Got To Have Peace” – Curtis Mayfield
• “Trixies, Pt. 1” – Squeeze
• “From The Cradle To The Grave” – Squeeze (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “The Last Day I Went Crazy” – Kate Hinote Trio
  
• “Ivy” – Old 97’s (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Castanets” – Alejandro Escovedo (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “To Be Young” – Ryan Adams (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “Rock Bottom, Population 1” – Robbie Fulks (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “New Rochelle (1 AM)” – Cautious Clay
• “Change A Life” – St. Paul & The Broken Bones
  
• “Everybody Needs Love” – Mavis Staples
• “Satisfied Mind” – Jeff Buckley & Gary Lucas
  

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, Madi Diaz returns as our guest, telling the second half of the story started on last year’s album “Weird Faith”. Her new one, “Fatal Optimist,” chronicles the relationship coming apart!

Also, some archived performances from Wilder Woods, Ben Taylor, I’m With Her, Bobby McFerrin and much more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for November 16, 2025

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Joni” – Brandi Carlile
• “Free Man In Paris” – Joni Mitchell
• “Flip A Coin” – Cautious Clay
• “Offering” – Wilder Woods (in-studio performance)
• “The Joker” – Fruit Bats
• “Take The Joker And Run” – The Steve Miller Band
• “Haevy Matal” – Madi Diaz (in-studio guest)
• “Lone Wolf” – Madi Diaz (in-studio guest)
• “Night And Day” – Ringo Starr
• “Song For Arthur” – Natalie Bergman
• “Run It Back” – Madison McFerrin
• “Every Time” – Bobby McFerrin (in-studio performance)
• “First Timer” – Elliott Smith
• “Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands” – Brad Mehldau
• “You Can Close Your Eyes” – Jacob Collier
• “Nothing I Can Do” – Ben Taylor (in-studio performance)
• “Tonight, Tonight” – Leslie Odum, Jr.
• “Thirty Three – Smashing Pumpkins
• “Tie You Down” – HAIM ft. Bon Iver
• “Mother Eagle (Sing Me Alive)” – I’m With Her (in-studio performance)
• “Partita No. 3 in E Major – Preludio ” – Chris Thile
• “If Time Does” – Madi Diaz (in-studio guest)
• “Fatal Optimist” – Madi Diaz (in-studio guest)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

Walk through Detroit long enough and the city starts talking to you — in murals, in corner bars, in the way old streets bend and break. 

A new puzzle collection tries to put that experience on the page.

On Saturday night, people who love this city enough to puzzle over it will gather at The Congregation in Detroit for the release of the new crossword book Block Party: Detroit Edition.

There are many things in Detroit to be surprised by — a block you thought you knew. A memory stirred by the sound of a bus rolling by. A building with an unexplored hallway.

This new crossword book leans into all of that. Every puzzle carries a bit of the city.

At the center of it all are two friends: Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas. They write with curiosity, tease with wordplay, and hide little nods to the places they grew up and the corners they still wander. Their clues feel like conversations at a bar you’ve been going to for years.

They joined Cary Junior II on The Metro to discuss how a crossword becomes a portrait of a place, and why Detroit is perfect for this kind of puzzle.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

Detroit has changed a lot in the last two decades. 

There’s more investment in the downtown and midtown areas. There are more people milling about the city. The parks and public areas have improved. 

Stephen McGee witnessed those changes up close.The photographer and award-winning filmmaker came to Detroit decades ago and began photographing the city for the Detroit Free Press. He aggregated a lot of that work into his documentary, “Resurgo.”

In it, he focuses his lens on decaying infrastructure, new investments injected into the area, and the people who never left.

Who gets credit for all these changes? And, how can the investments in Detroit be more inclusive of those that have always been here?

These are some of the questions that McGee’s “Resurgo,” asks. It will be playing at the Emagine theater Thursday, Nov. 12 in Royal Oak at 7 p.m.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

“Old Man” – N’dea Davenport (Acoustic Cafe recording, 1998)

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, the trio from Australia’s Northern Beaches, Sons Of The East, return as our in-studio guests. During their first time in America in 2018, they had only an EP to their name… now, on their second full-length release called “SONS,” they are making their second appearance!

