Detroit, MI
Sabrina Carpenter in Detroit: Short n’ Sweet Tour gets big and spicy at LCA
Sabrina Carpenter arrived Thursday at Little Caesars Arena seemingly driven by a mission: to stake a place among the leading, talking-point pop tours of 2024.
In a fun, frothy, vivacious and occasionally risqué show, the 25-year-old managed to make a solid case for it as she played to a sellout crowd in downtown Detroit on the third night of her Short n’ Sweet Tour.
“Please Please Please,” “Taste” and “Espresso” are some of the most delectably catchy tunes to come through the pop pipeline in a while, and they became cornerstones of a Thursday set list that featured all 12 numbers from “Short n’ Sweet,” the chart-topping album that lends the new tour its name. On a crisp night outside LCA that reminded us autumn is officially here, Carpenter served a 1½-hour indoor dose of sunny summertime sounds.
The signature wavy blond hair and fluttery vibrato were accompanied by ample energy from the pint-sized singer-songwriter, a 5-foot-tall star for whom “a little goes a long way,” as one video-screen inscription cheekily put it Thursday night.
She may be the year’s hottest breakout pop star, but Carpenter is no rookie: Having come through the Disney system as a teen actress a decade ago, Carpenter spent four early albums with a music career stalled in second gear.
Then came a new record deal and an A-list batch of collaborators such as Amy Allen and Jack Antonoff — and with the 2022 album “Emails I Can’t Send,” Carpenter was emphatically on to the self-proclaimed “big girl” chapter of her story. With a series of plum opening spots on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, she was primed for another step up, and “Short n’ Sweet” delivered it in a potent way this summer.
Sabrina Carpenter remembers her first concert in Michigan
Sabrina Carpenter, making her Little Caesars Arena debut on Thursday, reflected on a far less flashy visit to metro Detroit in 2016.
After previous stops at venues such as the Fillmore Detroit and Masonic Temple Theatre — along with Pontiac’s cozy Pike Room in 2016, as she recounted onstage Thursday — Carpenter was going full-scale with this latest Motor City visit.
On a main stage designed as a two-story New York penthouse apartment, Carpenter spent the first stretch of her LCA show in a pink negligée, kicking things off with the lush textures of “Taste” and “Good Graces” while undergirding “Slim Pickins” and “Lie to Girls” with vintage pop chording that revealed the old-school inspirations that fuel her latest work.
The night unfolded as a turn-of-the-’80s TV program, complete with voiceovers, videotaped mock-commercials and a pair of oversized studio cameras onstage to drive home the point. Carpenter would later emerge in a black bodysuit for a cocktail party segment (with a jazzy take on “Feather”) and sparkling gown for an elegant “Dumb & Poetic,” and the live episode would include a roll of closing credits listing tour personnel.
Her lyrics are laced with sexual references — some upfront, some implicit — but Carpenter gives it all a self-aware wink that makes it more camp than coarse. On Thursday, “Bed Chem” had her briefly writhing in a plush bedroom suite, while the exuberant dance-pop of “Juno” came with a quick flash of panties following a round of flirting with a Brighton fan named Dakota down front. She led the mostly teenage, female crowd in a call-and-response spotlighting three words: “camaraderie,” “horny” and “friendship.”
But the Short n’ Sweet show was otherwise a standard pop extravaganza that stayed between the lines, with 11 dancers, a four-piece band, a pair of backing singers and a confetti-blasted finale supplementing the action. (Then again, not every standard pop concert includes a lengthy black-and-white clip from 1966 with Leonard Cohen musing on poetry — as Thursday’s show did — so maybe something a little deeper is afoot here.)
Carpenter is proficient as a live performer and serviceable as a singer, but her real power lies in the craftsmanship of her songs. They’re astutely crafted pop tunes, more sophisticated than they might seem at first listen, nodding to previous golden eras without lapsing into retro laziness.
The menu of preshow music that kept fans occupied before the 9:05 p.m. start helped tell that tale: selections of ’70s disco-pop (ABBA, Andy Gibb), ’80s power pop (the La’s) and ’90s melodic rock (the Cardigans), foreshadowing the blend of influences that would inform Carpenter’s own set.
