We’ve barely cracked open 2026, and I’ve already had mind-altering experiences at the club, the theater, and venues in between.
Let’s start in downtown Detroit, where legendary jazz club Cliff Bell’s is celebrating 20 years under its current ownership. In that time, there have been ebbs and flows of quality on both the menu and the stage.
In the past few years, however, it’s found its groove as a de facto hub for witnessing Detroit’s next generation of jazz musicians come into their own. I knew Cliff Bell’s was entering an exciting era when I watched living legend Wendell Harrison return to the stage with a cast of young musicians — true to our city’s legacy of jazz elders who pass the torch to the young cats — shortly after venues reopened following the COVID-19 shutdowns.
It was the first live show I saw out of the pandemic. Stuck in my house, I wondered whether live music even mattered. Was it ever that good? Don’t judge me for these wicked thoughts.
But witnessing Wendell on stage with his youthful supporting cast, I found myself crying in the back of the room, overwhelmed by the power of the performance and the history and design of the space itself.
And today, when it comes to food at Cliff Bell’s, there’s nothing quite like slurping down drinks and oysters while sitting at one of the onstage tables, where you feel like you’re in the band.
Curious about the best upcoming shows at Cliff Bell’s to check out, perhaps for the first time? Consider witnessing another living legend with pianist Pamela Wise, presenting “Women in Jazz” on March 19. To see where the local jazz scene is heading, Kasan Belgrave’s Wednesday night residency is a must-see with a rotating cast of performers. (The next one is on March 25.)
In January, I was absolutely absorbed by Dimanche, which was presented by the University Musical Society (UMS) at the Power Center for the Performing Arts in Ann Arbor. It was put on by a touring troupe of Belgian mimes and puppeteers using their talents to find comedy and concern about climate change at home and abroad.
There’s plenty to choose from in UMS’s spring lineup, including performances by the Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker (March 13), an Irish celebration with fiddler Martin Hayes (March 20), and a show by the five-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo (March 26).
For the most out-there, “you’ll likely never see something like this again” experience, see GATZ, a production from New York theater company Elevator Repair Service (March 27-29, also at the Power Center). It’s a marathon eight-hour stage production (two intermissions plus a 90-minute dinner break) that brings every word of The Great Gatsby to the stage. Are you bold enough for something like that? It’s clearly not for everyone, but it’s an experience you’ll never forget.
There’s still a lot of 2026 to come. Don’t let it zip by without getting out there and witnessing it for yourself.
Ryan Patrick Hooper is the host of In the Groove on 101.9 WDET Detroit Public Radio (weekdays from noon to 3 p.m.).
This story originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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