FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE: Song, Story, Spirit

Through the Faith in Detroit initiative, Friday Night Live: Song, Story, Spirit is an immersive concert experience that celebrates the transformative power of storytelling, faith, and music’s unifying force. Each performance blends live music and narrative to bring personal testimonies to life. Through a curated mix of sacred and secular works, audiences are invited into a space where faith is made tangible through artistic expression. The series features a range of professional musicians, vocalists, and storytellers, and focuses on three areas:

• Song. Song bridges story and spirit; it is the audible expression of what words alone cannot hold. It gives form to feeling and rhythm to remembrance. In this concert series, song celebrates melody and harmony’s power to connect, console, and awaken. Each performance highlights the artistry of the human voice and the communal act of singing as a force that gathers people, shares truth, and kindles the Spirit.
• Story. Every song’s core is a story knitted from memory, shaped by identity, and carried through generations. In this concert series, Story represents the profoundly personal and boldly communal narratives that inspire music. Whether passed down through oral tradition, written in journals, or lived in silence, these stories give voice to joy, struggle, resilience, and hope.
• Spirit. Spirit speaks to the unseen force that breathes life into earthen vessels. This energy transcends notes and lyrics, stirring something deeper within us. The essence connects the artist to the audience, the past to the present, and the earth to the divine. In this concert series, Spirit honors the sacred, the soulful, and the spontaneous, the moments when music becomes prayer, protest, praise, and presence. It’s where emotion meets intuition, and sound becomes a source of healing, unity, and inspiration.

Themes

September 11​ - “Change Agents” Some relationships enter our lives​ quietly. Others arrive like a spark, changing everything. Even a relationship that ended can become a turning point that shapes who we become. ​This share ​is about the relationships that transformed your life.

October 9 - “The Way Back” Repair is rarely a single conversation or a simple apology. Sometimes relationships are restored. Sometimes they are not. Yet the effort to repair what’s broken can transform everyone involved. This share is about the courage required to face what has been fractured and the possibility of growth that emerges through the effort to make things right.

November 13 - “Finding My Place” Belonging is about more than being invited in. It is the experience of being seen for who you are and discovering that there is space for you exactly as you are. Sometimes belonging arrives through a community, a friendship, a mentor, a family, or a shared purpose. This share explores the vulnerability of showing up authentically and allowing ourselves to be known.

La Shaun phoenix Moore, Host

La Shaun phoenix Moore is a Detroit-based vocalist, spoken word artist, activist, culture creator, and wife. Moore’s interdisciplinary work is infused with her love for Detroit, Black joy and audacity, God, social justice, and her Black momma. She is currently working on a series of interviews. Performances called 42MW, which interrogates the 42 million ways of Blackness after Henry Louis Gates Jr. (who has given his stamp of approval to this historical legacy project), celebrate Black joy, Black hope, and Black audacity in reference to Mr. Gates’ infamous talk on the subject. Moore is the coach of the Youth Performance Troupe for InsideOut Literary Arts and curates poetry and music events in partnership with The Wright Museum, endprejudice, and in collaboration with Steven D. Thomas at Michigan State University. She has received multiple Creators of Culture Awards from CultureSource, the inaugural Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Heritage “For the People: Exploring Living Traditions for Engaged Learning” Fellowship, and is the standard for excellence in artistic event curation in Detroit.

Derrick Benford Trio, House Band

Detroit native Derrick Benford was raised in a family where music wasn’t just heard but lived. Surrounded by a rich blend of gospel, jazz, soul, R&B, and hip-hop influences, he developed a profound appreciation for groove, storytelling, and the energy of live performance. Today, Derrick forges his own path as a pianist, composer, bandleader, and champion for music education, music therapy, and the arts.

Derrick holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Business from Wayne State University, with a minor in Business Administration and principal studies in jazz piano. He is an alumnus of Cass Technical High School’s renowned Avocational Music program and is currently pursuing his Music Therapy Equivalency Degree at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. Blending jazz sophistication with gospel soul, hip-hop bounce, and R&B feel, Derrick leads the Detroit-based Derrick Benford Trio (formerly Upfront), celebrated for its fresh, groove-driven sound and dynamic live shows.

Derrick’s career has brought him across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia, sharing stages and collaborating with notable artists such as George Clinton (P-Funk), Kern Brantley, Marcus Belgrave, Jaguar Wright, Alex Isley, Regina Belle, and many more. His recent releases, “Realized” featuring Chantae Cann and “Just Because” featuring Remey Williams, continue to resonate with both listeners and fellow musicians, earning praise for their soulful musicianship, authenticity, and modern sound.

Satori Shakoor, Story Coach

As a founding member and catalyst for the award-winning Obsidian Theatre Company in Toronto, Satori Shakoor helped establish Canada’s leading culturally diverse theatre company in 1999. Her storytelling journey began in 2011, when she quickly rose as a Moth Mainstage storyteller and host, captivating audiences on global stages, as well as on PBS, NPR, and acclaimed podcasts. Satori hosts Detroit Performs Live for Detroit PBS. In 2024, she had the honor of emceeing the Kresge Centennial Event where President Barack Obama gave the keynote address.

In addition to her storytelling achievements, Satori is the Executive Producer of the award-winning The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers®, a platform she founded in 2012 in Detroit. This internationally recognized initiative aims to connect humanity, heal and transform communities, and deliver uplifting, thought-provoking, and soul-enriching entertainment through the art and craft of storytelling. She also serves as the Executive Director of The Society for the Re-Institutionalization of Storytelling, a Michigan-based nonprofit 501(c)(3). Through these roles, Satori partners with corporations, educational institutions, and faith-based organizations to produce impactful live events.