Little Corner: Parking Lot Party at Dally in the Alley

By Cypress Stroscheim

On Sept. 10, thousands of people gathered in the Cass corridor for the first Dally in the Alley since the COVID-19 pandemic. People from all of life gathered to see what the community-led festival that’s been canceled for the past two years had to offer. 

There were vendors selling everything from clothes to crystals to local businesses doing demonstrations. Community Push, a local skateboard shop, for example, had a ramp for skateboarders to catch air. However, the main appeal of Dally in the Alley was and always has been the music. 

All over the festival, there were multiple stages where musicians in the metro Detroit area performed. One spot that had a stage was the first ever parking lot party at Marcus Market, a liquor store on the corner of Second Avenue and Prentis Street. They hope to keep on doing this in the future during the weekend of Dally in the Alley. 

When walking into the parking lot, dallyers were greeted by the smell of hot dogs made by Yum-Village and had the opportunity to shop vintage threads being sold by local vintage store Old Soul Vintage and other local vendors.

The Parking Lot Party had many local artists performing including local shoegaze band Clinic Stars and punk band The Stools. Clinic Star’s guitar flooded the ears with loud guitar, with usage of effect pedals reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine on their iconic album Loveless. 

There’s no denying that the hot and humid weather on that day prevented the crowd from getting into the music, especially with The Stools. From the first to the last chord of their set, people were moshing, chucking drinks in the air, and at some point, skateboarders were doing tricks on their boards in the pit.