The Motor City can boast another industry innovation … techno music and the world’s largest festival to feature and celebrate the music genre. Over the Memorial day weekend, thousands of “techno-music” fans gathered from around the world and descended on Hart Plaza in downtown for the Detroit Movement Electronic Music Festival.
Sidney Johnson a veteran of the Detroit music scene has seen and done it all on Detroit’s musical landscape — and he’s pretty much done it all on his terms. The artist/producer songwriter with 12 independent underground albums spoke with the Michigan Chronicle about themusic and it’s roots.
“Detroit basically created techno. We were the innovators of that sound … It’s pretty much a faster version of house music with a rock n’ roll sound. The Techno Music Festival in Detroit is the largest of it’s kind in the world. The suburbs actually got into the culture and they really embraced it. Now they’re mixing it with dub step. We did a techno project called Galaxy 22. it got good response. Hart Plaza in downtown to Detroit to … well eat drink and be merry.
This year is the 14th year for the festival, which became a ticketed event in 2005.
More than 100 artists appeared on five stages at Movement Electronic Music Festival at Hart Plaza over the 2013 Memorial day weekend.
Techno festival-goer, Mason Roberts is from Portland says he wants to see it all. “It’s so overwhelming because there is so much good talent here – that you really are pulled in so many different directions even if you don’t want to leave an area – when you get to the next one you are so satisfied … the people that put this together have a lot of history … they know what talent they need to bring here to draw from all over the world,” said Roberts.
The uber-popular Ribs and Jazz Soul Festival will take plave over another 3-day weekend from Aug. 9 – Aug.11.