Made in America: Detroit? — uh, it's veronica

Dear Mr. Carter,

Heard you and Philadelphia made up on that small location issue. Misunderstanding or otherwise, I think a new location for Made In America would be a welcome change. Los Angeles may not have worked out long term, but you should bring back the dual festival concept. Except this time, the additional festival should be held in Detroit.

Long before Berry Gordy brought the world to Motown, Detroit had a major impact on music in this country. The Great Migration brought sounds from all over to be blended and transformed here. We’ve put hands on the sounds of Gospel, the Jazz greats flocked to play our venues, and we gave the world Techno music. You could call our Hip-Hop scene, insane. My point is, what is more American than a hub that touched most of music’s top genres? Our strengths lie in our diverse makeup, musically and culturally.

So let’s talk logistics then. Belle Isle Park is 982 acres, which is 143 more acres than Central Park, though you won’t need all that space for your event. It sits between the city of Detroit and our neighbors to the south, Canada. On the American side you’ve got the perfect view of the skyline that decorates so much of our memorabilia. The city is on the cusp of revitalization and Made in America would be decorative brick on all of our new construction in 2020.

Showing is better than telling, for that I have a few mockups to give a loose idea of what I’ve got in mind. Looking at past festival maps, I’ve adapted all the essentials into the new space. A few stages, some delicious Motown eateries, and of course Cause Village.

As for that little issue about potentially needing a Title Sponsor, I think Chevrolet would be a great fit. They’re the leaders in autonomous vehicles in America right now and could assist in transporting concert goers to and from the festival grounds. They’ve got almost as many awards for their cars as you have Grammy’s, winners hang together right?

You mentioned perseverance as one of the many ideas this festival represents; our city is the physical embodiment of that word. Today is Detroit’s 317th birthday. You don’t make it this far without a little bit of hardship. The real test is how you adapt the struggle. They count us out at every inkling of a struggle, but we’re still here. Fires can’t stop us. Bankruptcy couldn’t stop us. Clearly nothing will. We stand, battered and bruised, but no matter what we make it work.

“I’m taking out this time, to give you a piece of my mind,” and I think we’re ripe for something of this magnitude. Ben Franklin Parkway is a beautiful venue and it’s hard to recall the history of America without mentioning Philadelphia. You can’t beat the original, then again cars weren’t invented in Detroit either, we just made them better.