At one point, gathered with her dance crew on a heart-shaped B-stage, Carpenter played musical spin-the-bottle — a game to determine one cover-song performance for the evening. Having tackled ABBA in Columbus and Shania Twain in Toronto, she gave Detroit a rendition of “Kiss Me,” the 1999 alt-rock-pop hit by Sixpence None the Richer.
A soft-lit “Don’t Smile” closed the regular set before Carpenter returned, a Detroit-branded coffee mug in hand, to kick into the inevitable encore of “Espresso,” the career-defining hit with the instantly memorable hooks.
In a pop era that includes the likes of Charlie XCX, Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo, Carpenter may not be the most cutting-edge figure rocking the mainstream right now. But she’s clearly carving out a distinctive creative lane of her own — and we’ll see if Short n’ Sweet can grow into something long and lasting.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
What’s changed with Detroit Tigers’ player development?
JJ Cooper of “Baseball America” breaks down what shifts have taken place in how the Detroit Tigers develop their players. Full podcast out now.
LAKELAND, Fla. — Center fielder Max Clark, one of the flashiest and most highly touted prospects in baseball, wasn’t invited to the Detroit Tigers’ MLB camp for spring training. Instead, he was assigned to minor league camp.
But Clark will still get his big moment when he steps into the spotlight in the Spring Breakout game.
The Tigers are playing against the Atlanta Braves in a prospect-only matchup, scheduled for 4:05 p.m. March 16 at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida. Once again, Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell — a special assistant in the Tigers’ front office — will manage the Tigers in the Spring Breakout game.
It’s the second year of the Spring Breakout showcase in spring training.
The Spring Breakout roster is headlined by Clark, a 20-year-old who hit .264 with a .765 OPS in 34 games in High-A West Michigan in the 2024 season as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
There are 27 players on the roster, including 18 prospects from the Tigers’ top-30 list (as ranked by MLB Pipeline): Clark (No. 2), Kevin McGonigle (No. 3), Bryce Rainer (No. 4), Thayron Liranzo (No. 5), Josue Briceño (No. 6), Hao-Yu Lee (No. 8), Jaden Hamm (No. 9), Troy Melton (No. 13), Franyerber Montilla (No. 14), Enrique Jimenez (No. 17), Jake Miller (No. 18), Josh Randall (No. 19), Joseph Montalvo (No. 20), Michael Massey (No. 21), Roberto Campos (No. 23), Max Anderson (No. 24), Carson Rucker (No. 25), Tyler Owens (No. 29).
Right-hander Jackson Jobe, the Tigers’ No. 1 prospect, is not competing in the Spring Breakout game. Rather, Jobe is focused on winning a spot in the Tigers’ Opening Day starting rotation.
Five of the prospects on the Spring Breakout roster made MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospects list, all position players: Clark at No. 6, McGonigle at No. 28, Rainer at No. 52, Liranzo at No. 81 and Briceño at No. 94.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple,Spotify) ]
2025 Spring Breakout roster
Right-handed pitchers (9): Jaden Hamm, Troy Melton, Josh Randall, Joseph Montalvo, Michael Massey, Tyler Owens, Max Alba, RJ Petit, CJ Weins.
Left-handed pitchers (2): Jake Miller, Micah Ashman.
Catchers (2): Thayron Liranzo, Enrique Jimenez.
Infielders (9): Kevin McGonigle, Bryce Rainer, Josue Briceno, Hao-Yu Lee, Franyerber Montilla, Max Anderson, Carson Rucker, Jake Holton, John Peck.
Outfielders (5): Max Clark, Roberto Campos, Seth Stephenson, Nomar Fana, Brett Callahan.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
The MHSAA girls basketball state playoffs are underway and we have district semifinal scores involving Metro Detroit teams. To add your missing score, email japurcell@mlive.com or tag @JaredPurcellDET on X with the results. Stats from the game are encouraged.
Here are scores and highlights from Wednesday, March 5.
