11-06-2025
Concert of Colors unveils 2025 details, including return to Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre
Concert of Colors is headed back to some familiar turf.
The 2025 edition of the annual multicultural music festival will include a night at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre on Detroit's riverfront, where CoC was founded in 1993 when the venue was known as Chene Park.
The July 18 evening at the Aretha will include performances by soul-gospel great Mavis Staples and Moroccan music group Bab L' Bluz. Like all Concert of Colors events, the show is free, with fans admitted on a first-come basis.
Concert of Colors, happening July 16-20, will retain its major presence in Midtown Detroit, including the Detroit Institute of Arts. Performances include Nigerian mainstay Femi Kuti, indie rock band Yo La Tengo, rock-R&B-Latin group War and the latest installment of the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue, this year spotlighting blues music with an array of hometown artists.
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The festival will kick off with a July 16 concert at the DIA's Detroit Film Theatre from Canadian-Iranian duo Niyaz.
In a Tuesday media release announcing this year's festivities, CoC director Ismael Ahmed also touted an expanded lineup of children's programming and vendors offering global crafts and merchandise.
Along with the DIA, outdoor and indoor performance spaces will be presented at venues including the Scarab Club, Michigan Science Center, Third Man Records, Spot Lite Detroit, Detroit Historical Museum and the Sosnick Courtyard at Orchestra Hall.
Concert of Colors spent its first 13 years at then-Chene Park before moving to Midtown and becoming a multi-day fixture there. The return to the riverside venue, aided by an injection of funding from the state of Michigan, comes as the Aretha celebrates a 40th anniversary summer.
The full five-day music lineup and other events can be found at the Concert of Colors website.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Concert of Colors unveils lineup and return to Aretha amphitheater