Also, some archived performances from Richard Thompson, Arlo Parks, Joy Clark and much more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for November 9, 2025

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Petrichor” – Jon Batiste
• “Time In A Bottle” – Lucy Dacus
• “Just A Stranger” – Diana Silvers
• “Die Alone” – Marcus King
• “Black Dog” – Arlo Parks (in-studio performance)
• “Mellow Out (demo)” – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
• “It’s Alright” – Sons Of The East (in-studio guests)
• “Pour The Wine” – Sons Of The East (in-studio guests)
• “A River Runs Through” – R.T. & The Sessionmen
• “Instead Of Calling” – Flock Of Dimes
• “Fluorescent Light” – Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover
• “Falling For Me” – Johnnyswim (in-studio performance)
• “The Highway Knows” – Molly Tuttle
• “Over” – Robert Glasper ft. Yebba
• “Wilderness” – Sarah McLachlan
• “Nevermind” – Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel
• “Shine” – Joy Clark(in-studio performance)
• “Keep Your Distance” – Danny Burns
• “Lotteryland – Richard Thompson (in-studio performance)
• “The Best of You” – Amber Mark
• “After The Ball” – Waylon Jennings
• “Time Will Tell” – Sons Of The East (in-studio guests)
• “Sweet Thing” – Sons Of The East (in-studio guests)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, some songs from, and covers of Neil Young as he approaches his 80th birthday next week!

Also, the great Mavis Staples with a new single, nighttime music from Cautious Clay, The Accidentals kick off the holiday season and more.

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

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for November 8, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “Love Is A Rose” – Neil Young
• “Old Man” – N’dea Davenport (Acoustic Cafe recording, 1998)
• “Human Mind” – Mavis Staples
• “You Are Not Alone” – Mavis Staples
  
• “A Hazy Shade Of Winter” – The Accidentals
  
• “Dry The Rain” – The Beta Band
  
• “Stone Rollin’” – Raphael Saadiq
  
• “Lady” – D’Angelo
  
• “No Kings” – Jesse Welles
• “The World’s Gone Wrong” – Lucinda Williams ft. Brittney Spencer
• “shut up” – Royel Otis
• “Half Asleep” – Twin Shadow
• “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” – Maia Sharp
  

• “Broken Arrow” – Neil Young, live at Canterbury House, Ann Arbor, 1968
• “Harvest Moon” – Cassandra Wilson
• “Runnin'” – GoldFord
• “Fade To Blue (11 PM)” – Cautious Clay
• “Lover Killer” – My Brightest Diamond
• “Southern California Brings Me Down” – National Lampoon
  
• “Open Your Umbrellas” – Sloan
• “Tanana” – Portugal. The Man
  
• “Party Pack” – Trombone Shorty
  
• “Another Life” – Alabama Shakes
  
• “Pajarito” – Jose Gonzalez
• “Old Man” – Lizz Wright (Acoustic Cafe recording, 2005)
• “Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World” – Neil Young

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

Do you consider yourself a storyteller? It’s in human nature to tell stories. Stories have been used to pass down knowledge and legacy. The power of storytelling has the ability to transcend time. It has a way of connecting people across scripted lines in our society. 

A new exhibition opening next week wants to explore storytelling through the lens of food, poetry, comedy, visual art, fashion, film, and performance.

“Many Tongues,” curated by Omo Misha of Irwin House Global Art Center, will use activations to dive into the power of storytelling, while uplifting Detroit creatives.

Brittini Ward or Eye N Eye is a storyteller, poet and multidisciplinary artist. Her recent works include “The Seer,” commissioned by the Kennedy Center, and “Grandma’s Baby,” featured in Wasserman Projects’ Bas Bleu Exhibition.

LaMarr Ward is a film maker, multidisciplinary artist and featured panelist for “Many Tongues.” His works, “Windstorm Chronicles” will be on display.

They joined The Metro to talk about “Many Tongues” and the importance of storytelling as a connector for all people.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, two legends of song, Mike Reid and Joe Henry, join us in the studio to play songs from their first album together “Life And Time.”

Also, some archived performances from Teddy Thompson, Aimee Mann, Amythyst Kiah, Lianne La Havas and much more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for November 2, 2025

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Goodbye Mr. Blue” – Father John Misty
• “Deja Vu” – aron!
• “Hold On To You” – Belle Canyon
• “Walking The Floor Over You” – Teddy Thompson (in-studio performance)
• “I Can’t Make You Love Me” – Mike Reid
• “Sleeper Car” – Mike Reid & Joe Henry (in-studio guests)
• “The Bridge” – Mike Reid & Joe Henry (in-studio guests)
• “Boombox” – Charlie Parr
• “Disarray” – Lianne La Havas
• “Is Your Love Big Enough” – Lianne La Havas (in-studio performance)
• “Morning Morgantown” – Joni Mitchell
• “These Days” – Muireann Bradley
• “Pour The Wine” – Sons Of The East
• “Thunderbird” – Josh Ritter
• “Silk And Petals” – Amythyst Kiah (in-studio performance)
• “Best Guess (Wedding Version)” – Lucy Dacus
• “My Full Name” – Madison Cunningham
• “Dead Flowers” – The Rolling Stones
• “You’re With Stupid Now” – Aimee Mann (in-studio performance)
• “Martins Ferry” – Mike Reid & Joe Henry (in-studio guests)
• “History” – Mike Reid & Joe Henry (in-studio guests)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, a new month brings a new set of album anniversaries, including classics from The Miracles, Four Tops, L.L. Cool J and more.

