Music

The Mall That Made Tally Hall

In 1981, deep in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, the Tally Hall mini-mall and food court opened its doors.  While this historic establishment has long...

One of the Biggest Music Festivals in the World Is Located in This Midwestern City

What if we told you that one of the largest music festivals in the U.S. — and arguably the world — is held annually...

Built to Boom: How Cars and Culture Drove Detroit’s Music Scene

Deindustrialized Detroit is a far cry from its past. At its height, it boasted a population of 1.85 million with heavy employment at Ford,...

These Ohio Teenagers Run a Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio Station

You might expect the best rock ‘n’ roll curators to be those who’ve lived through the era, but the teenage team behind Blue Devil...

In the Midwest, Show Choir Is More Than Just Glitz and Glamor — It’s Life Changing

The lights dim. A sudden hush comes over the audience. Suddenly, a white spotlight shines onto the stage. Groups of performers in bright, bold...

“I Felt That, Man”: Midwest Emo and Pop-Punk in Ohio

In the summer of 2012, I was in a high school rock band called The Uneven. At the time I was a self-taught, clunky...

How Akron Became ‘the New Liverpool’ of Punk Music

It may come as a surprise that — for a moment in the late 1970s — English music magazine NME declared Akron, Ohio, “the...

Watch the River Rush On: Springsteen’s “Nebraska” and the Deindustrialized Midwest

“I remember when his live box set came out. People were lining up to get it. It was a big, big deal,” Professor Theo...

Detroit Is Changing the Classical Music Status Quo

For Andre Dowell, an epiphany about the classical music world hit him during his first performance as a percussion major at the University of...

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