Tracy Morgan: No Disrespect
2022-11-05 | Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit, MI, United States
Tracy Morgan is one of the most well-respected comedians in his field. Known for starring on seven seasons of NBC’s Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning 30 Rock, Morgan appeared opposite Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin as “Tracy Jordan,” the unpredictable star of “Liz Lemon’s” (Fey) hit variety show, TGS with Tracy Jordan. Morgan received an Emmy Nomination in the Supporting Actor category for his work on the show and was nominated multiple years for the Supporting Actor NAACP Image Award. The cast of the show also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for best Ensemble in a Comedy Series before the beloved series came to an end in January 2013.
He can currently be seen on the No Disrespect stand up tour nationwide. Most recently, Morgan can be seen in four seasons of TBS’ The Last OG, which he also executive produces and Amazon’s Coming 2 America alongside Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, which was released in March 2021. He also appeared in Warner Brothers Scoob!, Paramount’s What Men Want, opposite Taraji P. Henson, and voiced the role of “Fox” in Netflix’s 2019 series Green Eggs & Ham. Morgan’s stand up special Staying Alive was released globally on Netflix in May 2017. Prior, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the 2016 class. Morgan was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016 for hosting an episode of the legendary Saturday Night Live.
In 2014, Morgan released a standup special for Comedy Central titled Tracy Morgan: Bona Fide, which brought the network one of its largest audiences for a standup special that year. Previously, his first stand up special, Black & Blue, was released on HBO in 2010. Another milestone for Morgan was reached in 2009 with the release of his first book, a compilation of studied anecdotes and some of the more serious moments that shaped him and his career, I Am the New Black.
Morgan has also been part of some of the most successful animated films in recent years. In 2009, he made his animation debut lending his voice for Jerry Bruckheimer’s G-Force, a combination live-action/CG film. The film opened No. 1 in US box office sales and was celebrated by audiences worldwide. In 2013, he starred as the bulldog, “Luiz,” in the film Rio and again in April 2014 when he reprised his role in Rio 2. Morgan’s voice can also be heard in the Oscar-nominated film, Boxtrolls, as one of the film’s antagonists, “Mr. Gristle.”
Morgan has headlined across the country and abroad on various tours and festivals for his stand-up comedy. He was first introduced to television audiences in his role as “Hustle Man” on the hit comedy series Martin. He went on to join Saturday Night Live in 1996 where he appeared for seven seasons and created such memorable characters as “Astronaut Jones” and “Brian Fellows.” After leaving SNL, Morgan went on to star in his own comedy series, The Tracy Morgan Show, and he voiced “Spoonie Luv” on Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers. Additional film credits include Cop Out, the remake of the British film Death at a Funeral, First Sunday opposite Ice Cube and Katt Williams, The Longest Yard opposite Adam Sandler, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Head of State, Son of No One, Why Stop Now and Fist Fight. Morgan currently resides in New Jersey.