The year 2024 marked a significant turning point for the Detroit Club, as it undertook transformative structural changes, strengthened its partnerships with key community organizations, and worked to implement a committee-based approach to address critical areas of mass work: peace, labor, and community organizing. In anticipation of a national election year, the club strategically integrated electoral work into each committee’s efforts, ensuring that our work aligned with the broader struggle against the rising tide of fascism.
By adopting a committee structure, the club aimed to empower members to focus on areas of mass work they were most passionate about, while maintaining a centralized framework to ensure cohesion and alignment. Each committee concentrated on specific struggles and organizations, ensuring that their efforts were both consistent and impactful. At our recent club conference, they gave reports on their respective areas of work, detailing the terrain of struggle and the major challenges facing the working class and people of Detroit and Michigan.
Committee highlights
Our Labor Committee discussed the local labor scene, as well as the broader trade union movement, highlighting the ongoing fight back against the consolidation of fascism under the Trump administration and its network of oligarchs. Last year, the committee organized strike support, including for Teamsters Local 283 at Marathon in Southwest Detroit. Its members also held educationals and workshops on Project 2025 with the Detroit Union Education League, and circulated People’s World at workplaces, union halls, and picket lines. One of our club members ran a campaign for their local union office and nearly won the election.
The Peace Committee detailed the crisis of imperialism, sharing insights into the Move the Money Coalition’s efforts, the long-standing struggle against genocide in Palestine, and the ruling class’ continued hostility toward Cuba.
The Community Committee highlighted their work in building lasting alliances with Detroiters for Tax Justice (DFTJ) and the Detroit Tenants Association (DTA), focusing on empowering Detroiters to reclaim their wealth and strengthen their institutions, rather than allowing resources to remain concentrated in the hands of a privileged few.
Strengthening relationships, building alliances
Throughout the year, the Detroit Club prioritized building consistent and mutually beneficial relationships with grassroots organizations. Early in 2024, the club reconnected with the General Baker Institute (GBI), a historic and revolutionary institution dedicated to providing a community space for working class Detroiters. In collaboration with GBI and the Detroit Union Education League (D.U.E.L.), the club hosted several events, including an educational panel on Project 2025 and a discussion on Comrade Bennet Shoops’ new book, Half the World: A Century of Communist Women’s Writing.
Our club strived to build working class unity in the fight against fascism at the electoral level. During early voting, comrades volunteered with the A. Philip Randolph Institute to support voter outreach efforts, ensuring Detroiters had access to essential information about polling locations, required materials, and early voting options. However, we did not mobilize enough to meet the political moment. Moving forward, the Detroit club must remain committed to unity with grassroots and labor organizations as we approach the Detroit elections this year.
The national elections
The 2024 national election year brought new challenges and complexities to the club’s work. Recognizing Detroit’s historically low voter turnout — a result of undemocratic and racist voter suppression tactics, as well as widespread distrust of ruling class political institutions — the club made it a priority to ensure that Detroiters’ voices were heard. Over the summer, comrades distributed informational pamphlets and electoral materials across neighborhoods, sparking conversations about critical issues such as democratic rights, labor rights, and peace. These efforts also provided an opportunity to introduce the People’s World print edition, which was well received in union locals, coffee shops, campuses, and homes throughout the city.
While the 2024 election results were troubling, the club remains steadfast in its commitment to organizing against the new administration’s efforts to consolidate fascist rule under a regime characterized by racism, transphobia, xenophobia, and chauvinism. Despite these challenges, the strengthened unity, expanded membership, and community participation are a testament to our resilience and dedication to our working class.
Looking ahead
In 2025, the Detroit Club’s work is more critical than ever. Fascism must be defeated, our immigrant communities defended, and our trade unions mobilized to fight back.
Our new proposed plan of work reflects this urgency, emphasizing clarity, focus, and adherence to the democratic centralist nature of the Communist Party USA. Together, we will continue to build on the foundation laid by the past and advance the struggle for peace, equality, democracy, and socialism.
Images: Detroit CPUSA
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