Arts & Culture

When you think of filmmaking, chances are pretty good that you think of a producer, a director and a cast chosen by that director.

But there are a couple of filmmakers in Detroit who are blowing up that traditional model of making films, and in its place have come up with something completely different.

How about 40 directors for one film? And they're spread across 23 countries on five continents?

Marty Shea is one of the Detroit-based filmmakers doing this "collaborative" movie under the name of "CollabFeature."

He joined us today.

Listen to the full interview above.

We’re always glad to hear from Stateside listeners, to get your ideas and suggestions for stories we should share with everyone!

So, when we got an email from Lansing musician Ben Hassenger, asking us to take a closer look at the upcoming music festival he’s hosting this Friday and Saturday, we bit!

Especially when we discovered it’s a celebration of the ukulele - called "MIGHTY UKE DAY!"

What’s not to love?!

Ben Hassenger joined us today.

Listen to the full interview above.

It’s been 17 years since the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has graced the stage of one of the most famous concert halls in the world - Carnegie Hall.

So it was big news for Michigan’s cultural scene when the DSO became one of the symphony orchestras chosen for the 2013 "Spring for Music." It's one week, five orchestras, and six concerts at Carnegie Hall.
 
The DSO will perform two separate programs - one on May 9th, the second on May 10th.
 
The music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Leonard Slatkin, joined us from New York City today.

Listen to the full interview above.

  In rural America of the 1800s, it was common for neighbors to pull together to help each other. Harvest time - barn-raisings - there was a sense of "you help me, I help you."

It's that old-fashioned image of the community barn-raising that comes to mind when you hear about The People's Campaign which launched over the weekend on Detroit's East Side.

The People's Campaign is headed-up by Sharlonda Buckman who is the executive director of the Detroit Parent Network.

She joined us to tell us more.

Listen to the full interview above.

His name is Matt Jones. He's 35 and he's based in Ypsilanti. He's been writing songs and performing around Michigan for the past 15 years. He has growing audience of fans and has received more critical acclaim.

And his story is one of overcoming personal demons and finding salvation in the thing he loves best: making music.

Matt joined us in the studio today to talk about his music.

Click the link above to hear Cyndy's conversation with Matt.

Matt also performed for our "Songs from Studio East" series. You can check out that performance here:

You can check out more of Matt's music here: http://mattjones.bandcamp.com/