Movement Detroit has been the mecca and helmed as America’s greatest house and techno music festival. It has been attracting generations for almost twenty-five years, inviting iconic techno and house music DJs and producers. Local Detroit DJs fuel the music ballot each year. The festival runs from 2 pm to 12 am. Once the festival is over, the city of Detroit becomes louder till the next morning with all the outrageous afterparties. When Movement begins its festival weekend it ignites the city of Detroit throughout the year. Starting the summer season with the finest house music and techno. Movement Detroit Festival has always been a personal favorite of mine. It has been five years since I’ve been back to Movement Detroit, I covered the festival three years in the past and my last year was 2019 until now. A lot did change, the festival has always kept the same stage layout. The Hart Plaza has always been the center location of Movement Detroit overlooking Canada and the Detroit River. This year’s lineup was too good to miss out on, it was the perfect time to return to Detroit and Movement.
Entering the festival was easy and simple, you scanned your bracelet, and lights green to grant access to VIP or GA. Entering through the wrong section the scanner will turn red. VIP was a lot different than before, with a bigger VIP space, and exclusive DJ sets. The layout had more lounge areas and bars, private food trucks, and clean trailer toilets. The infamous mainstage view has more lounge spots, a VIP viewing platform, and more places to eat and hang out. There were also private vendors in VIP such as massage, oxygen tent, and Veda Hydration. Exiting VIP was simple and entering the main festival area was a breeze.
The lineup spreads across six stages, Waterfront, Pyramid, Underground, Stargate, Detroit, and Mainstage. Each year, Movement has always had an act for artist placement at each stage. Plus, legendary stage showcases throughout the festival weekend including Detroit Love x Defected Records, KMS Records hosted by Kevin Saunderson, Masters At Work, DJ Minx presents House Your Life, and the anticipated showcase of 30 Years of Metalheadz. The local Detroit Marijuana company JARS had its vendor by the Watergate stage and two special sets from Goldie Live Band and DJ set, with LTJ Bukem, Armanni Reign, DRS: In Session ft. Dogger, and more.
Movement Detroit is known for its reasonable drink prices and a wide variety of food vendors ranging from American, Greek, Italian, and the legendary chicken on a stick, to gourmet bowls of awesomeness, there’s something for everyone. My favorites were the cup of fries with vinegar, the falafel sandwiches, and cheesy mozzarella sticks. Attendees twenty-one and over can enter Tito’s River Garden. The area is located between the Pyramid and Watergate stages. The Tito’s River Garden is a hidden refuge with one-of-a-kind views of the river. This year Movement Detroit partnered with JARS, Titio’s, Coors Light, Modelo, Corona, Griffin Claw Brewing Co., Twista Tea, Blue Moon, Topo-Chico Hard Seltzer, Bulleit Whiskey, Don Julio, Visit Detroit, 1XRun, Resident Advisor, Made In Detroit, wdet 101.9 fm, Metro Times, Andiamo Catering, and Detroit Techno Foundation. Each partner helped make their part in creating the perfect weekend for every attendee, artist, and production.
