The Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5, billed as “Detroit’s Finest” and “Some of the Best of Detroit Rock,” has returned to the Diesel Concert Detroit in New Baltimore on March 7, 2026. Mayhem 5 was an incredible event that showcased numerous local bands from Metro Detroit. This show, which had been quiet for a while, has resurfaced, featuring many artists that many know and who are on their way to making a name for themselves in the music world.
The Detroit Rock City Mayhem has existed since its inception in 2019. The event has featured a diverse range of local musicians as well as bands. The brainchild of Jay Puzio and Niko Puzio, the idea was simple. “…to put something together with some of the top rock bands in metro Detroit and bring the community together through music at a low cost,” says Kristy Miller, the assistant manager of the band Kourgaran and owner of Eclypes Media.
Mayhem has featured many local artists, including Dead in 5, Elsie Binx, Casting Shadowz, The Lion Within, Secondhand Smoke, Fallen Stronger, and Kourgran, to name a few of the artists who have graced the stage. Some are still around, while others have faded away in rock ‘n’ roll memories.
Many well-known local groups in the local music world sponsored the March 8th event. They included Eclypse Media, Feast Fam Productions, Infused Productions, Metal Scorpio Graphics & Photography, and the Heavy Metal Syndicate Support Group.
The Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5’s lineup contains many newcomers to the event. As well as the return of a familiar name. Names like “Aqua Monkey,” “Faded,” “Second Salem,” “Venom of Virtue,” “The New Day,” and “Kougaran.” These acts possess significant capacity to attract a large audience at some of the surrounding venues. But tonight, these acts were performing on two stages at the Diesel Detroit Concert in New Baltimore, Michigan. One is in the lounge, while the other is in one of the many theaters. Drawing the crowds.
A comment was made about the numerous acts on the bill at Mayhem 5. It was mentioned that the acts on the bill could “be headliners on their own.” For the most part, that statement is fair to say. The Detroit Rock City Mayhem has showcased many quality acts in the past and is known to showcase excellent musical guests. That is one of the reasons why people come back, time after time, to the show.
Many acts that played at Mayhem 5 could hold their own as headliners at most venues. This is true. But there were a few musical acts, in my opinion, that were still rough around the edges, as in showmanship. But that doesn’t take away from the raw talent that was displayed on the stage. They could still hold their own in a headline show in their own way.
There were a few surprises among the six bands performing at the Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5 concert. Newcomer Second Salem, this is their first time at the Mayhem show. According to their Facebook page, they call themselves “Detroit Vampire Metal” and began the show with a high-energy performance. According to the band’s website bio, they are from Detroit and recently released an album in January. If you enjoy their music, you should see or attend one of their performances. They clearly set the tone for the other bands to follow for the rest of the show.
Another newcomer that was surprising to watch was Aqua Monkey. A “Detroit-based grunge/alternative rock band enriched with 90s grunge influence.” Their name has been mentioned around town for a while now. They have been known to put on “porch concerts” for their neighbors and crowds. Every time they host one of these during the summer, they attract a larger and larger crowd. Aqua Monkey’s forty-five-minute set was extremely entertaining, and they sounded fantastic. As an audience member, it’s cool to see a band clicking and having fun with what they do, and that was evident last night.
The final newcomer that was surprising to see was the band “Indie Rock and Blues Trio,” and that is Faded, from Detroit, Michigan. The Pierce brothers with Hunny P, also known as Faded, closed the show with their forty-five-minute set. As they performed for the audiences, you could see the effort put into the act, despite the band’s youth.
Kougaran is one band that never lets you down, particularly at the Detroit Rock City Mayhem event. They have performed at the event every year, and the audience continues to enjoy it. The sound was strong, and it was clear from the floor that the band was having a good time at the event. Steve “The Animal” McCannon, their drummer, surprised everyone with his drum solo (at least I thought it was a surprise). In the past, there were many different guitar solos but no drum solos (except once), and it was nice to see the band showing off their chops.
The other two bands on the bill were Venom of Virtue and The New Day, which gave a good performance that entertained the crowd. Each band had a 45-minute set and performed original songs as well as a few covers for the audience. Both bands can entertain a crowd and put on a good show, which is why they were invited to the Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5 event. If you are interested in hearing more from the band, they can be found on Spotify.
The evening was enjoyable. The mayor of Detroit Rock City has chosen some great bands for this year’s event. So when he said that many of the bands at tonight’s show could be headliners on their own, for the most part, he wasn’t wrong. It was also nice to see such a diverse group of people at the event. It was surprising to see so many people under the age of 18 at the Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5 event. But that’s a good thing. That means that rock and hard rock music can still survive in the face of today’s musical trends. If there is another event like this in the future—and I believe there will be—you never know what the future holds for this event. The March 7th show appeared to be a success for everyone who attended. But you might want to take a moment and look at the acts that will be playing at Mayhem 6(?) and see what local music has for you to listen to.
