Crash Detroit is a free, annual music festival first launched in 2014 by musicians from the Detroit Party Marching Band and members of the Detroit community. For a Friday and Saturday each summer, a collection of America’s most acclaimed street bands and performers come together to delight the community with music, dancing, arts, crafts, and youth engagement.

Street bands are un-amplified ensembles with the power to surprise and inspire their audiences, bringing life to the spaces where they perform. Crash Detroit brings this power to the city, encouraging the community to revel in the joyous sounds and movements found in street band culture and music. In total, over 9,500 people have attended just the Saturday festivals, experiencing 17 different brass bands from around the country—many having made Crash Detroit their first-ever Detroit appearance.

Crash Night- Friday July 21. At various businesses across Detroit

Festival Day- Saturday July 22. Daytime at Lincoln St. Art Park. Nighttime at Marble Bar

In the evening of Friday July 21st, attending bands will “Crash” Detroit by roving the city and surprising audiences at local bars, businesses, and public spaces with impromptu performances. While the performances will be spontaneous, audience members can catch up with the performers as hints to locations will be released the day before and are live tweeted throughout Friday night.

The main festival, held on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln Street Art Park, features sets from each band, food and drinks from local trucks and establishments, and fun for everybody in attendance. With the Youth Crash Corps initiative, kids and adults can make their own instruments on-site and join in on spontaneous DIY parades. At 8pm, the festival will transition from the Lincoln Street Art Park to a ticketed event at Marble Bar. The Marble Bar event will have a donation-based cover charge. Donations will benefit the fees associated with 501c3 filing and help secure Crash Detroit as a non-profit organization that will thrive for years to come.

Crash Detroit will feature local and national street bands including Detroit Party Marching Band, March Madness Marching Band, Bitch, Thunder!, Detroit Pleasure Society, Gabriel Brass Band, Kavazabava, The Drumadics, The Roving String Group and James Cornish Ensemble. Visit crashdetroit.org or the Facebook event for the full schedule of performances.

Crash Detroit is a community-based music initiative that promotes un-amplified brass and drum-based street music, performance in underused and unexpected spaces, free access to the arts, and youth music education and activities. Our entirely volunteer-run festival is supported by local businesses, arts organizations, performers and individuals who donate their time and talents to the festival, enabling a free experience for everyone. This gesture promotes our vision of social interaction and universal humanity through music.

Crash Detroit is committed to supporting local businesses by making them a destination and driving foot traffic with our 2,500 annual attendees. Crash Detroit is expanding its festival to include such activities as a youth-based brass band (Youth Crash Corps), an instrument donation collection, workshops, and kid-friendly educational music events. All of these efforts culminate with the live performances and activities of the annual Crash Detroit festival.