If you're making the pilgrimage to Detroit this weekend, there's a whole lot going on outside Hart Plaza, too.
One weekend a year, Detroit becomes the city that never sleeps. Beyond the annual Hart Plaza gathering of Movement itself—which in 2015 drew 100,000 to the iconic downtown park—a punter can flit from afterparty to afterparty starting on Friday night before collapsing in the early hours of Tuesday morning. With an insatiable throng of dancers heading to the Motor City, local and out-of-town promoters alike have responded with star-studded lineups. Hundreds of DJs will fan out across the city, bringing beats to just about every conceivable setup, from the trusty TV Bar to the war veteran watering hole Old Miami to the Northland Roller Rink. And we've got a guide to help you figure it all out.
This doesn't purport to be a complete list of Movement afterparties. (Head over here for that.) What we've done is make a list of the events that, based off of history and experience, have the chance of keeping you dancing past dawn and well into the morning.
Friday
For the second year in a row, RA is teaming up with Chicago's smartbar for a Movement pre-party. We started our In Residence series at the Windy City club, and we'll bring that spirit of camaraderie to the TV Lounge, where a strong residents crew, including smartbar booker Olin, Gramaphone Records boss Michael Serafini, Sassmouth and Chicago legend Derrick Carter will be on-hand. Hometown hero Delano Smith will also take to the decks, as will The Bunker's Midwest acid maven Mike Servito. Giegling mainstay Edward is booked in for a live set at the eight-hour, multi-stage affair.
FIT Siegel who makes his debut on Movement's main stage on Monday, wanted to do something different, so he aligned his label party with the noise-oriented Trip Metal festival. After Dark: A Post Trip FIT goes down at the gay bar Menjos with Sex Tags boss DJ Sotofett, FIT himself and rising Texas DJ Bill Converse. Madteo and a couple of the wavo bands Siegel has signed to his Est. 1983 sublabel will play live sets. Blank Code & Oktave's opening salvo at The Works is filled with techno heavy-hitters including Ostgut Ton residents Function and Anthony Parasole. Those two will bang it out alongside Droid's Drumcell and Jeff Derringer. Kyle Hall's semi-regular Detroit party is called Fundamentals, so it's fitting that he's kept things simple. The lineup for the Movement edition is simply Hall, Jay Daniel and unlisted special guests. That one goes down at Tires, a DIY warehouse space with skate ramps a bit further out from the city centre. Meanwhile, Tangent Gallery's busy weekend begins with Modern Cathedrals' Eden II event, featuring Samuel Kerridge, Veronica Vasicka and Stave.
Saturday
With the festival starting in earnest on Saturday, keep in mind a couple off-site daytime options. Seeking some fun on a boat? Tied has you covered with an afternoon cruise featuring D'Julz and Doc Martin. Motorcity Wine, meanwhile, will keep busy with Soul 'n Conga, an indoor-outdoor party running from 2 PM to 2 AM. Recloose, Rahaan and Em Vee (AKA Marcel Vogel) are confirmed for that one.
Looking to the post-Hart Plaza possibilities, Soul Clap's highly anticipated House of Efunk, a collaboration with Red Bull Music Academy and Paxahau, returns to TV Lounge for another all-nighter stretching until noon Sunday. Hip-hop legend Biz Markie, funk and soul veteran Amp Fiddler as well as No Regular Play, Benoit & Sergio and Maurice Fulton are just part this year's eclectic lineup. Tresor's 25th anniversary party at Tangent Gallery looks to be one of the weekend's heaviest techno sessions. The DJ contingent includes Moritz von Oswald, Regis, Dasha Rush and Silent Servant, and Mike Parker and Terrence Dixon will each play live. Another institution, the locally rooted Transmat, will celebrate 30 years of operation at MOCAD with sets from Juan Atkins and label boss Derrick May.
Kai Alce's Deep Detroit night at 1515 Broadway, a weekend fixture for the heads, has the NDATL boss billed with original Music Institute jocks Chez Damier and Alton Miller, while DJ crew Discwoman throw down with Aurora Halal and Stacey Hotwaxx Hale at UFO Factory. Over at Menjos, this year's edition of the queer party Club Toilet, presented by Honcho, Spotlight, Wrecked and Macho City, looks to get messy with Gay Marvine, DJ Minx, Jeffrey Sfire and more hitting the decks.
