Hamtramck Music Festival

This past weekend, the first annual Hamtramck Music Festival was a hit. Taking the place of Metro Times Blowout (which has moved to later in the year), a major sponsor of this event was Ben's Encore, a non-profit that promotes music education in the area. I asked some of the board members for Ben's Encore for a chance to shoot at all the venues, and they happily obliged. Here are a few selections from Saturday night.

First up was the Barrel Brothers' Street Band. Excellent trio, great way to start my evening, and perfectly suited for the Baker Streetcar. 

Here's two from (All) The Wild Children, rocking hard at the Mars Bar. I met these guys later on at Small's and they were really cool. 

Rock City Eatery was packed, but I crouched up front to catch a couple songs from Samantha Lewis (currently in transition from performing under "Black Flea"). I still need to eat there one day soon.

Here's a shot from outside. I know it has harsh areas, but the sheer volume of people in Rock City was stunning, and kind of beautiful since the melody came straight through those windows.

BIG RISK HERE. Look, Paychecks, I wanted to shoot a ton of pictures of Blacker Magick, but those lasers could have destroyed my sensor with the right hit! Anyway, pretty on the eyes, but difficult to shoot. 

The night ended at Small's, where I caught most of the set for Bars of Gold.  Fantastic band and evening overall. Check out anyone I linked, and please follow up on the Ben's Encore link to find out more about an amazing charity.