When Music Brings Us Together: The Adventure to Mick Blankenship’s Birthday Bash

Sometimes it takes a weekend to show you exactly what your life is like.

You find yourself almost hovering over yourself, watching everything happen, seeing the smiles, the laughter and the memories being made, while at the same time knowing what is happening underneath it all.

That is what this weekend was for me.

My adventure started Thursday when we headed from Kalkaska down to Detroit Metro Airport to pick up Chante, also known as Little Mama on TikTok. She was flying in from California for Mick Blankenship’s birthday bash.

I think getting to hang out with her and actually getting to know each other was something I really needed.

Thursday night we hung out at the hotel, had a beer, laughed and talked. We even called our friend Dyllon and woke him up. We ended up talking to him for probably an hour to an hour and a half before finally deciding we should probably let him go back to sleep.

Oh, and Chante got to experience an actual White Castle burger that night. 😂

This birthday bash was supposed to be about celebrating Mick, but it ended up being so much more than that.

It brought together fans of his music, but it also brought together those of us who spend our time in his TikTok lives. Most of us had never actually met each other in person. We knew each other through a screen, through comments, through lives, through music and through Mick.

Now suddenly, we were all going to be in the same place.

Friday morning we got up and started our Michigan adventure.

Chante had never been to Michigan, so I wanted to show her some of Detroit.

Our first stop was Tim Hortons for coffee and breakfast because obviously you cannot start a Detroit adventure without coffee.

Then we hit I 94 and started showing her some Detroit landmarks. We showed her the famous Uniroyal tire, and she got to see the 8 Mile sign from the expressway too, which was pretty cool because she had seen Eminem’s movie.

We took the Chalmers exit and showed her Harpos Concert Theatre, the legendary Detroit venue.

Then we headed downtown.

We showed her that right across the Detroit River was Canada. It is one of those things you can take for granted when you have lived around here, but when someone is visiting for the first time, it is pretty cool to show them that you can literally look across the water and see another country.

From there we headed to Royal Oak to check out Rock & Brews, the restaurant opened by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS.

And let me tell you, we were like two school kids walking into that place.

We were taking pictures and videos of everything. We were in awe of the whole place, looking at everything, checking out the different levels and just soaking it all in.

Sharing that experience with someone who loves music as much as I do made it even better.

We ordered the Lavender Lemonade made with Jason Momoa’s vodka and Parmesan garlic fries.

Those fries are AMAZING.

And that drink? Absolutely to die for.

Our waiter was awesome. We sat there talking and laughing, and I bought Chante and myself Rock & Brews shirts. We got to check out the second and third levels and just took the whole place in.

After lunch in Royal Oak, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the night.

Before heading to the Token Lounge, I wanted Chante to experience one of my favorite things, Bates Burgers in Livonia.

My favorite sliders.

So we headed to Bates and introduced her to another little piece of Michigan that I love.

The thing is, while all of this was happening, I was carrying a whole lot inside.

I have been under so much stress since losing my job. I am trying to find another one, trying to figure out how to make things work, wanting so badly to live my dream, dealing with my youngest son’s health issues and wondering how I am going to make it day by day.

This weekend had been planned since Mick announced he was playing the Token Lounge.

I had been looking forward to it.

I thought this was going to be my chance to decompress, chill out, see old friends, meet new friends and just forget about everything for a little while.

And while I definitely had a blast, my nerves were beyond shot.

I was breaking down inside.

We met up with Mick when they arrived and got to sit around and talk for a little while. We also finally got to meet Koda, Mick’s dog, who everyone had been waiting to meet.

And let me tell you, Koda is the sweetest dog ever.

Friday night came, and while Mick and everyone else went to dinner at Olive Garden, Chante, Damien and I decided we wanted to get to the Token Lounge early and see the local bands opening for Mick.

When we got there, we met Sally, who happens to be a fan and follower of Mick’s. We watched the bands, cheered them on and enjoyed the music.

Then my friend Heather showed up, so I got to see her too.

More fans and mods were there, and little by little, people who had all been connected through Mick’s TikTok lives were finally standing in the same room.

Then Mick took the stage.

Mick did amazing, as always.

But this time I was paying attention to more than just the performance.

I was watching the people watching Mick.