Josh Turner
2022-11-11 | Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit, MI, United States
MCA Nashville recording artist Josh Turner, while a multi-platinum-selling star himself, is a country music fan first and foremost. He’s even concocted his own version of Mount Rushmore conceived solely of country music legends. Turner’s “Mount Rushmore of Country Music” boasts five faces rather than four (it’s his mountain, after all) — Randy Travis, John Anderson, Johnny Cash, Vern Gosdin, and Hank Williams.
The giants carved into the granite of Turner’s musical soul form the core of his aptly titled new album, Country State of Mind. “I’ve always said that any song you hear coming from my voice, you’re going to hear bits and pieces of those five guys,” he says. “They taught me how to be Josh Turner.”
The dozen songs on Country State of Mind, including songs from those five legends among others, span more than half a century of classic country music, encompassing both well-known standards and deep-catalog cuts. The album shows a singer in dialogue with the songs and the artists that shaped his vision. It’s a conversation — relayed in the distinctive, resonant baritone that brought Turner #1 hits and five gold and platinum albums — between the past and present of country music. And on half the tracks, Turner invites other voices — some heroes, some contemporaries — to join him in the conversation.
“I knew the artists I wanted to represent,” explains Turner, “and I chose songs that exemplified who each of these artists was from my perspective.” The result is a multifaceted album that reflects a distinctive mix of popular and personally meaningful songs. “Forever and Ever, Amen” marks Randy Travis’ first recording session since an incapacitating 2013 stroke. John Anderson, who has written and recorded with Turner in the past, joins him to reprise Anderson’s 1993 hit “I’ve Got It Made.” Early in his career, Turner often performed Vern Gosdin’s first chart-topping single, “I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You’re Gonna Love Me Tonight),” and has long dreamed of re-introducing it to a new generation of listeners. Turner plays guitar for the first time on one of his albums on his renditions of Johnny Cash’s “The Caretaker” and Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken” — the album’s oldest, and darkest, songs.
“When I was growing up, before I moved to Nashville, I was crazy about sad songs,” he says. “There has always been a part of my heart that has loved those sad, lonesome, and slow songs.”
Turner chose his guests as carefully as he did his material, selecting artists who shared his love and respect for the material. “I wanted artists I knew have an appreciation for traditional country music,” he says. Besides heroes Travis and Anderson, Turner invited Country Music Hall of Famer Kris Kristofferson to record a new version of his 1973 chart-topper “Why Me” with him. The title track, originally a 1986 hit for Hank Williams Jr., becomes a duet with fellow Grand Ole Opry member Chris Janson. The members of Runaway June take George Jones’ part on “You Don’t Seem to Miss Me,” and Maddie & Tae sing with Turner on “Desperately,” a 2004 single for George Strait and the album’s newest song.
Country State of Mind also includes songs originally made famous by Keith Whitley (“I’m No Stranger to the Rain”), Waylon Jennings (“Good Ol’ Boys” Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard), and Alan Jackson (“Midnight in Montgomery”).
From the very start of his career through chart-topping hits like “Your Man,” “Would You Go With Me,” “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” and “All Over Me,” Turner has immersed himself in country music’s history and its iconic figures. After all, this is someone who, as a student at Nashville’s Belmont University, took an open gate on Johnny Cash’s property as a sign he should knock on the legendary singer’s door and introduce himself.
“The doorknob wiggles, the door swings open, and there stands Johnny Cash,” Turner recalls. “He and I both jump back, because he didn’t expect to see me, and I sure didn’t expect him to answer the door.”
Later, as the hits came, along with multiple GRAMMY, CMA, and ACM nominations, Turner joined the Grand Ole Opry. One of country music’s oldest and most hallowed traditions, the Opry once counted Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, and George Jones among its ranks; now, Turner shares membership with heroes like Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, and Patty Loveless, as well as guest Chris Janson.
For nearly two decades, Turner has been one of country music’s most recognizable voices, selling more than 8.5 million units and amassing more than 2.5 billion global streams. He has never kept his reverence for traditional country music a secret, but, with this latest album, Josh Turner is definitely in a Country State of Mind.
Really, though, he always has been.

MARK MORRIS DANCE: The Hard Nut
2022-12-03 - 2022-12-04 | Detroit Opera House, Detroit, MI, United States
OVERVIEW
Not your usual Nutcracker

Set to Tchaikovsky’s beloved music (with live orchestra), Mark Morris Dance Group’s The Hard Nut is a retro-modern reimagining of The Nutcracker, which channeled the warm spirit of this holiday tradition into the swinging 70’s with “fun and amazement dance in the same step” (The New York Times).
What holiday season would be complete without go-go boots, dancing G.I. Joes, gender-bending snowflakes, and a spirited, slightly out-of-control family Christmas party? Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut, “as gleefully irreverent as it is visually poetic and musically sensitive” (Dance Magazine), comes to Detroit with all that and more.

Dave Koz and Friends 25th Anniversary Christmas Tour
2022-12-07 | Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit, MI, United States

Celtic Woman A Christmas Symphony
2022-12-09 | Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit, MI, United States

Aida
2022-12-30 | Detroit Opera House, Detroit, MI, United States
An all-star cast takes on Verdi’s monumental masterpiece
A rare peek behind the spectacle of the intimate drama and stunning music Verdi was a master of weaving together. A special one-night-only offering with a stellar cast: Detroit Opera’s own Christine Goerke and soprano Angel Blue both make role debuts under the baton of Jonathon Heyward.
