MetroTimes – Rok you up: Cosmic Slop kicks out the black rock jams in Ann Arbor
Published: September 14, 2011
Are you hip to the Detroit rock scene? From an outsider’s perspective it can amaze, huh?
Having said that, the scene’s always been pretty segregated, and you never see too many black faces on local indie or rock show bills, just as it’s rare to see many white kids on local rap shows. But, the organizers of the Cosmic Slop Festival, spearheaded by one Deekah Wyatt, aim to put Detroit’s black rock scene (yes, Detroit’s black rock scene) on a pedestal by kick-starting the area’s first annual Afro-rock concert fest.
The festival, Cosmic Slop, is, you’ll note, named after Funkadelic’s killer fifth studio album. Like its namesake, the all-day fest promises a hodgepodge of genres, serving up an eclectic mix ranging from industrial to free-form funk-jazz. And, the fest not only promises to rock; they also plan to educate black kids on what’s possible in Detroit rock. (We don’t know what that means exactly, but if it extends deeper than Black Merda, we will be psyched.) Best, the all-day freakout is but five bucks; with more 20 bands on two stages, a finster is a hell of deal. Here we’ve picked a few of the many worthy combos performing.