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MUSIC MONDAY

A new smooth tune from a Detroit hitmaker

Detroit is full of musicians who have hit the big time, finding major success on the billboard charts. Jazz saxophonist Daryl Beebe is one of those artist. His single “Breathe” made the top ten on the Smooth Jazz Billboard Charts, peaking at number six. Beebe is back with a follow-up. The native and proud Detroiter has new song called “Road Trip.” The song is meant to capture the fact that we are all spending a lot more time in the car during these pandemic times. Both “Road Trip” and “Breathe” are off Beebe’s upcoming album “Better Together” which will be out soon. Beebe joined Jason Carr live from his studio to chat about his new album, their shared love of the west side of Detroit, and their favorite jazz musicians.

New music by two nationally recognized Detroit artists

Before the release, they both spoke to Tati Amare about the new song, the pandemic, and how their collaboration came to be. Speaking of the pandemic, Swifty McVay says this time has given him the space to better learn other aspects of music production, specifically the technological side of it. This is a big change for Swifty McVay, who is used to mainly writing. She told Tati that her and Swifty McVay met while she was completing her second studio album. Her producer of the album felt that “Got Next” needed some extra flavor and got the idea of contacting Swifty McVay, who is beloved in the Detroit music scene.

Enjoy a performance from this WDIV “Super Singer”

We kicked off the first Daylight Saving Time Monday with a former winner of a WDIV singing contest. Joan Stevenson has been on the Detroit music scene for 25 years. She has won numerous local contests, including our station’s “Give Me the Mic” competition in 2004 and “Super Singer” in 1994. Joan considers herself more of a Broadway-style singer who is looking forward to performing live again in the city soon. Watch Joan Stevenson sing “This Way Forever” from her home studio in the video above.

A trio of singers celebrate community on Music Monday

Raye Williams, Tosha Owens and Olivia Dear are three amazingly talented solo singers who have come together in the pandemic. The trio joined Tati Amare to talk about how they got together and share the music they have created together, despite their different genre. Raye Williams has been singing with Tosha Owens for years now, and calls Owens one of her favorite performers. When the pandemic happened, the singers were experiencing similar highs and lows, so they got together to work through them. AdDuring one of their session, the trio decided to do a cover of Kenny Loggins’ “Celebrate me home.” The suggestion was Olivia Dear’s.

Four singing queens share their musical talents on Live In The D

Music Monday is upon us and this week we are jamming out to the beautiful voices of four talented ladies. Angela Davis is just one-fourth of the group S.O.U.L. which stands for the Shades Of United Ladies. Davis has shared her talents on Live In The D before, but recently she joined up with three equally talented singers, Karla Pace, Ava Jay, and Bianca Barber, to create the new group. They all came together the way many of us do these days, on social media.

Self-taught local musician is his own one man band

Today’s Music Monday guest is a local musician who says he always wanted to play music, but only got started recently. Despite the late start, Damon Terrell was able to pick up multiple instruments, including guitar, piano, drums, and bass, and uses them to create his own albums. “I just picked the guitar up first, my primary, and prayed,” Terrell said. He said he makes music with a funky, urban 70′s sound, which he hopes takes listeners to a place of passion and peace. During quarantine, Terrell has been keeping up with his listeners on social media, doing pop up performances and interacting with fans.

Detroit Music Award Nominee performs his new song

For Detroit Music Award Nominee, Jeff Scott, that means pouring hours into creating his new song. She recommended he write a song to uplift people during these tough times in quarantine, and he took her up on it. Jeff Scott has been a part of the Detroit music scene for a long time now. He was in a fairly popular Detroit band in the late 80s and early 90s, but then he walked away from music for a while. To hear the song, or to watch the full interview, watch the video above.

Mac Watts releases new song hailing his pandemic heroes

Country musician Mac Watts is originally from the Detroit area, but now he’s making a name for himself recording in Nashville. He says the song was written a while back and that it honors the work of essential workers during the pandemic. “It’s unfortunate that it came to a pandemic to create a song like this,” Watts said. Watts also has several solo projects in the works and plans to release one new song every month this year. To see the Superhero lyric video and for more on where you can find Watts’ music watch the video above.

Jermaine Dupri and the Detroit Youth Choir have a new song

Today on Music Monday, Live In The D got to celebrate a special collaboration. The Detroit Youth Choir (DYC) worked on a new song with music producer, Jermaine Dupri. Dupri has worked with everyone from Mariah Carey to Jay-Z and more. White says when Dupri reached out, the kids were over the moon to learn they were going to work with him on a song. Watch the video to see what else Dupri had to say about DYC and hear their new song “Change.”

