Yesterday I traveled around the world without ever leaving Detroit. That's what the Concert of Colors is all about. That and bringing together all the peoples of our region of different ethnic, national, racial and religious backgrounds, not to mention different ages. New Detroit, ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Soocial Services), the Arab American National Museum and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra colllaborate in producing this amazing three-day free music festival in the middle of Detroit. And EVERYONE is invited, suburban families as well as the folks who call the streets of Detroit their home.

But to get back to where I traveled yesterday, I started in the Philippines with young dancers from our area. Then it was off to Beijing, China on the strings of XD Wei's fushion/progressive/classical band. After a delicious vegetarian combo lunch from India, a woman named Nawal, who was originally from the Comoros Islands off the eastern coast of Africa and has lived many places since then, had me dancing in a trance state to her rhythmic, meditative vocals and instrumentals. Next it was off to Morocco with Hassan Hakmoun and his Sufi-dancing and cajon drum-playing band partners. They were joined by Detroit's own jazz greats, Wendell Harrison on sax and Rayse Biggs on trumpet. What an amazing collaboration! Then I returned to the United States with the alternative rock icons, They Might Be Giants. That group brought in whole new crowd of on-their-feet, singing-along-with-every-word young people. Oldsters like me loved them too! But we weren't done yet. The final big act was Steel Pulse, England's famous roots reggae band primarily made up of musicians from Africa. Then, those of us who still had the itch to dance, finished the night with DJ Dolores and his band from Brazil. And there were a dozen other musical acts that I couldn't fit into my busy schedule!

I didn't take many photos because I was up on my feet dancing for HOURS, but I did manage to get some shots of the community drumming led by Drum Devil at the Rhythm Stage outside. This is always a wonderful time where everyone is given some kind of percussive instrument to play and the beat becomes like the pulse of our hearts.

Oh, I SO love my city!