Moondog Cafe

09/01/2026

::: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 :::

Detroit native multi-instrumentalist Alex Harding returns with a trio of legends for an evening traveling the spaceways into new sonic dimensions at Moondog Café. Joined by two of Detroit’s most devoted and adventurous improvisers—percussionist Djallo Djakate and double bassist Jaribu Shahid—Harding will wield his baritone saxophone through collective rhythms and streams of consciousness.

Harding, once a student of Yusef Lateef at Detroit’s Northwestern High School, is a go-to saxophonist who has played with everyone from Donald Byrd and Aretha Franklin to Muhal Richard Abrams and the Sun Ra Arkestra. We look forward to hearing this incredible trio let their sound unfurl.

They’ll be joined by special guest Detroit harpist, vocalist and producer AnJelic for a solo set exploring her growing repertoire. AnJelic is a classically-trained harpist within Detroit’s rich history of harp innovators such as Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. We welcome her back to Moondog for her first of back-to-back performances on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. You can scoop them via our Linktree now!

Alex Harding
Djallo Djakate
I'm AnJelic👋❤️ (An-Jel-ic)

08/31/2026

::: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 :::

Detroit native vocalist, musician, producer and founder of Truth Manifest Records, Malik Alston brings his Linwood Ensemble to Moondog Café for an evening celebrating a series of recordings he’s entitled “Beyond Jazz.”

Alston is a musical devoteé, whether he’s DJing or performing live, Alston’s work weaves uplifting Black music with themes of faith and community. From early years singing in church and community choirs to collaborating on productions with Amp Fiddler, Roy Davis Jr., Alton Miller and many others, Alston’s musical knowledge goes deep.

“Beyond Jazz” is a 4-part album series showcasing Alston’s spiritual soul & jazz-inflected house & dance constructions, born out of Alston’s long-standing radio show that bears the same name.

Serving as our welcome show to music fans attending the 2026 annual Detroit Jazz Festival, we’re thrilled to honor Malik Alston’s unique legacy as a Detroit music-maker.

He’ll be joined by the latest iteration of The Linwood Ensemble which includes his wife Badriyyah on vocals & auxiliary percussion, Damon Williams on drums, Ben Green on trumpet & wind synth, Rafael Leafar on sax, flute and EWI, Tim Shellabarger on bass and Alston himself on keys and vocals. Trust this band will go OFF … so come prepared for the ecstatic vibrations!

Doors open at 8pm with sets beginning at 9pm and 10pm. Advance tickets are available for $20 or $25 at the door.

Malik Alston
Badriyyah Wazeerud-Din
Benjamin Green
Rafael Leafar
Damon A. Williams
Tim Shellabarger

08/28/2026

::: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 :::

Search Party is a new phenomenon of Detroit musical imagination and legacy. Composed of DJ/producer Max Watts (Limited Network), trumpeter Allen Dennard (Allen Dennard) and multi-instrumentalist Kasan Belgrave (baskasanball), the trio collaborate in the space between machine music, turntablism and instrumental improvisation. Rooted in the vernacular of Techno and Hi-Tech Jazz, Search Party is a highly anticipated new exponent of Detroit underground music.

Electronic artist, producer, DJ and Detroit legend Bileebob (John Bileebob Williams) offers up the first live set of the evening, gracing Moondog’s stage for the first time.

We’re also most honored to welcome DJ/producer John F.M. (John FM) to the space. John will be threading the needle—selecting music before, between and after live sets.

Advance tickets are $16 and $20 at the door.

Don’t miss a single fire-breathing moment.

08/27/2026

The word is out! Advance tix for Untitled Sessions on Eventbrite!

Moondog Café and Detroit music collective D.Cipher are bringing back Untitled Sessions, their late-night Jazz Fest afterparty and jam session, for a third year over Labor Day weekend.

08/23/2026

Tickets at https://linktr.ee/moondogdetroit

08/19/2026

This Sunday, we welcome a few longtime record collectors & members of the Detroit Jazzheads group to lay down some of their rarities on the Moondog decks. Join us for an afternoon listening in! Thanks to Angela, Andrew and Luis for sharing music ~~~

Ángela Colón
Andrew Rothman
Luis Torregrosa

08/17/2026

::: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 & 6 :::

Untitled Sessions is back for Year Three! We are most highly stoked to share news of our beloved Labor Day/Detroit Jazz Fest weekend afterparty & jam session!