Get in the holiday spirit with this local music group

The local music group Young Men for Christ is getting into the holiday spirit this year with covers of some iconic Christmas tunes. Tati got the chance to chat with the leader of the group, Franklin Lance McGee, about what kind of music they’ve been working on during the pandemic. He says that the album takes the group in a new direction, trying out styles that are closer to the roots of gospel quartet music. McGee said that the break allowed them to blend all of the group members’ ideas together for their latest album. For their Music Monday performance, the group performed a Christmas song blend that McGee said has a “churchy” feel to it.

Straight No Chaser’s virtual concerts keep a holiday tradition alive

Concerts may look a little bit different in 2020, but a cappella group Straight No Chaser is keeping the holiday spirit alive with their annual Christmas concert. The virtual concert celebrates the holiday, along with the band’s new album “Social Christmasing.”Kim was able to talk with Seggie Isho, a baritone in the group and a Detroit local. He said they wanted to be sure to put out a holiday album, because this year, more than ever, people could use the cheer. The group has been living in a bubble together in Washington, D.C. so they can put on a virtual concert and perform together in person. He said he gets letters from families saying the holiday concert is their family tradition, and he’s glad not to have to let them down.

This local Neo Soul artist sings about the different ways to feel love

Alex Way is a local musician who has been performing ever since she was 4-years-old. After getting her start in her church choir, she picked up violin and has been making music ever since. She describes her music as Neo Soul and also a little R&B. Her most recent project is titled “Phases”, and gets into how she feels love in different ways. Each song covers a different kind of love, including self-love, community love, and love for friends and family.

Hear what singer Dan Tillery’s “Greatest Joy” is

Most local musicians are trying their best to continue to make music that people love to hear live, and one of those artists is Dan Tillery. Dan joined Tati Amare, with his best pups Maui and Diggy, to discuss how he is still making his fun, feel-good music during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan said he was blessed to be able to perform on patios and outdoor locations over the summer, and now he is adjusting to moving to digital shows where people can enjoy his music from the comfort and safety of their homes. Watch the video above to hear Dan sing his song “Greatest Joy”.

Detroit native inspires with new song ‘Better Days’

She’s been described in one magazine article as “the next generation of elite pop music artists.” She took time from her schedule Monday to join Jason Carr on Live In The D and discuss her new single “Better Days”. She wanted to collaborate with an old friend so she reached back to Jake Bass in Detroit and the two worked together on “Better Days”. Palter says the song is an ode to everyone persevering through these difficult times and know that things will get better. When asked about what she misses about home, Palter said she misses family the most, but also Coney dogs and sometimes snow. To hear part of her new single “Better Days” watch the video above.

Alexander Zonjic releases his first new album in over a decade

His latest album has been a ten year long labor of love, and Alexander Zonjic isn’t about to let COVID-19 get in the way of releasing it. The flutist said he finished the album Playing It Forward in March, and that releasing it during the pandemic created an interesting challenge. Zonjic said even he was surprised by how long Playing It Forward took to finish, and that the time flew by while he was working on other projects. With the music industry practically shut down, the question became whether to release the album, or try to wait it out. Zonjic showed a clip from his new Detroit-centric music video for his song “Motor City Sway” from Playing It Forward.

Former contestant on ‘The Voice’ stops by for Music Monday

Koryn Hawthorne is a two time Grammy Award-nominated Christian and gospel singer who rose to fame after finding success on The Voice. She auditioned in 2015, and ended up competing for Pharrell Williams' team. She was 16 when she auditioned on The Voice, and said that she is grateful she got to experience all of this at a young age. She also had some advice for future contestants on The Voice. “Please suck in all the info you can because this is literally only the beginning,” she said.

Bringing Country music to Detroit

When people think of country music, Detroit isn’t usually the first city that comes to mind. Local musician Julianne Ankley is hoping to change that perception, and shine a light on Detroit’s country music scene. Ankley said that there is already a huge audience for country music in the Detroit area. According to Ankley, one country radio station, 99.5 WYCD, is actually known as one of the biggest country music stations in the nation. Before Coronavirus, they hosted Festivals at Hart Plaza and DTE Energy Music Theatre that would draw massive crowds.

Rapper Ryn Scott aims to inspire and build hope with his music

The music is still going strong despite the pandemic, and Michigan-based rapper Ryn Scott is spreading words of inspiration and hope through it all with his new album, “Becoming”. Scott teamed with producer Jake Bass to create a 6-song album that is meant to help people think, listen, and learn about what is going on around us. Scott said while there are different things happening around us, good and bad, he hopes his music will shine a positive light on the world. He performed recently at Arts, Beats and Eats, and said although he misses the crowd of fans singing along and screaming lyrics, he is just happy that he can keep performing during the pandemic. Watch the video to hear Ryn Scott’s song “Couple Prayers”.