Sunday
You can get an early start to Sunday (7 AM, to be exact) at ReSolute and Accelerate's collaborative get-together at Exodus Lounge. For now there's no lineup, but with a key New York party crew and Daniel Bell's influential label in charge, we think this one's a safe bet. Back at Motorcity Wine later in the afternoon, Day Life will feature sets out on the patio from Andrés, Monty Luke, Joshua Iz and Shaun J. Wright.
By night, No Party Like A Detroit Party takes over Bert's Warehouse Theater with help from Speedy J, Octave One, John Acquaviva, Terrence Dixon, Detroit Techno Militia and more, while Droid Behavior and Blank Code's fifth annual collaboration at The Works features heavy-hitters like Perc, Adam X, Headless Horseman and Cassegrain. Interdimensional Transmissions and The Bunker's jointly hosted No Way Back session at Tangent Gallery is pretty much business as usual—the cast of intrepid selectors includes BMG, Erika, Derek Plaslaiko and Mike Servito, along with Spectrum Spools man John Elliott—though we are promised one "super secret live show."
OK Cool, another fixture for Sunday night and early Monday morning, once again sets up at TV Lounge, with repeat guests like Seth Troxler, Eddie C and Rick Wade billed alongside Craig Richards, Mood II Swing and The Black Madonna. Paradigm will present Social Experiment vs Visionquest, featuring both Art Department and Kenny Glasgow as well as Lee Curtiss, Ryan Crosson and Shaun Reeves, while Dirtybird will take over Masonic Temple, with Justin Martin, J.Phlip and a secret guest. For something more intimate, Carl Craig will be back at Motorcity Wine, this year sharing the lineup with D'Julz.
Monday
Monday morning brings some of Movement's magic moments, when the weak have gone to bed and only the headstrong remain. It's quite possible to spend four days at Tangent Gallery, which caps off a jam-packed weekend with two final events on Monday. First up is the annual Industry Brunch, which begins at 9 AM and includes sets from Hot Mass mastermind Aaron Clark, LIES label staple Antenes plus much-loved Midwestern selectors DJ Shiva and Sassmouth, as well as a live set from Pittsburgh's Shawn Rudiman. That goes straight into an Interdimensional Transmissions affair featuring key artists from New York's Bunker crew: residents Derek Plaslaiko, Mike Servito and Bryan Kasenic are on the lineup with Jason Kendig and Justin Cudmore from Honey Soundsystem, among others.
DJ Harvey and Carl Craig will take top billing at one of the festival's official afterparties, which begins at 7 AM on Monday and continues until Tuesday at 2 AM. DJ Tennis, Andrés, Mike Huckaby and Anthony 'Shake' Shakir are also on the bill there. Another official showcase is scheduled for Monday night—this one helmed by Nina Kraviz as well as friends and affiliates of her label Trip: Bjarki, Terrence Dixon, DJ Stingray, and others.
Dirty Epic are back with the fourth installment of their yearly Anthology party, which extends until 6 AM on Tuesday. The booking goes a bit broader than the usual house and techno fare, with UK artist Max Cooper alongside Truncate, Joey Anderson, FaltyDL and Phon.o. For those looking to get a taste of the local scene's cutting-edge (and for only $5), there's a party at The Whiskey Disco with selectors from Detroit label How To Kill. Marshall Applewhite, Eric Hinchman, The Friend and Derek Michael are among the DJs listed.
Function, Anthony Parasole, Drumcell, Jeff Derringer, Aaron Clark, Paul Fleetwood, Israel Vines, Corbin Davis, Joel Morgan, Joe Sousa, Pinion, Lindsey Herbert
Speedy J, Octave One, John Acquaviva, Doc Martin, Terrence Dixon, K-HAND, Tim Baker, Asher Perkins, DJ Assault, Big Joe Hix, Army of Techno, Terry James, MC Spacer, A-Tension
DJ Harvey, Carl Craig, DJ Tennis, Anthony 'Shake' Shakir, Bamboozle, Lonely C, Andrés, Mike Huckaby, HazMat, Analog Soul, Soul 2 Seoul, Beto Cravioto, Pablo R. Ruiz, Bushmind