In The Groove: Meshell Ndegeocello covers Aretha Franklin, new Texas twang from Jess Williamson
Exploring new music from Meshell Ndegeocello, who is getting ready to release an album of covers and duets on Blue...
Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host of "In the Groove" on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.
Hooper grew up reading the Sunday paper with his dad. That’s where he learned the basics of writing while dreaming of one day writing the stories himself. At 16, he knocked on the door of his hometown paper and asked for a job as a reporter. Since then, he's written extensively for the Detroit Free Press -- the same paper he grew up reading.
Since joining WDET in 2017, Hooper has expanded the station’s arts and culture coverage and received numerous awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasting along the way. Nationally, Hooper was awarded a 2020 RTDNA Regional Edward R. Murrow award for feature reporting for his story “Would You Rent a Stray Dog From the City of Detroit?“ In 2018, Hooper was named the Associated Press Michigan Editors Broadcast Rising Star in broadcast journalism. He received the prestigious Crain’s Detroit Business “20 In Their 20s” award in 2014. His commitment to volunteerism was recognized by the State of Michigan in 2007.
His juggalo-inspired I.C.Pizza costume was selected by the Huffington Post as one of the best Halloween costumes of 2014.
Exploring new music from Meshell Ndegeocello, who is getting ready to release an album of covers and duets on Blue...
It’s been more than 12 years since Future Islands went viral for their performance on “The Late Show with David...
New music discovery from guitarist Rich Ruth and Allison de Groot, who have a new album coming out in October,...
New music discovery from Moses Boyd, the poet Aja Monet (alongside Meshell Ndegeocello + Georgia Anne Muldrow), Azekel, Tiago Caetano,...
If you’re looking for the Loomi Cart on (most) Thursdays at Bumbo’s Bar in Hamtramck, it’s not hard to miss. Just walk outside to...
Sometimes it’s good to just hang out inside of a song that feels like a sunny day. There doesn’t need...
Add Aldous Harding’s fifth album “Train on the Island” to the best of 2026 list. I’ve had this album on...
The banality of life is hard to capture in a song. My New Band Believe makes it seem easy with...
Alongside comfort classics from Talking Heads, TV on the Radio, Doves, Wes Montgomery and Abdullah Ibrahim are some of the...
You never really know why you’re attracted to a certain style of music, but I’ve always had an ear for...
In Detroit, there’s always a lot of action in liquor store parking lots. Fender benders. Loitering. Impromptu barbecue pop-ups. Arguments...
I’m seeing more examples of indie bands (whatever that means today) finding their way to an audience by presenting a...