Arrows In Action
Power pop · Alternative · Alternative pop
Mexicantown
A neighborhood in Detroit
Mexicantown sits within the wider Southwest Detroit neighborhood, and its live-music identity runs in two distinct directions along Vernor Highway and Bagley Street. The neighborhood holds Michigan's only historical marker dedicated to the pioneers of Detroit Tejano music, and the annual Fiesta Mexicana brings live music and folkloric dance each September. El Club opened in 2016 in a renovated space that is part bar and part concert hall, with a generous outdoor garden attached. It occupies the former Mexicantown Fiesta Center on W. Vernor Hwy. An all-ages, mid-level room opened by local promoter Graeme Flegenheimer, Rolling Stone named it one of the "10 Best Live Music Venues in America." It holds roughly 450–500 people standing and books everything from indie rock and punk to hip-hop, electronic, and hardcore. Tigris, on Bagley Street, takes a different approach. The listening bar, café, and sound room was designed to feel somewhere between a living room and a club, allowing DJs to explore aspects typically unavailable at regular club gigs. Alongside DJ sets, the space hosts dedicated full-length album listening sessions and album release parties. It runs a custom four-way active stereo system designed by Bing Audio, and draws on co-founder Fabian Halabou's Iraqi heritage for its cocktail and food menu.