The Venue at the Center of Controversy for Hosting a Group with Alleged Nazi Connections

Apology from Harpos Concert Theater

The musical venue in Detroit issued an apology for booking several Black-metal groups with alleged connections to neo-Nazis and white supremacy.

The Harpos Concert Theater hosted a concert on January 25, which was abruptly canceled by the owners halfway through the event. Following this, they shared a lengthy explanation on Facebook detailing how the situation came about.

Co-owners Roosevelt Stevanovsky and Kristl Dzhazhkovsky asserted that they were misled by the promoters of the acts, although they did not specify any individuals.

“To start, we would like to express our deepest apology to the community,” they stated.

“Even though the incidents of January 25 do not align with our values or the values of our community, we sincerely regret and take responsibility for ourselves and others. We are deeply committed to fostering an environment of inclusivity, respect, and equality for everyone at Harpos. We firmly believe that racism has no place in our business or society, and we stand against all forms of racism.”

Response to Community Concerns

They mentioned that they should have conducted more thorough research into the bands they were booking, stating that they felt the promoters deliberately withheld critical information.

“We felt manipulated throughout this process and will continue to assess where we need to improve. For the event on Saturday, January 25, we weren’t aware that some of the groups had any ties to neo-Nazi, white supremacy, or black nationalist socialist ideologies. Had we known this in advance, the event would have never occurred,” they explained.

“This was the first event organized by this promoter in our venue,” they continued. “During the booking process, this information was never disclosed. We were led to believe it was simply a Black Metal festival, a type of event we have successfully hosted at Harpos in the past.”

In closing, they added: “We understand the outrage and anger, which are natural responses, showing that humanity still exists and that there are always those who will resist hatred and injustice.”

“Neither I nor Harpos promote hatred or racism, and I will never intentionally host such an event that risks the support of our community and our venue. This isn’t who we are, nor what we stand for.”

The show was halted after two out of the seven scheduled acts performed. The acts and their promoters were not named and have not commented on the situation.

Controversy Around the Event

The concert took place just five days after the second inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. During the inauguration, Elon Musk raised his hand in a gesture that many interpreted as similar to a Nazi salute.

Since then, Musk has dismissed such rumors, labeling them as “tired” and a product of “dirty tricks.”

Graims, former partner of Tesla and CEO of Tesla and X, initially stated that she would refrain from commenting on the gesture while she needed time to “investigate the situation.” Later, she clarified, “If it wasn’t evident—I truly condemn Nazism and white supremacy. I apologize for not recognizing it sooner; I didn’t realize how serious the issue was. But some of you made it clear that it creates significant problems.”