Sunday is Elevation at the Firefly Club, and it is one of my favorite events. The feel is very…read morelaid back -- not club -- and you can sit at an intimate table and listen to some really great hip hop and soul. I love it when they bust out with some old school you forgot about (like "Candy Rain" by Immature!), or some of newer things that won't get that much air time on the radio. DJ Graffiti and Benny Ben deejay the event, and sometimes they have special guests. One time I got to see Monica Blair perform which was amazing because that woman has so much energy in her. She was even able to improvise when the venue had a sound mishap! Buff 1 hosts the night. He always cracks me up, especially when he calls out to the "V.I. Pretenders" trying to sit behind the red rope. They also have open mic where you can listen to some local talent. It can be hit or miss, but when it is a hit, it is a huge hit. Often they have spoken word, but they will also have musicians and beat boxers. I once heard a buy beat box Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew" re-mixed, complete with words.

Good music, good people and if you're lucky some good laughs. Starts with a Jazz and progressively…read moremixes in hip hop. Open Mic brings in a diverse mix of talent. DJ Graffiti, DJ Benny Ben and Buff 1 always make the night memorable.

August 1st, 2024 was the date scheduled months ago to be the first day that individual events…read moretickets could be purchased. Online ticket sales were to commence at 10am. I logged onto the site prior to 10 and was soon given slot #49 as the 49th person that would be able to first buy individual event shows. Within 15 minutes the site crashed and as of 3pm as the UMS site stated, they were still trying "to address a technical issue." I called the UMS ticket office and was on hold for over 45 minutes when someone came on the line not to take my ticket order but to tell me they would call me back as soon as they can. It's after 3pm, the UMS ticket office will be closing soon, and still no callback. Such ineptitude is stunning for a major university. I'm embarrassed for them as I think they have no shame, but you will never catch me trying to support them ever again - from ticket purches or my donations.

Omari does an incredible job with educational outreach. Just this year, I've taken kids to see…read moreMariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and Kodo. The organization is top notch, the value and quality unparalleled. UMS brings in tremendous sounds, sights, experiences: normally unavailable, yet made completely accessible. Appreciate the gift!

Stellar! On October…read more25, I saw U of M's production of Rent. For a second I thought I was in Manhattan's Nederlander Theatre. It goes without saying Jonathan Larson's lyrics and music are awe-inspiring and poignant. It wasn't Broadway but this production was awesome. Each character believable and heart felt. I wished this production had a longer run! ....Bravo!

I regularly attend symphonic and other music events at the University of Michigan Earl Moore…read moreBuilding. This complex houses the William and Delores Brehm Pavilion and multiple recital halls. The contemporary directions ensemble at UM performs newer classical music within the past 100 years. Often composers come to the school to pay homage to recently deceased or to introduce their music. Few years ago I was able to see a David Lang piece performed. Overall, absolutely love this place Great place to see a free concert and hear some talented students.

Amazing pre football performance, halftime and game. If you want a team to follow or go check out;…read moreyou won't be disappointed with their events. We drove to Arizona for this game and it was worth every penny. Sky divers, the marching band, drill team all put on a good show. I recommend sitting in the adult section away from the college crowd if you go to a game other wise good luck telling the 20 year Olds to sit down during a game.lol Exciting and fun. Definitely a rating of 10 for Fun. We'll see you in Michigan baby!