Also, lots of new music from Brandi Carlile, Jalen Ngonda, Lucinda Williams with Brittney Spencer and Sloan!

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

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for November 1, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “What Good” – Arkells
• “Call On Me” – Daniel Caesar
• “Keeper” – Courtney Marie Andrews
• “All About Me” – Jalen Ngonda
  
• “What It Is” – Will Sessions ft. Dames Brown
  
• “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” – LL Cool J (November 1985)
  
• “Something About You” – The Four Tops (November 1965)
• “You Sexy Thing” – Hot Chocolate (November 1985)
• “Unpopular Ideas” – The Mammals
  
• “k.i.s.s.” – keiyaA
• “The Bridge” – Mike Reid & Joe Henry (Acoustic Cafe preview)
• “Ain’t Nobody Making Me High” – Bartees Strange
  
• “Let It Bleed” – Rolling Stones (November 1995)

• “Unshielded Desire” – John Abercrombie, Dave Holland & Jack DeJohnette
  
• “Straight, No Chaser” – Bruce Hornsby, Christian McBride & Jack DeJohnette
• “If You Want Me” – The Womack Sisters
  
• “Chicken Wings” – Samm Henshaw
• “Back To The Land” – JR JR
• “Hey Lover” – LL Cool J ft. Boyz II Men (November 1995)
• “Good Day” – Tally Hall (November 2005)
• “Give Me One Reason” – Tracy Chapman (November 1995)
• “Witch Dance” – Florence & The Machine
• “Heathcliff” – Snocaps (Katie & Allison Crutchfield)
• “The World’s Gone Wrong” – Lucinda Williams ft. Brittney Spencer
  
• “Night In” – Brittney Spencer
• “shut up” – Royel Otis
• “Going To A Go-Go” – Smokey & The Miracles (November 1965)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

The Carr Center is a hub for the visual and performing arts in Detroit focused on promoting and sharing the work of Black artists.  For the last 3 decades, it has thrived on collaborations with local community groups and organizations. 

The Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club is a local art enthusiast group that supports the fine arts in Metro Detroit. 

Recently, The Carr Center and Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club teamed up to present Bridges: Because of Them – Honoring the Past, Uplifting the Present, Shaping the Future. 

The show is curated by co-founder of Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club, Henry Harper, local art buyer Kendale L. Jones and multi-disciplinary artist Andre Reed Jr. 

Oliver Ragsdale Jr. is the CEO of the Carr Center and Henry Harper, the co-founder of Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club, and owner of Harper Galleries of Art and Interior.

Henry and Oliver joined The Metro to talk more about the exhibition and Detroit’s fine arts scene.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

More stories from The Metro

It’s been over five years since the COVID-19 pandemic and local autoworkers are have taken steps to move its employees back into the office.

Ford Motor Company implemented a new policy in September that requires employees to be in office four days a week. General Motors is moving its headquarters to the brand-new Hudson’s site downtown. At the same time, co-working spaces continue to be a popular work place option for companies.

The mix between traditional office space, co-working space and hybrid work has us wondering what the future of the workplace could look like.

Melissa Fisher is an anthropologist whose work focuses on workplace culture and design. She joined the The Metro to discuss what employees and managers take into account when determining an ideal work place.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

Hamtramck has a vibrant arts scene. In duplexes around the city, you can hear people playing in a local band or practicing their comedy. 

Those people are often young and queer. 

Hamtramck Queer Alliance is making sure its presence is known and spreading the word, supporting the education and advocacy of all gender and sexual minorities, who are often involved in creative spaces.

Passenger Recovery was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping traveling artists maintain sobriety with tools and resources to allow for safe experiences on the road.  

Now, the artistic and sobriety space, Recovery Community Center, is trying to do even more to foster and protect local and visiting talent, and to expand its programming. They’ve found they often partner with the Hamtramck Queer Alliance, providing a safe space for all sorts of communities in the area. 

Bryan Wolf is the Director of Passenger Recovery and Passenger Radio, a music and sound professional and educator. Tim Price is Outreach and Marketing Director of Social Media for Passenger Radio WHCK. He is also the founder and curator of the Christopher Street Gallery in Hamtramck.

