Concert of Colors 2025
The Concert of Colors returns this summer for its 34th annual free global music festival in the heart of Detroit and WDET is proud to be an official media partner. The Concert of Colors is one of the nation’s longest-running, largest, free and global music festivals featuring music from around the world at its best.
The Concert of Colors was established by Ismael Ahmed (host of WDET’s This Island Earth) and New Detroit in 1993 as a one-day event at Chene Park on Detroit’s riverfront. The inaugural event drew a modest crowd to Chene Park, but by 1999, some 10,000 music lovers were coming out each year. The festival expanded to three days in 2001, when it was part of the official festivities for Detroit’s 300th birthday, drawing an audience of 100,000. In 2019, the concert expanded to nine days. In addition to music, the Concert of Colors also brings global food and merchandise vendors, movies, poetry, children’s activities and much more to the members of the Detroit community.
2025 Featured Artists
WDET Special Programming
- Friday, July 18th | The Don Was Motor City Playlist live broadcast 8-10PM from the Concert of Colors with hosts Don Was and Ann Delisi.
- Saturday, July 19th | Essential Music live broadcast 11AM-4PM from the Concert of Colors with hosts Ann Delisi and Rob Reinhart.
- Saturday, July 19th | The Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue 9-10:30PM at the Detroit Film Theatre wsg Thornetta Davis, Chris Canas, Herschel Boone, Tosha Owens, Laith Al-Saadi, Rev Robert Jones, Steffanie Christi’an, and Mitch Ryder
- Sunday, July 20th | Liz Warner & Shigeto live DJ set 9:30-11PM on the North Lawn Stage at the DIA.
Browse the full schedule below:
Wednesday, July 16th
Niyaz – The Fourth Light Project
An Immersive multi-media experience (Pakistan and Iran).
The newest program of this Persian/Turkish/Indian electroacoustic musical tour de force NIYAZ, with whirling from Turkey and incredible visuals and sound. A mesmerizing experience.
Thursday, July 17th
11:30AM – Nafada – An Audio Uprising (film screening)
2:00PM – Nafada – An Audio Uprising (second screening)
5:30PM – 6:15PM – Victor Ghannam (Palestine) & Sean Blackman’s (Armenia) Hye Salam, featuring David McMurray (Eastern Jazz)
6:45PM – 7:30PM – Bab L’Bluz (Morocco)
8:00PM – 8:45PM – Laith Al-Saadi (Blues afficionado & NBC’s The Voice finalist)
1:00PM – 2:00PM – Shashu Amen-Ra, African dance lessons
4:00PM – 5:00PM – Mambo Marci, salsa class for beginners
(Arts & Scraps: Time TBD)
8:00PM – 8:40PM – Nebula Sound Ensemble (21st-century experimental chamber music)
9:00PM – 10:00PM – Beautiful Noise featuring Kash Killion, Scott Amendola, Ben Goldberg, Don Was, Gretchen Gonzales, & Christ Peters (cosmic soundscapes)
7:30PM – 9:30PM – New Music Detroit, Virtuoso (new & experimental contemporary classical ensemble)
Friday, July 18th
5:00PM – 6:00PM – Shashu Amen-Ra (African dance)
6:00PM – 6:45PM – The Luv Locz Experiment – (Carribean funk)
7:15PM – 8:15PM – Bab L’Bluz (Moroccan-French power blues quartet)
9:00PM – 10:00PM – Mavis Staples (blues, gospel, R&B legend)
Saturday, July 19th
1:00PM – 3:00PM – Concert of Colors Forum by the Arab American National Museum: “The Homelands in Our Bodies: Embodying Artivism” moderated by Raed (founder of Yalla Punk)
1:30PM – 2:30PM – Eljuri (Latin Reggae rock, Ecuador)
3:30PM – 5:00PM – Spanglish Fly (NY, Latin Boogaloo)
9:00PM – 10:30PM – Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue wsg Thornetta Davis, Chris Canas, Herschel Boone, Tosha Owens, Laith Al-Saadi, Rev Robert Jones, Steffanie Christi’an, and Mitch Ryder.
2:30PM – 4:30PM – Mathangi Dance Company (Indian dance)
6:00PM – 7:30PM – Asha Puthli (Inda, spacy avante garde disco jazz)
6:45PM – 7:30PM – Tilted Axes (electric guitar processional)
9:00PM – 10:30PM – Yo La Tengo (American indie)
Sunday, July 20th
2:30PM – 3:00PM – Wendell Harrison tribute to Pharoah Sanders
5:00PM – 6:30PM – AfroFlow: Detroit to Ethiopia with Mike-E (Ethiopia)
8:00PM – 9:30PM – Femi Kuti (Nigeria)
1:00PM – 7:00PM – Youth Celebration
- Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network presents Food Warriors: a hands-on food and agricultural workshop
- Dream Arts Company Detroit hands-on workshop
- Rhonda Greene book reading & writing workshop
12:05PM – Carmen Jackson (Detroit, soul & jazz singer)
1:15PM – Jo Serrapere (Detroit, roots/folk/alt-country)
2:30PM – U of M Flint Jazz Ensemble
12:05PM – Chris Canas Band
1:15PM – U of M Percussions
2:30PM – Mariachi Femenil Detroit
4:30PM – 6:00PM – Shadow Show (Detroit)
6:00PM – 7:00PM – Tilted Axes (Electric Guitar Precessional) on the lawn!
7:00PM – 8:30PM – War (California street band)
9:30PM – 11:00PM – Liz Warner & Shigeto (WDET DJs)
6:00PM – 7:30PM – Kassan Belgrave & Allen Dennard with DJ Melo (acid jazz trio)
Detroit’s Divine Five: Underground and modern sounds from five groundbreaking and iconic women DJs –
2:00PM – 3:00PM – DJ LADYMONIX
3:00PM – 4:00PM – DJ Auset
4:00PM – 5:00PM – DJ Taylor Monai
5:00PM – 6:00PM – DJ Jenny La Femme
6:00PM – 7:00PM – DJ Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale
And don’t forget to stop by the WDET tent to say hello and shop WDET swag!
For further information about the festival, please visit www.concertofcolors.com.