Rhythm of Our Roots sees great turnout for first year

SOUTHFIELD — The Southfield Pavilion, located at 26000 Evergreen Road, was packed with people enjoying the first Rhythm of Our Roots music festival on Feb. 7.

The free music festival was one of the many Black History Month events held in Southfield. Holly Graves, youth programmer for Southfield Parks and Recreation, said the city aims to celebrate Black History Month in a fun, educational and memorable way each year..

Graves said the response was “amazing,” with many attendees showing up before the doors opened.

“We had a ton of people in the lobby waiting, and we had to let people in early because it was getting busy,” she said.

The acts featured in the festival were based in or had roots in Detroit. These acts included the Detroit Youth Choir, Angela Davis, Florella Strings, Spyder Turner, Evan Garr and Alexander Zonjic’s All-Stars, which featured Alexander Zonjic, Mike Harrington, Eugene McBride and Sasha Kashperko.

Southfield Parks and Recreation got together with internationally known jazz flutist Zonjic to put together the festival. He and the Parks and Recreation Department collaborated in the past for the Cabin Fever Jazz Festival in April 2025. Zonjic said it was fun to put together the festival and celebrate Black music talent.

“I love when people take the initiative to not only do a great event, but do a cultural event for a very significant month,” Zonjic said. “This is an opportunity for a lot of people to see great talent for free.”

In addition to the music acts, attendees also enjoyed food and many retail vendors. Additionally, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum was in attendance for people to learn more about Black history.

Valerie Fields attended Rhythm of Our Roots with her grandson. She said it was a nice way to get exposed to different kinds of music, celebrate Black History Month and be a part of the community.

“It is a positive event,” she said. “It’s giving exposure to different types of music and getting the community together.”

Micah Otteson was at the music festival with her daughters. She said that while she lives in Redford Township, her daughter is enrolled in Southfield Public Schools, so they go to nearly every event hosted in Southfield. Otteson said she was at Rhythm of Our Roots to not just celebrate Black History Month, but to be a part of the community and see friends.

“Huge shoutout to Southfield for always bringing in awesome talent and vendors,” she said. “We always have a good time here.”

The city of Southfield will have more Black History Month events throughout February. More information on these events can be found on the city’s website at cityofsouthfield.com.