In The Groove: Birthday candles for Gil Scott-Heron and Marvin Gaye, plus disco-meets-pop
On In The Groove, I consider Gil Scott-Heron and Marvin Gaye to be poet philosopher kings who could take lyrics capturing the moment and turn...
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.
In The Groove: A tribute to the Jolly Old Timers’ jukebox
The jukebox in your local dive bar is a dying breed, but not at Jolly Old Timers. The legendary Black...
In The Groove: Celebrate 313 Day with a Motor City music mix
It's not possible to cover the entire Detroit musical universe in a three-hour set, but I tried to pull from...
Live on WDET: Shadow Show
A blast from the past with a contemporary feel, the Detroit trio Shadow Show have become one of the defining...
Live on WDET: Kevin Reynolds
Detroit’s own Kevin Reynolds released one of the best records in 2023. A Certain Circumstance is the debut solo project...
Live on WDET: Jon Dixon
Bridging the gap between jazz, classical and electronic music, there’s the mighty Jon Dixon. Dixon is trained in classical piano...
Live on WDET: Sun Astros
One of the best live shows you can catch in the city is from Detroit’s de facto psych-rock trio Sun...
CultureShift: Detroit boutique Coup D’etat, hat maker Boswell team up to celebrate small businesses
A Detroit boutique and designer are teaming up for a trunk show that doubles as a demonstration for why it’s...
CultureShift: Top Detroit poets to compete for ‘All-City Slam Champion’ title this weekend
Detroit is home to some of the best poets on the planet. Joel Fluent Greene is one of them. The...
CultureShift: Planet Ant celebrates 30 years of laughs, improv in Hamtramck
Chicago has the comedy hub Second City, which has produced more “Saturday Night Live” stars that we can care to...
Live on WDET: Chris Bathgate
Chris Bathgate is one of the greatest contemporary songwriters to come out of the Mitten State. The Michigan singer-songwriter released...
Live on WDET: Craig Brown Band
The Craig Brown Band is a key piece of Detroit’s music scene. With alt-country rock ‘n roll guitars and a...