Vibe sessions, hip-hop orchestra, 'Pride and Prejudice': Best of the arts in Detroit

From live poetry to "Pride and Prejudice," and music options from multiple genres, there's no shortage of arts in Detroit this weekend. Here are a few events to check out.

Feel the flow

Poet and activist Jessica Care Moore, fresh from an electrifying performance at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, will host the first of a series of Vibe Sessions presented by Detroit’s Carr Center on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. Billed as "an eclectic, intimate live music and conversation experience," the event will include live music by Black Hand Side, a DJ set by Gulley, and live art by Sabrina Nelson. A limited number of tickets are available for this evening of world-class entertainment.

The Carr Center Performance Studio at The Park Shelton, 15 E. Kirby St., Detroit. 313-437-9244. www.thecarrcenter.org. Tickets start at $10.

An evening with jazz royalty

Saturday night, Bert’s Warehouse at Detroit’s Eastern Market will host the Satin Doll Revue, an event featuring Detroit’s best jazz singers paying tribute to the legends who inspired them. Starting at 8 p.m., the performance will include Thornetta Davis (honoring Bessie Smith), Sky Covington (Billie Holiday), Tosha Owens (Etta James), Faye Bradford (Nina Simone), Kimmie Horne (Sarah Vaughan), Nina Simone Neal (Dinah Washington), Veronique Musique (Nancy Wilson), Denise Edwards (Lena Horne) and Lady Love (Carmen McRae).

Free, non-ticketed opening acts begin at 5 p.m. with Olivia Van Goor’s tribute to Anita O’Day. At 6 p.m., a revue of male performers features Smoke Jones (Nat “King” Cole), Allen Dennard (Miles Davis), Darren A. Jackson (Billy Eckstine), Charles the Prophet (Charlie Parker) and Mike Brock (Al Jarreau).

Bert’s Warehouse, 2739 Russell St., Detroit. www.eventbrite.com. Tickets for the 8 p.m. event start at $45.

Classical in bold colors

This weekend finds the Detroit Symphony Orchestra playing Modest Mussorgsky’s infamous “Night on Bald Mountain” as arranged by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov after the composer’s death. Pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk will join the DSO for Edvard Grieg’s “Concerto for Piano & Orchestra,” and the concert will conclude with the brilliant “Symphony in F-sharp minor” by Dora Pejaečvić, a Croatian noble who broke new ground for women in classical music. DSO music director Jader Bignamini will conduct. Performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111. www.dso.org. Tickets start at $19.

A hip-hop celebration

On the flip-side at Orchestra Hall’s The Cube on Friday night, Detroit’s Urban Art Orchestra will present original arrangements of the music of MF Doom, J Dilla, Q-Tip and Pharrell Williams under the direction of Kresge Artist Fellow De’Sean Jones. The show will also highlight rising Detroit rappers Frankie P., Amber Chene and The Monalyse. Deon Jamar will DJ the main event, with DJ Donavan Glover spinning the afterparty. A live art exhibition by J.R. Strozier will also be on display. It all kicks off at 8 p.m.

Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111. www.dso.org. Tickets start at $20.

More:Autorama, Outdoorama and a comic-con: 5 things to do this weekend in metro Detroit

A love story for the ages

Detroit Mercy Theatre Company’s “Pride and Prejudice” will close this weekend, with performances Feb. 24-26 at the Marlene Boll Theatre inside Detroit’s Boll Family YMCA. Kate Hamill’s stage adaptation follows the outspoken Lizzy Bennet, who is determined never to marry despite mounting pressure from society and family. But when the handsome and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn, Lizzy is forced to take a second look at the man she judged so quickly.

The Marlene Boll Theatre inside the Boll Family YMCA, 1401 Broadway, Detroit. 313-993-3270. www.detroitmercyarts.com. Tickets start at $10.

Lyrical classics

Friday night at 8 p.m., Chamber Music Detroit will present a concert featuring the winners of the 2021 CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition, flutist Adam Sadberry and the Balourdet String Quartet. The program emphasizes the vocal qualities of the flute and string instruments with pieces by Hugo Wolf, Felix Mendelssohn, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Amy Beach.

Schaver Music Hall, 480 W. Hancock St., Detroit. 313-335-3300. www.chambermusicdetroit.org. In-person tickets start at $10; digital access tickets $12.

Jazz from the Windy City

Chicago trumpeter Marques Carroll will play three nights at Detroit’s Cliff Bell’s from Feb. 24-26. He recently played the 2022 Chicago Jazz Festival, and is a past member of the beloved Count Basie Orchestra; he also co-leads and performs regularly with the great Chicago Soul Jazz Collective. His latest singles, “Larry Sings” and “Brother Payton” were featured in the FX TV series “The Bear.” For the Detroit dates, he brings his quintet featuring Brent Griffin on alto sex, Greg Artry on drums, Christian Dillingham on bass and Julius Tucket on piano. Showtimes are 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. all three nights.

Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543. cliffbells.com. $25 admission.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hip-hop orchestra, 'Pride and Prejudice': Detroit's weekend in arts