New music festival offers a kick in economic development

A big high-five goes out to the people who put together the recent Hamtramck Music Festival.
In only five weeks’ time they put together a knockout festival that reminded us of the early years of the Hamtramck Blowout.
It had a homegrown feel and plenty of goodwill from local bands and music lovers.
Now that the Metro Times has decided to further dilute The Blowout by extending it to more bars in Detroit and Ferndale, it’s a good guess that music festival is on its last legs, at least in Hamtramck. We can see Hamtramck getting phased out.
We don’t begrudge the Metro Times for expanding their festival. The Metro Times is a business that needs to make money, and we’re sure the expansion of the Blowout is strictly a business decision.
Hamtramck had a good run.
But if we want to ensure there is a music festival here in town, a lot more support will be needed for this newly created enterprise. While there was plenty of volunteers and goodwill, you can expect by next year more folks will be looking to be paid.
Organizers of this new festival are wisely wasting no time to come up with ways to improve things for next year. Judging by the turnout it attracted and enthusiasm from the many bands that played and the bars that participated, the Hamtramck Music Festival has positioned itself to reinvigorate Hamtramck’s music scene.
We have consistently urged city officials to play a stronger role in the Blowout, and we again encourage our Community & Economic Development Department to also get involved.
Hamtramck’s art and music community is once again gaining momentum, and with city support this could really take off. The more folks coming here for our cultural life could very well translate into economic development.
Let’s nurture that development while it’s hot.