Partners Resident Advisor, Detroit Techno Foundation, and Underground Music Academy present the Respect the Architects exhibition. It explores some of the Detroit electronic music community’s most impactful and unsung heroes. The exhibition is located in the Underground Amphitheatre and is open during festival hours. “Much has been written about the first wave of Detroit techno artists and as pioneers of one of the most impactful genres in the world. This list is designed to shine a light on the unsung heroes who ghost-wrote classic records, created the structures, spaces, and scenarios that allowed techno to grow beyond the wildest dreams of its inventors, and the mentors who have supported and inspired the subsequent waves of Detroit techno artists in finding their sound and place in the musical world.” - Underground Music Academy
Day one was mostly dedicated to house music, starting off the day with LP Globbi at the Mainstage followed by Stacey Pullen. The master of house music always knows how to control the crowd. Stacey Pullen performed a powerful set every bass hitting your body and soul. Re-exploring and discovering new vendors was a lot of fun. Since marijuana is legal in Michigan there were three different interactive weed vendors where attendees had the chance to win free edibles, rolled joints, and cartridges. More vendors included local clothing businesses, festival attire, and the official Movement Detroit merch. Continuing the night with a little of Skream’s set at the Stargate stage, before making my way to the Pyramid stage for the Detroit Love x Defected showcase. The iconic house music duo Floorplan took over the stage. Who doesn’t love classic house music? Floorplan empowers classic house music and keeps it alive with their sets each time they hit the decks. Throughout the entire set, my body was moving, and I felt the crowd’s vibe around me everyone was on the same level. The crowd’s energy was so loud, giving off magical vibes, everyone’s hands in the air and cheering. This year some hip-hop was added to the lineup like the multi-talented artist, Ludacris closing out the Watergate Stage. It was packed with devoted fans as the crowd sang everyone to every famous track he produced throughout his career. Topping off the night down to the Underground stage for Speedy J. The hard-heavy-hitting techno pulsed through everyone in the crowd. His set was infused with acid and hard techno it was my first time seeing Speedy J perform.
Sunday, day two was my personal favorite of the weekend regardless if part of the festival was a washout. Starting the day with some house music at the Pyramid stage for the KMS showcase to see the Saunderson Brothers. House music master Delano Smith took over the decks at the Mainstage. His set was sleek and soulful driving more people to the dance party at the center of the crowd. Their set was the perfect way to start the showcase stage, a mix of deep house and classic house. Down at the Underground stage the vinyl-only Madrid-born, Berlin-based techno DJ, producer, and record label owner Héctor Oaks took over. His set was tough, speakers banging sound inspired by the early days of techno and rave. Playing classic techno tracks all live and on vinyl, his powerful energy lit up the entire crowd. It was my first time seeing Hector Oaks perform, it was a site to see him work for the decks and physically shuffle through his records for the next launch of attack. Continuing the day with more hard-heavy-hitting techno from another Madrid-born, Berlin-based techno artist, Fatima Fajji as she makes her debut performance at Movement Detroit. Launching off with an electrifying beginning the crowd roared with satisfaction. With every bassline, and every bass drop the techno hit harder in every transition. Within thirty minutes into her set, it abruptly stopped by an announcement saying the festival would be temporarily shut down due to lightning. The look on Fatima’s face was so disappointing she was deep in the zone. Since she couldn’t perform she stepped down from the stage and thanked her fans for the time she played at Movement Detroit. For three hours the festival was on hold from the pouring rain and thunderstorm. Some attendees stayed until the festival reopened the Detroit police cleared out most of the crowd for safety hazards. At around 10 pm the weather cleared up and Movement Detroit announced the festival gates are reopened with an extension to 12:30 am. It was difficult to scramble around to reschedule DJ sets that were missed during the storm. Movement did not let the storm ruin the night with Joseph Capriati, Richie Hawtin, Will Clarke, 999999999, and Kevin Saunderson and Idris Elba closing out the night. Each artist did not let the storm stop them from performing at Movement Detroit.
The weather for day 3 was perfect for Memorial Day. The sun was shining down on Hart Plaza the entire day. The final day was consumed with artist interviews and networking at the media center. The ladies of house music took over Movement Detroit for the final day playing unforgettable and legendary sets. DJ Minx, Honey Dijon, and Indira Paganito played their hearts out, all performing historical sets.
Movement Detroit will always be a personal favorite of mine. From the joyful crowd always letting you through with no push or shove to the exhilarating sets and performances. Keeping the party going all night long till dawn at Detoit’s infamous clubs and nightlife. It was my partner’s first Movement he had the best time of his life. We can’t wait to return to Movement Detroit next, thank you to everyone who was a part of this year to make it a fantastic weekend.
Top Favorite Sets:
FOLLOW MOVEMENT DETROIT:
