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Brian Rozman

Longtime Detroit music journalist Jeff Milo’s byline appears in publications locally and globally. He’s been plugging ears into the Detroit scene for years with his prolific Deep Cutz blog and his YouTube series, The Milo Show.

Each week, Milo gives us a rundown of can’t-miss shows in and around the Detroit area. 

Friday, June 7

YpsiArboroo (Washtenaw’s answer to Bonnaroo)

Eight years ago, a singer/songwriter in Ypsilanti named Chris Anderson, leader of the psych-folk group The Vagrant Symphony, decided he would do two things: create a local music festival that coincided with the big Bonnaroo bash of superstars in Tennessee, and use it as an opportunity to build a musical bridge between two cities that have been siblings for more than a century: Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

So if you’re in the area, or if you feel like a quick road trip, then you’ll be able to see dozens of bands from the region playing across a four-day span, at eight unique venues, including some outdoor engagements that happen in the daylight hours and new spaces like Lo-Fi Bar. You can catch Anderson’s curation of artists like Joanna and the Jaywalkers, Friends of Dennis Wilson, Annie Bacon, Telementals, among many many more.

Dani Darling is a neo-soul/trip-hop/indie-rock group led by Dani, and she’ll be at Lo-Fi Bar Friday night. This song is called “2:22“

After Dark Amusement Park and Old Empire at the Old Miami

Two local bands that trade in edgy power-pop and vibe-heavy indie-rock, with vivid and emotional stories and imagery in their lyrics and impossible-to-get-out-of-your-head melodies, will be coming to the Old Miami in Midtown. They’re welcoming a touring band called Origami Ghosts.

Here’s Old Empire’s song called “Get Right.”

Saturday, June 8

Live Music during Berkley Art Bash at Berkley Music Company

The Berkley Art Bash is nothing but charming, and an excellent opportunity to be exposed to some local artists. You may even potentially take a painting home, or a wind-chime, or a… vase? Who knows!

But while you’re strolling along a sea of vendors, you can stop by the Berkley Music Company, an excellent instrument supply shop, where local bands will be performing outdoors (weather permitting). The Berkley Art Bash is all day, starting at 9:00 am, but the music starts right at 10:00 am and goes until about 5:00 pm. Acts include Danny Runey, The Wrong Numbers, Chrissy Morgan, Bruce Farrell and David Nefesh.

There will also be the annual showing at 3:00 pm of indie-rock quintet The High Strung. If you’re a fan of Showtime’s Shameless, this is the band behind the theme song. If you’re a fan of the film “Bird Box,” The High Strung’s lead singer is the author of the book it’s based on. So, if you have never heard of The High Strung, you’ll probably fall in love instantaneously.

Here’s a new song from them called “Darling Weirdo.”

Zilched and Primer at Ghost Light

Heaven Honey is a trio led by an indie folk singer/songwriter from Bloomington, Ind. They’ll be at the Ghost Light in Hamtramck with two bands that create dreamy, head-swimming sounds. Primer, a Detroit based artist who developed both on the west side of the state as well as on the west coast, is a blend of electronica, pop and indie-techno, with lots of ambient textures and some danceable beats. Zilched is dazzling shoegaze, with driving rhythms and surfy guitars that are draped in reverb and dashed with just the perfect amount of distortion.

Here’s Zilched’s song “Hollow.”