Entertainment

Live music returns to Detroit in May at outside pop-up stage downtown

February 18, 2021, 1:24 PM

There are guitars, drums and a keyboard at the end of the Covid tunnel, and you can hear them in person May 7 at a pop-up concert venue dubbed Riverside Station.

"It feels very weird to be able to say 'tickets are on sale now' or 'tickets are still available' during these times," posts The Crofoot, a Pontiac club that books indie rockers Mt. Joy and Kalamazoo artist Michigander (Jason Singer) as the opening act.


(Illustration: Bailey P. Race)

"This live concert will be outside, right along the Detroit Riverwalk by the old Joe Louis Arena, and it will surely be pretty nice to see some live touring bands once again," the hosts add. "It will be a pod-style concert -- a socially distanced concert where fans experience live music from a private viewing area, sort of like a drive-in theater, but without the cars."

Crofoot managing partner, Dan McGowan, describes the parking lot setup to Ryan Patrick Hooper of WDET: "It will feel much like a music festival with a large stage and a checkerboard of pods in front of it." Each of the roughly 400 cubes will have a low fence on three sides and an entrance on one side.

Dancing in aisles won't be part of the experience, evidently. Masks will be required and this reality check is part of the promos: "By visiting the Riverside Station Detroit, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19."

Tickets are $175 to $250 for each four-person pod, with an option to add one or two more seats at $43.75 to $62.50 each, plus Ticketmaster fees. Fans in the same pod must enter together.  

Drinks, snacks and merchandise can be ordered via a phone app to be "safely delivered right to your location," the announcement says.

Mt. Joy, a five-member band based in Los Angeles, has Philadelphia roots and two studio albums since 2018. Its Detroit stop comes a week into 15-show tour of nine states. "Feels so good to even think about being back on the road," the group posts on social media.

The Crofoot vows to "bring shows to Metro Detroit again later this year, as safely as possible ... to make sure we can continue to move in the right direction."

Show details:

  • When: Friday, May 7 | 7 p.m. (gates open 6 p.m.) | Rain or shine (no refunds)

  • Where: 701 W. Jefferson Ave., east of Riverfront Towers and west of the former Joe Louis Arena site

  • Tickets: Three categories of four-person pods: $175, $200 and $250. (Up to two more tickets can be bought.)

  • Questions: hello@thecrofoot.com or (248) 858-9333


(Graphic: The Crofoot Presents)



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