- Tonight on "Detroit Performs" we are featuring the 2026 Concert of Colors Festival.

The Concert of Colors brings diverse music and culture to the heart of Detroit each July.

This year the festival honors the memory of Ishmael Achmed, the festival's founder as it celebrates it's 35th year.

Enjoy the sounds of the Concert of Colors Festival on "Detroit Performs."

- [Announcer] Funding for "Detroit Performs" is provided by the Kresge Foundation, the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, Gregory Haynes and Richard Sonenklar and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.

(bright cheerful music) (audience clapping) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (crowd cheering) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) - Come on Detroit, let's hear you, here we go.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

(upbeat orchestral music) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (crowd cheering) - All right friends.

This next one is going to be a toasting song.

Anybody have a drink in their hand right now?

That's right, so you can put it up in the air if you have it and if you don't you can just put up your fist in solidarity because as well as this being a toast this is one of the oldest toasts that we know.

It comes all the way from Ukraine... (speaking in a foreign language) And this is a toast to, well let's say it's a toast to your health and to music and to justice and to love and to hope and to faith, all the good things.

Most importantly of all to peace and all those people who are fighting for it in less peaceful places so that we can enjoy our evening, our afternoon, our morning, our night here under peaceful skies in Detroit.

Okay, we're gonna sing it.

It's one of the oldest toasts that we know.

It's been passed on from generation to generation from mouths to ears to hearts and souls from the ground on up through the, through the decades through the annals and we're gonna sing it right now.

It goes like this, all right.

(singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (singing in a foreign language) (crowd cheering) - Now we've decided.

Yeah, we're gonna play one of the oldest songs that we know.

One of the first songs that we learned.

This one is, this one is from, from the border between Ukraine and Poland.

It's called... (speaking in a foreign language) It's a song about hope.

So, thank you for making us feel at home here in Detroit.

(gentle music) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (crowd cheering) (singing in a foreign language) (crowd cheering) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (upbeat orchestral music continues) - All right, y'all keep that cualla going for all of you who are spectators and who have no idea what's going on I'm gonna do a loose translation of this song for you, all right?

This is basically what it means, it's like this.

♪ Come on, Janice let's dance in a circle ♪ ♪ Come on, Janice, come on baby ♪ ♪ Let's dance in a circle ♪ Like a little crooked circle.

♪ Come on, Janice, come on baby ♪ ♪ Let's dance in a circle ♪ Okay, second verse.

♪ Come on, Janice, let's go sell our horse ♪ ♪ Come on, Janice, come on baby ♪ ♪ Let's go sell our horse ♪ Horse.

♪ Come on, Janice, come on baby ♪ ♪ Let's go sell our horse ♪ (upbeat orchestral music) We're gonna do this one.

This is a ladies waltz.

It's a love song and let me put it this way, it's a song about, well in a world that's full of men that are drunk on lust and greed and violence and all these terrible things, this is a song... - This, this is a song that is simply about a group of women that get together to deal with it by getting drunk.

(gentle music) (speaking in a foreign language) - [Singer] Thank you for being with us.

We're Lemon Bucket.

(gentle orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (upbeat orchestral music) (singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) - [Singer] Sing with me.

(singing in a foreign language) - Come on, give us a little more.

(singing in a foreign language) (singing in a foreign language) (crowd cheering) - [Announcer] Funding for "Detroit Performs" is provided by the Kresge Foundation, the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, Gregory Haynes and Richard Sonenklar and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.

(bright cheerful music) (gentle music)