Bryan and Tim joined The Metro to talk more about what’s being happening in Hamtramck’s arts and culture scene.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

The Museum of Contemporary Arts Detroit is celebrating 20 years in 2026. As part of its anniversary, the museum is undergoing renovations and will remain closed through 2026. 

MOCAD will reopen with the theme of “Radical Imagination, Intersectional Futures.” The anniversary program will honor MOCAD’s roots as a site for civic and community engagement. 

Until the space reopens, MOCAD will host exhibitions and shows at the Mike Kelly Mobile Homestead. 

Right now, Heart Land, a solo exhibition by Detroit-based artist Mary-Ann Monforton, is on display. It’s free and open to the public.

Jova Lynne, co-director of MOCAD, joined The Metro to talk more about renovations, new exhibitions and 20 years of MOCAD. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, Jonah Kagen makes his national debut with the album “Sunflowers & Leather,” an album he created entirely himself, traveling the country in an Airstream trailer last year.

Also, some archived performances from Rosanne Cash, Eels, Fountains Of Wayne and much more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for October 26, 2025

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Already Dead” – Beck
• “Everybody Laughs” – David Byrne
• “Thank You, Love You, All Better” – Olivia Barton
• “Oh Wide World” – Mon Rovia
• “Hurricane” – Rosanne Cash (in-studio performance)
• “Soul Of A Man” – Robert Plant & Suzi Dian
• “Sunflowers & Leather” – Jonah Kagen (in-studio guest)
• “You Again” – Jonah Kagen (in-studio guest)
• “Things Done Changed” – Jerron Paxton
• “Parting Gift” – Fiona Apple
• “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” – Eels (in-studio performance)
• “Favorite Place” – John Gorka
• “Nowhere Is Where” – Margo Price
• “At All” – Jon Batiste
• “Hate That It’s True” – Ivy
• “Fire In The Canyon” – Fountains Of Wayne (in-studio performance)
• “Hollywood (Unerthed Version)” – Toro y Moi
• “Here To Forever (acoustic)” – Death Cab For Cutie
• “Planting By The Signs” – S.G. Goodman
• “Lovestruck” – The Heavy Heavy (in-studio performance)
• “Moon” – Daniel Caesar
• “God Needs The Devil” – Jonah Kagen (in-studio guest)
• “The Roads” – Jonah Kagen (in-studio guest)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, Brandi Carlile returns to self, and Cautious Clay returns with late night songs.

Also, tons of re-issues from Smashing Pumpkins, Elton John, Ringo Starr and more!

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

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for October 25, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “5th Floor (10 PM)” – Cautious Clay
• “Dracula” – Tame Impala
• “Dearborn” – Bahamas
• “Misled” – Kool & The Gang
  
• “The Day is Long” – The Whiskey Charmers
  
• “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” – Smashing Pumpkins
  
• “Tonight, Tonight” – Leslie Odum Jr.
• “Norwegian Wood” – Jacob Collier
  
• “Nothing More Lonely” – St. Paul & The Broken Bones
  
• “Church And State” – Brandi Carlile
• “Run It Back” – Madison McFerrin
• “Let’s Do It Again” – The Staple Singers
• “Tell Me When The Whistle Blows” – Elton John

• “Rubberband Man” – Mumford & Sons + Hozier
  
• “The Rubberband Man” – The Detroit Spinners
• “Way Out, Way Down” – Peter Litvin
• “Dans Un Moment D’errance” – The Midnight Hour
• “Thieves In The Temple” – Herbie Hancock
• “Thieves In The Temple” – Prince
• “Fatal Optimist” – Madi Diaz
• “Early 1970” – Ringo Starr
• “Snookeroo” – Ringo Starr
• “By the End Of The Night” – Amber Mark
• “Cruisin'” – D’Angelo

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

The National Coffee Association found that 66% of Americans drink coffee daily. But where in the country can you get the best brew? Many may first think of Seattle, home to one of the most popular chains, Starbucks. Wallet Hub ranked Portland as the city with the best cup in its ranking last month.

But the city of Dearborn is challenging those opinions and fighting for the title “Coffee Capital of America”.  In Dearborn, drinking the beverage is a huge part of the culture.

Take it from Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who had this to say in the documentary short called “Dearborn: The Coffee Capital”: “We gather around coffee, we laugh around coffee, we share stories, pass down memories and build community.”

Dearborn is home to more than 45 coffee shops in its 24 square miles and could be considered the birthplace of a Yemeni coffee shop revolution. Brands like Qahwah House, Qamaria, and Haraz have been popping up across the country—and they all started in Dearborn.

