After 28 years, Concert of Colors Continues in a New and Expansive Format

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 28th Annual Concert of Colors and partner institutions will transform the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) into a sound stage, filming live performances by headline artists and then broadcast the festival on Detroit Public TV-WTVS and WDET in October of 2020.

Concert of Colors will air in prime time on WTVS two hours a night, for four consecutive nights, on Detroit Public Television, and simulcast on Detroit Public Radio (WDET)  radio and streamed online worldwide. The full lineup and dates will be announced soon, and will include the Don Was All Star Revue with a tribute to Detroit radio legend Ed Love. “Concert of Colors audience will grow by the millions this year,” said festival Executive Director and founder Ismael Ahmed. “This year, we will all be grooving together to music performed by some of the greatest artists in the world – but we will be doing it safely in our own homes. The commitment and generosity by our partners and sponsors to make this broadcast happen is a gift to Detroit, southeast Michigan, and the world. The free diversity festival has been a tradition for nearly three decades in Detroit.”

“While we wish we could gather together in person to celebrate unity and diversity through music, the DIA is proud to play a role in continuing the important tradition of Concert of Colors by serving as the host venue for this year’s broadcast,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA Director. “We look forward to bringing the event to an even larger audience in our region, and welcoming them back to the event at the DIA next year.”

“Music is the heartbeat and soul of Detroit and we were determined, with our partners and sponsors, to not only allow the show to go on, but to find new and innovative ways to continue to offer this musical extravaganza free for guests – and now expand it for the world to enjoy,” said Charles Ezra Ferrell, Vice-President for Public Programs & Community Engagement, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

Broadcast:

10 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 7

9 p.m., Thursday, Friday, Saturday Oct. 8, 9 & 10

The announcement was made by Concert of Colors, along with its partners CultureSource, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, ACCESS/Arab American National Museum, Michigan Science Center, University of Michigan-Dearborn, University of Michigan Detroit Center, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Midtown Inc., Marx Layne & Co., Detroit Public Television, WDET 101.9 FM Scarab Club, Detroit Science Gallery, Hellenic Museum of Michigan and College for Creative Studies.Generous Sponsors include Knight Foundation, Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan, DTE Energy,  Zingermans Deli, Mark Bernstein and Rachel Bendit Bernstein.

Concert of Colors is also partnering with world music festivals across the globe to broadcast the Detroit event to broad audiences worldwide.