12/01/2025
Hi,
I’m reaching out anonymously because I’m afraid of backlash, but I really want to bring something to your attention about a recent concert event in Detroit, Michigan.
The event took place at Kash & Company at Harpos in Detroit, MI on November 29, 2025. It was organized by a man who goes by “Patron Man,” also known as “Dre.” The concert was scheduled to run from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Workers were told we would be working from 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. with specific pay amounts agreed to in advance.
From the moment we arrived, it was clear the event was poorly planned and unsafe:
• Parking security didn’t know where to direct staff, even after we explained we were part of the promoters’ team. We were basically told to “park wherever.”
• Inside, the building was extremely cold, which was surprising given that known artists were performing and a large crowd was expected.
• There was no real plan in place for staff or guests:
• The door woman had to keep asking how to handle tickets and wristbands and was left dealing with unruly customers with little support.
• The two women hosting had to run around trying to find tables and seats for guests who had paid for reserved sections because there was no proper seating plan.
• Security was disorganized and, at times, unsafe. People were smoking in different parts of the building, tasers were brought inside, and at least one guest was reportedly attacked by security.
On top of that, the way workers were treated and paid was very unfair:
• We were told our work hours would end around 11:30 p.m.
• Later, we were told we were “done working” and to wait to be paid.
• Instead of leaving around 11:30 p.m., many of us didn’t leave until after 2:00 a.m., still waiting around for payment.
• When people finally did get paid, many were underpaid, and some of us are still waiting on the rest of what we were promised.
This affected bartenders, security, hostesses, and other staff. To my knowledge, nobody was properly paid according to the agreements. I came there, like many others, just trying to work, support someone from our city, and earn what we were promised. Instead, we were used, kept for extra hours, and then underpaid or not fully paid at all.
I also want to be clear that I am not solely blaming the party promoter. From what we were told, regardless of the exact contract terms, the main artist publicly promoted that she would be in attendance at this event. Instead, she went to another major artist’s concert and performed there the same night, reportedly after being paid only half of the contracted amount for this event. So while there seem to be serious issues with how the event was run and how workers were treated, it also feels like the artist’s actions contributed to the situation and to people in our community being let down.
I’m sharing this with you because it feels like part of a bigger problem:
– unsafe event conditions
– no real planning or accountability
– and people in our own community being exploited as cheap or free labor, while fans and workers are misled.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for using your platform to highlight what’s really going on in our city.
— A concerned worker