With over 80 locations combined nationwide and more than 50 planned expansions within the next 6 months, Yemeni coffee shops are quickly expanding. The popularity has grown in a space that lacked a late-night, alcohol-free third space for people to gather.

What defines Yemeni coffee?

Yemeni coffee has an earthy flavor profile with notes of chocolate and dried fruit. Cardamom is often added to the coffee grounds to create blends such as ‘sana’ani’, Yemeni’s version of black coffee. Add milk or cream and you get ‘mufawar’.

Yemen is also where we get the term ‘mocha.’ While today the term refers to coffee and chocolate syrup, Mokha is a port city in Yemen which once served as a major hub for coffee exports.

With each new outlet opening shop owners are taking back the culture of coffee.

“Our slogan is: ‘discover coffee’s origin.’ And it’s almost like taking a road trip through Yemen,” said Qamaria founder Sanad Mashgri.

Dearborn has the largest Arab American community in the country. Yemeni residents are the second largest Middle Eastern population in the city, according to the 2020 census.

Yemeni history, global economy

Yemeni coffee shop owners are hoping to educate java enthusiasts about the region’s history with the bean. They say Yemeni monks were the first to brew coffee.

“At one point, 100 years ago, Yemeni coffee was the backbone of Yemen’s economy, and they exported coffee all over the world,” said Hamza Nasser, CEO and founder of Haraz.

“And since we started exploding with all these coffee shops, whether it’s Haraz, Qahwah house, you know Qamaria, you know Jabal, everyone, hand in hand, you know, we’re all working together to revive this economy in Yemen, bringing it back,” Nasser said.

Many cafes in Dearborn import their coffee directly from Yemen. Nasser says he does this to help end the cycle of poverty in his family’s home country. He says his company alone imports nearly three million dollar’s worth of raw beans each year.

“That $3 million you have over 500 families living out of it,” Nasser said. “I now big corporations here buy coffee for $1 a pound, you know, I wish that was the case for us, but we knew we had to pay a fair price to our farmers so they can have a better life, and not just, you know, surviving.”

Coffee culture

Shop owners are not only working to educate Metro Detroiters about the history of coffee. They are also sharing their culture around coffee.

In Dearborn, a cup of joe is more than just a drink to start your day. Coffee shops can stay open as late as midnight and have become a third space for residents. And for many in the area, coffee and community are synonymous.

“We don’t really have a lot of bars or places you know to drink alcohol in the city anymore, so I think coffee shops have really taken over,” said Ali Bakri. He is the owner of Bakri Coffee,  a shop that serves Yemeni coffee among other blends.

“We are a very diverse Muslim community, and I think for us, it’s kind of a good way to get out and mingle and talk and without, you know, committing what we say haram, in the sense of, you know, drinking alcohol or something like that,” Bakri said.

Hamza Nasser says coffee shops in Dearborn are new hotspots.

“A lot of women in our community, they didn’t have much options to go and hang out, you know. It was a lot of hookah shops and many people didn’t feel comfortable caught in in hookah shops,” Nasser said.

And Nasser says that the coffee shops have even become the perfect place to find love.

“There’s nothing much better than meeting your future spouse at a coffee shop. Because there’s a 100% chance of you meeting somebody that’s either they’re working or educated.  You’re not going to meet somebody drunk, you’re taking home like at a bar. So, we call coffee shops now ‘the halal bar,’” Nasser joked.

But, many Dearborn residents agree.

“They just come to sit and have a good time. And this is what coffee shops are offering for people just to come,” said resident Neda Albuabsi. She said she would sometimes come to a coffee shop and not even order a drink, but to meet up with friends.

Resident Ali Komeiha frequents Qahwah House during his workday, but he also enjoys being able to meet people from all walks of life at the shop.

“To meet new people and different cultures. This is good. This is healthy for this community,” Komeiha said.

While the arts and humanities are facing defunding and disinvestment nationally, there’s a brand new space to experience the arts in Detroit’s Live 6 neighborhood. 

The Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre opens next month with a production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” It is the university’s first permanent theater on that campus, despite a 150-year history of theatre productions.

Previously, students in the award-winning theatre program had practiced and performed in temporary buildings and spaces, including a space in the YMCA in Downtown Detroit.

Jocelyn Boryczka, Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Science at University of Detroit Mercy, joined Tia Graham to discuss the new Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre and what it means for the future of arts programming in the Live 6 area.

She says the vision for the theatre extends beyond the university walls and invites residents of the Live 6 neighborhoods to be a part of the theatre now and in the future.

The Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre’s first production will be Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” with performances November 7-16. Tickets available online.

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