For the past three years, we’ve partnered with D.Cipher to bring you two late night sessions featuring Detroit’s coldest instrumental improvisors locking in with an audience immersed in the sound and interplay. Each evening’s ensemble plays two sets over the course of the evening, with the second opening into a jam for musicians who’d like to sit in on the spontaneous collaboration.

This year, on Saturday, September 5, we welcome Detroit trumpet sensation Trunino Lowe and his quartet to Moondog to lead the charge. Between New York and Detroit, Lowe has been cultivating a major rise as a bandleader, composer and sideman and sharing his album debut, “The Vision” released in 2023.

He’ll be joined by Detroit’s finest with Louis Jones III and Michael Abbo in the rhythm section and Ian Fink on piano and keys.

On Sunday, September 6, pianist, composer and Freak Press founder Ian Fink brings an ensemble musical project he’s dubbed Essential Satisfaction. In addition to being a first-call pianist to Black Milk, Shigeto, Robert Hurst, The Undisputed Truth and Scott Grooves, Fink has also toured internationally with artists Kassa Overall and Tomoki Sanders over the past few years. The live and recorded musical concepts Fink presents as Freak Press demonstrate an incredible “fluency and versatility,” transcending categorization and beaming creative inspiration.

With details emerging in the coming weeks, Fink’s Essential Satisfaction is set to go off!

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are on-sale now for $20. After that, tickets will be $25 in advance and $30 at the door. A limited number of 2-night passes are also on-sale now for $40. Word to the wise!

With gratitude to our production partners at D.Cipher and to our sponsors at Casamara Club and Petal & Cork, we excitedly welcome you to vibe with us at 2026’s Untitled Sessions!

Design: Chien-An Yuan

D.Cipher
Trunino Lowe
IAN FINK
Freak Press
Casamara Club
Petal and Cork Events & Consulting
Louis Jones III

08/11/2026

::: TUESDAY, AUGUST 25 :::

The Keefe Jackson-Jakob Heinemann Quartet is a far-flung free jazz ensemble, with members residing in Chicago, Los Angeles and Oslo, Norway. Keefe Jackson (tenor sax) and Adam Shead (percussion) are active members of Chicago’s creative music community and bassist/composer Jakob Heinemann now hails from LA. They recorded an album for Chicago’s Irritable Mystic Records last summer and are joined on this tour by a special guest clarinetist from Oslo.

In support is a new trio of improvisors from Detroit and Ann Arbor. Percussionist, composer and Fire Music Mondays curator Jonathan Barahal Taylor is joined by trumpet phenom Allen Dennard and electronic artist and 1473 label head Chien An-Yuan for an evening of collaborative music-making and sound-shaping.

Advance tickets will go live today via Eventbrite for $10 and will be available at the door for $15. We look forward to another expedition into sound together!

Jakob Heinemann
Adam Shead
Jonathan Barahal Taylor
Allen Dennard
Chien-An Yuan

08/07/2026

::: SATURDAY AUGUST 22 :::

Portage Garage Sounds recording artist, bassist, producer & student of the synth, Josef Deas (Josef) pulls up at Moondog for a solo excursion into new sonic horizons.

A renowned jazz bassist, Deas was mentored early on by many of Detroit’s most decorated musical artists such as Vincent York, Marcus Belgrave, Vincent Chandler and others. His solo work via Portage Garage Sounds takes a different turn, though, revealing an interest in electronic and experimental musical structure.

He’s joined by longtime friend, experimental rapper, vocalist & writer Edward Nash (Brandon Edward Mitchell), formerly known as MC Kadence. As Kadence, Nash was a founding member of the rap collective The Abolitionists, a project DJ Charles Trees also contributed to as a young beat producer. Nash’s latest releases include collaborations from the likes of Dabrye and Georgia Anne Muldrow.

Artist and DJ Charles Trees (charles trees) threads the night together with selections before, between and after sets. Please join us for an evening of exceptional sound craft and deeply-tied friendship.