We rented AACTMAD's Concourse Hall for our wedding reception this summer. We chose this hall mainly…read morebecause they seemed very flexible. They have no restrictions on vendors (you can hire whatever caterer/DJ/etc. you like) or alcohol and give you access to the hall for the entire day & night. I believe the time included was something like 9 am one day to 9 am the following day. Other Positives: They are fairly accommodating and allow you to arrange visits to the hall when you can try out floorplans, etc.-- you can set up the hall however you like. You can also buy your own liquor & hire your own bartenders so that you save money on alcohol expenses. Tables, chairs, dinner ware, and silverware are included in the rental fee and you can rent linens for an additional cost. There is plenty of parking (about 80 spaces) and it is pretty close to many A2 hotels. Gretchen was usually pretty quick to respond and easy to communicate with (Hillary was also helpful). The floor is great for dancing! There's a pretty cool loft area you can hang out in upstairs. Although we did not use it, the built-in sound system seemed to work well and offers a great option for those that might want to self-DJ. There is a piano that (I believe) you can use. They offer recycling & they have a huge fan which helps reduce heating/cooling costs. They were also reasonable when a server broke something at the hall and were helpful in quickly resolving the issue. Neutrals: (Although this was actually more of a positive to us when we were choosing a venue.) You will have to arrange for all your own event staff & planning. More specifically, you will have to hire your own servers/ DJ/ planner/ caterer/ bartenders/ etc. and arrange for your own set-up, break-down, and clean-up. So renting this hall will result in more work than going with your standard banquet hall. Negatives: Service seemed to be taken care of mostly by volunteers for AACTMAD, which is not ideal IMO. For example, AACTMAD requires that you do a half-hour orientation, but were a bit disorganized in arranging the time, which was limited by the volunteer's schedule. The volunteer also did not know the answer to various questions regarding the hall and did not seem at all familiar with the equipment at the hall (e.g., sound system and lights). Considering that the cost of renting the hall is not inexpensive ($1150), I think that they could afford to hire staff who manages care of the hall issues and is more knowledgable about the equipment. Another negative was some decor of the hall. When we decided to rent the hall, we were told that the quilts hanging on the walls were permanent- we were not thrilled but ok with that. There was (only) string lights hanging from the ceiling fixtures, which looked great. There was no mention other permanent decor to be added to the hall. However, a little bit before our event date, we visited the hall and saw that they added sparkly butterflies and paper lanterns in multiple colors hanging from the ceiling. We were really not happy about the butterflies, and requested they be removed them prior to our event. They said no (we were not allowed to remove them & put them back either) and explained that the butterflies were a seasonal decor that was not optional. When we looked at our contract, there was no mention of this decor (only of the quilts & lights), but we did find that they had recently added a section to the agreement posted on their website, which was not in our original agreement. When we pointed this out, the volunteer said they would still not budge on the issue. Bottom Line: Concourse Hall is a great option for those that appreciate the ability to customize events and for those that want to dance! If you want to do a little less work/planning, it might help to hire a planner. Otherwise, you will need to arrange for set-up, clean-up, and break-down of the hall. Keep in mind that the decor on the ceiling changes and ask questions about that before booking. I know that we were a bit more flexible about the look of our reception than many couples, so that may be a deal-breaker for some but it ultimately did not dampen our day.

I am so incredibly happy that my fiancé (now husband) found this place for our wedding. Concourse…read moreHall was perfect! We had to plan our event from Africa (where we live) in just 2 months. We wanted the freedom to have a fun, casual wedding, but all the venues we were finding had crazy rules and required packages (caterers, decorations, even music, etc). AACTMAD was just what we were looking for. They were affordable, have a lovely space that was already decorated with some string lights, and basically just gave us the code to the door and told us to put the room back as we had found it and have fun. We were able to do our own decorations, food, and alcohol at a much reduced price and as we wanted. The hall is just beautiful, and was a perfect space for our ceremony/reception combined event. More importantly, Gretchen and Hillary were friendly, responsive, and easy to work with. I highly recommend this venue for folks looking for a nice space for a DIY event. Thanks, AACTMAD!!

Michigan Stadium, aka "The Big House," is a gem in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Truly one of the great…read moresporting stadiums in the state. It is one of the most iconic stadiums in college football and home to the Michigan Wolverines. It is a premier entertainment venue and hosts major events similar to those hosted at professional sporting venues. In the football world, it is known for its record-breaking seating capacity. The Big House also offers a world class stadium tour guided by knowledgeable experts. On the tour you're given behind the scenes access to player tunnels, player locker rooms, media suites, club and executive suites, and of course, ground zero on the playing field. The tour takes you through so many exclusive areas of the stadium that fans normally don't see, offering the player and stadium employee perspective. The tour guides are knowledgeable and sure to provide historical context and little known facts of the legacy of the stadium. Overall, a very good experience and beautiful stadium.

My wife brought me to a Michigan game two years ago as a present. Let me tell you, I've been in a…read morelot of stadiums, but being around 110,000 plus fan is ELECTRIC. Atmosphere was phenomenal, crowd was great, food and drinks were your typical stadium pricing, but overall a great experience. We ubered to the game from our hotel to avoid traffic and parking. The amount of vendors outside the stadium was unreal too. So many pop up shops. I will say though, good luck getting online on your phone while being around that many people, we had to walk almost a mile away from the stadium to connect with uber. I would do this experience 100 times out of 100. Best football game of my life even though Michigan lost lol.

I'm surprised there's only one review on here for Rackham. I've been going since I was a UM student…read more(2005-09) but had the opportunity to go back this past Friday for a Taylor Jenkins Reid reading. Compared to Hill, Rackham's seats are incredibly spacious ... Leg room for days! I looked it up and it holds about 1040 people (was wondering, because the event I attended was mostly sold out. There were also plenty of ladies bathroom stalls, we had to wait in line for a few minutes but that was it. As a student I saw some musical events here too and also went to my Hopwood Award ceremony here. Overall, my time here this week was really nice and I'd return for another event in the future.

Like the Union and the League, the Rackham building and auditorium date from a time when they had…read morethe priorities straight: decorate, decorate, decorate! The whole building is magnificent -- especially since a recent rehab job. In the auditorium you can enjoy pseudo-Egyptian pillasters, painted designs on the ceiling, multi-colored walls and deep plush velvet seats (with more legroom than an airline could imagine in its wildest dreams). The overlapping circles on the ceiling have often kept me hypnotized through a long concert -- even when I liked the performers.