While touring main-stage artists grab most of the Arts, Beats & Eats headlines every year, the real heart of the festival has always been the vast, diverse array of local musicians showing their stuff.
This weekend, nearly 200 of those homegrown talents are on the 11-stage bill for the latest edition of the fest, which will run Friday through Monday as Michigan’s biggest Labor Day event returns to Royal Oak. About half of those artists are making their AB&E debuts.
So if you’re headed to Royal Oak this holiday weekend to soak in the sounds, there’s plenty to check out beyond national headliners such as Third Eye Blind, Kool & the Gang, Chris Young and Jason Bonham. (See the full music schedule at Freep.com.)
Third Eye Blind, Kool & the Gang, more
Here are five Detroit-area acts that have been generating buzz and — who knows? — just might follow in the footsteps of acts such as Greta Van Fleet, who were playing Arts, Beats & Eats before their rise to national and global fame.
Mild Pulp
The Grand Rapids-born, Detroit-based Mild Pulp has been making a mark on the Motor City scene this past year with shades of ’90s alt-rock and an intuition for hooks.
The four-piece band released its debut album, “Noise Complaint,” in late 2025, and recently followed it with the single “Last Call.” A new EP is due before year’s end, accompanied by a December release show at Ferndale’s Loving Touch.
Mild Pulp will play the Bud Light Alternative Stage at Arts, Beats & Eats at 5:45 p.m. Sunday.
South North Southwest
South North Southwest is the intrigue-steeped stage name for this Detroit native, a singer-rapper whose eclectic sound is laced with hip-hop and jazzy neo-soul.
It’s already been a busy year for SNS: Having performed as part of a Detroit hip-hop showcase at this spring’s SXSW fest in Austin, she’s finishing up an album titled “Call Me South,” featuring collaborations with Detroit rap veteran Boldy James and viral Texas star That Mexican OT. Just this week, she hit Detroit’s Assemble Sound to cut a track with rapper Nasaan, son of the late Proof.
South North Southwest will play the Mike Morse R&B-Jazz Stage at Arts, Beats & Eats at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.
Audrey Ray
Audrey Ray is a metro Detroit native with Southern family roots, and her country career has begun to blossom these past couple of years, including Nashville studio collaborations with producer-musical director Kent Wells, best known for his work with Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.
With four new tracks cut this summer, the singer has begun building her follow-up to last year’s “Cigarette and Ashes,” which included a vinyl edition pressed at Jack White’s Third Man Records plant in Detroit.
Ray, who’s also scheduled to open Friday for Justin Moore at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, has a pair of Arts, Beats & Eats sets on tap: She’ll play the Jim Beam National Stage at 7:30 p.m. Sunday and the Culver’s Country-Americana Stage at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Hitsville Next Revue
Motown’s musical legacy in Detroit continues through the Motown Museum’s Hitsville Next program, where aspiring singers and performers are selected to take part in an artist-development program modeled on the system established by Berry Gordy.
Those young Hitsville Next artists made their AB&E debut last year, and they’ll return to the fest Friday with a tribute to the Motortown Revue shows made famous in the 1960s, including performances of classic Motown hits by the Temptations, Supremes, Four Tops and more. Deanna Lori, winner of the museum's 2026 Amplify singing competition, will have a featured role.
The Hitsville Next Revue will help kick off the action on AB&E’s Jim Beam National Stage with a set at 5 p.m. Friday.
Dave Fio
This Taylor resident made his first big splash with a 2024 “American Idol” appearance, where his cover of Jelly Roll’s “Save Me” earned kudos from judges Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. By then, he’d already started making waves locally, including a track with Detroit rapper Babytron (the Helluva-produced “Money Flow”).
Fio, whose expressive tenor comes with a touch of twang, has become a go-to national anthem performer for the Tigers and Red Wings, and his new independent-label record deal has yielded three singles so far this year, with growing attention from Nashville.
Fio will play the Culver’s Country-Americana Stage at Arts, Beats & Eats at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
Michigan Lottery Arts, Beats & Eats Presented by Flagstar Bank
Sept. 4-7.
Downtown Royal Oak.
$15. (Friday admission is free before 5 p.m.)
www.artsbeatseats.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 5 rising Detroit acts to watch at Arts, Beats & Eats this weekend
