Crowds pack Hart Plaza festival in birthplace of techno music after pandemic hiatus.
Detroit — Speakers pumping bass from all corners of Hart Plaza thumped like a heartbeat as thousands of concert-goers returned Sunday for the second day of Detroit’s Movement Electronic Music Festival. For Amber Millard, a first-time attendee, Movement was not over-hyped. She said she bought her tickets in February and the sun shining on Hart Plaza this weekend was “perfection.”
“It was completely packed (Saturday) with everyone out to see 2 Chainz. DJ Godfather was also sweet last night”, said Millard, from Whitmore Lake who was one of the first attendees Sunday sitting beside the fountain.
“It gets super busy around 4 p.m. but the middle day of a festival is always slower. We’re really looking forward to Griz on Monday.”
Some attendees, like Millard, said attending Movement is preparation for Electric Forest, a similar weekend-long festival in Rothbury, Michigan, starting June 23. Mickey Domiano and Thomas Bowers traveled together from Chicago to attend the event Sunday, buying their tickets on site and said they were excited to see Carl Craig perform.
“This is my first time attending but we came all the way here because we love techno and saw that this was infinitely larger than anything we have in Chicago”, said Domiano, 38. The festival resonates deeply in Detroit, the birthplace of techno music. It’s become an industry staple, starting in 2000 and held every year before the pandemic. Movement has five stages, all with different sets playing simultaneously. At the Pyramid Stage, a sold-out VIP spot at the festival, a small crowd enjoyed watching Chuck Daniels, who had Canada’s skyline as his backdrop. About 40 artists perform each day with highlights including Adam Beyer, Blawan, Loco Dice on Sunday, and Ataxia, Flying Lotus, and hometown favorite, Griz, playing on Monday. A full schedule can be found here. Sam Fotias, director of operations, said Saturday was probably the smoothest opening day of the festival’s 16-year-tenure in Detroit.
