Contributing writer

Gary Graff

Gary Graff is a Detroit-based music journalist and author.

Cindy Blackman Santana performs Sept. 7 on the Carhartt Amphitheatre Stage in Hart Plaza during the Detroit Jazz Festival. Admission is free. (Photo courtesy of Denise Truscello)

Cindy Blackman Santana marches to her own beat as jazz bandleader

August 31, 2026 at 6:51 a.m.

Blackman Santana became best-known as Lenny Kravitz's touring drummer for 18 years, but jazz — and the improvisational music she plays as part of the Santana band — are particularly...

Ed Sheeran performs Saturday night, Aug. 29, at Detroit’s Ford Field (Photo by Joe Orlando)

Ed Sheeran plays long, loving Loop Tour show at Ford Field

August 30, 2026 at 9:36 a.m.

Late during his concert Saturday night, Aug. 29 at Detroit's Ford Field, Ed Sheeran told the 36,000 or so fans in front of him that his current road trek will...

Rush closed its two-night stand at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Friday, Aug. 28 (Photo by Mike Ferdinande)

Rush offers significant changes during second show at Little Caesars Arena

August 29, 2026 at 9:03 a.m.

Rare is the band, especially at the arena headline level, that offers a significantly different experience on two consecutive shows at the same venue. Rush is an exception this year,...

Peter Hook and the Light perform Aug. 31 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. (Photo courtesy of Adam Kennedy)

Peter Hook continues to honor former bands as Rock Hall induction nears

August 28, 2026 at 6:55 a.m.

Just about any musician would be happy to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with a band. This November, Peter Hook will get in with two...

Steve Lukather of Toto performed at Pine Knob Music Theatre in 2025. He returns to the venue Aug. 29. (Photo courtesy of Joe Orlando)

Toto at Pine Knob tops a busy metro area music weekend

August 27, 2026 at 1:45 p.m.

"We actually had our biggest financial year ever in the history of the band last year," Steve Lukather said. "If it sucked, I wouldn't do it. If the band was...

Rush performs Wednesday night, Aug. 26, at Little Caesars Arena — the first of two concerts at the venue. (Photo by Mike Ferdinande)

Rush returns with memories, memorials and musical glory at Little Caesars Arena

August 29, 2026 at 8:58 a.m.

Telling fans at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, June 26, that they were "a sight for sore eyes," Rush's Geddy Lee said the group's current Fifty Something tour -- and...

Ms. Pat (Photo courtesy of Greektown Hollywood Casino)

Headliners keep comedy out front in the metro area this weekend

August 27, 2026 at 6:24 a.m.

With summer coming to an end and school back in session, it's a particularly good time for some laughs. And you can find plenty of them in the metro area...

Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue team up for their 1993 hit “Whatta Man” on Sunday night, Aug. 23, at the Pine Knob Music Theatre (Photo by Stacey Sherman)

It’s Iconic acts party like it was mid-90s at Pine Knob

August 24, 2026 at 10:15 a.m.

Modeled after the "mixtape" shows of New Kids on the Block and, more recently, New Edition, TLC, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue traded sets in a seamless flow throughout the night,...

Latroit House Ensemble includes Dennis White, bottom left, Ron Carter and Nomvula Munnie. (Photo courtesy of Latroit)

Grammy-winning dance music veteran launches new live performance collective

August 24, 2026 at 6:53 a.m.

Tuesday's release of "Classics Vol. 1" marks the debut of Latroit House Ensemble, an international collective the Grammy Award-winning White, who was born in Detroit and raised in Utica, put...

File: Willie Nelson — pictured during 2024 at the Pine Knob Music Theatre — returned to the amphitheater on Friday, June 20 for another Outlaw Music Festival (Photo by Joe Orlando)

Outlaw Music Festival’s best moments at Pine Knob

August 23, 2026 at 12:35 p.m.

Willie Nelson may grow more frail each successive year, but with his trademark bandana and braids, he's still an undeniably commanding presence on a stage.

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