East Side
A neighborhood in Detroit
Detroit's East Side carries a long blues lineage rooted in the Great Migration, when African Americans arriving from the South brought their music culture with them, and a blues and jazz scene took hold in nearby Paradise Valley along Hastings Street. The one named music venue here, the Raven Lounge & Restaurant at 5145 Chene Street, is the anchor of that history. Sam Watts opened the Raven in 1966, and it has offered consistent live blues and R&B entertainment longer than any other club, lounge, or bar in Michigan. Today, Tommy and Theresa Stephens still run the Raven, which is the oldest continuously operating blues club in the city. Live blues performances run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The room has a living-room feel, with colorful tinsel around the stage and a portrait of B.B. King on the wood-paneled walls. In 2021, National Geographic named it one of Detroit's must-see places. The kitchen serves soul food alongside the music, with catfish and fresh greens among the regulars on the menu.
Venues1
- Raven Lounge & Restaurant5145 Chene St, Detroit
Upcoming shows0
No upcoming shows in our database for this area.