Detroit: A tribute to multi-faceted artist, David Blair
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011On July 23, 2011, Detroit lost an award-winning, multi-faceted artist: singer-songwriter, poet, writer, performer, musician, community activist and teacher David Blair. While Blair performed all over the world and has friends on almost every continent, Detroit was his home. As Metro Times writer Travis Wright wrote, “ He loved this city and that love was reciprocated. They had claimed each other more than a decade ago. “
The Detroit community recognizes how much he created in its name, and will honor his legacy with the First Annual Blair’s Crowded House, an homage to the Crowded House show Blair created and hosted yearly in an effort to expose the Detroit community to a variety of its homegrown artists. “Crowded House originated from Blair’s incredible ability to bring artists from many different backgrounds together in the interests of building community and advancing social justice,†said Invincible, a Detroit hip-hop artist, activist, and the event’s co-organizer. “Our goal is to organize this event every year around Blair’s birthday.”  Blair’s Crowded House will include such acts as The Boyfriends, Alison Lewis, Monica Blaire, Jamaal Versiz May, Airea Dee Matthews, Khary Kimani Turner, Mike E, and Invincible. A gallery view of video footage and photography of his performances and travels, and a writing workshop to give those who were inspired by him the space to create their own tributes will also commence. All proceeds from the event will go toward the David Blair Memorial, a fund created to assist Detroit artists with their needs in times of crisis. Learn more about the event here.
The Creative Resistance Fund has given its advice and solidarity for the creation of the David Blair Memorial Fund.