I watched their faces. I watched them sing along. I watched their reactions to the songs. I watched people who had traveled hours just to stand in that room and hear him play.

I really hope one day Mick notices what his music means to the people who were there.

Because I do not think he always gets to see that side of it.

He sees the comments. He sees the views. He sees the TikTok lives and the numbers.

But standing in that room, I saw something different.

I saw people who connected with his music. People who had been touched by his songs. People who traveled from different parts of Michigan, including the U.P., because they wanted to be there for him.

There was one thing that really bothered me, though.

When Mick came on, only a few members of two of the opening bands stayed to watch him. There was barely anyone there.

I truly believe if you are an opening band, you should stay and support the headliner. The headliner gave you a stage. You should give them the same respect and support.

But I kept looking around at the people who did stay.

The people who traveled to Michigan to support Mick.

The people who traveled from the U.P.

The fans.

The mods.

The friends.

All of us were there to support someone we call our friend.

Someone whose music brought us together.

We were there to wish him a Happy Birthday and hear the songs that touched us.

It may not have been packed, but it meant something to every person who was there.

That is what truly mattered.

I hope someday Mick gets to understand that his music is not just something people listen to.

It becomes part of their lives.

And the people standing in that room were proof of that.

After the show, we headed back to the hotel to sleep.

Except sleep did not exactly happen.

Between my son texting me because his anxiety was getting to him and having approximately an inch of room on the bed, I did not get much sleep at all.

So by 4:00 a.m., I was awake.

I got up, showered, got dressed and went downstairs for coffee and breakfast at the hotel.

I waited for everyone else to wake up, and eventually we got the text from Mick with his brother’s address.

We headed over there, hung out, talked, laughed and loved on Koda.

I was physically there, but mentally I was somewhere else.

My mind could not slow down.

I had so much anger buried inside me from things I had seen and things I had been told.

There was hurt from giving everything I have to everyone else for so long.

There was fear of not being able to make it.

Fear of not knowing what comes next.

Fear of everything falling apart.

I was fighting what felt like a nervous breakdown, and I knew I needed to head home.

Not because I did not want to be there.

God, I wanted to be there.

I wanted to stay with everyone. I wanted to keep laughing and hanging out and enjoying the weekend I had been looking forward to for so long.

But I knew I needed to go home for my son and honestly, for my own mind.

I was worried about my Beagle too. He is getting slower by the day, and that was another thing weighing on me.

Around 1:00 p.m., we had to leave.

I said my goodbyes and gave everyone hugs.

Leaving Chante broke my heart.

She is the friend I never knew I needed.

Sometimes people come into your life in the most unexpected ways. You do not realize how important someone is going to become until you actually spend time together.

We went from knowing each other through TikTok to spending a few days laughing, exploring, sharing music and simply being ourselves.

And now I had to say goodbye.

We headed home, and somewhere along that drive, I started writing this blog.

I have had some time now to take in those few days I was back in the Detroit area, and I realized just how much I miss it.

Being back there reminded me of how much of my life is tied to that place. The music, the people, the venues, the memories and the feeling of being surrounded by people who understand that part of me.

For a few days, I got to step away from everything that has been weighing on me.

And maybe I needed that more than I realized.

There were also a few people missing from this weekend.

I really missed Brittney, who was not feeling well and could not make it to the Token.

I missed Dyllon, one of Mick’s mods, who could not make it either.

And then there was Jason, the friend I was really looking forward to seeing.

He had an anniversary he needed to celebrate, and believe me, I completely understand. Some things come before everything else, and I would never fault him for that.

But I still missed him.

I missed all of them.

Because that is what made this weekend so special.

It was not just about Mick’s birthday.

It was about the people.

The people who traveled.

The people who showed up.

The people I met for the first time.

The friends I got to see again.

The ones who could not be there but were still missed.

This weekend gave me something I desperately needed.

For a few days, I laughed. I explored. I listened to music. I made new memories. I met someone who became a friend I did not know I needed.

And somewhere along the way, I remembered that underneath all the stress, fear and uncertainty, I am still me.

I am still the woman who loves music.

I am still the woman who wants to experience life.

I am still the woman who wants to build something of her own.

I am still the woman who wants to laugh, make memories and surround herself with people who make her feel alive.

Maybe this adventure was never just about counting down to Mick Blankenship’s birthday bash.

Maybe it was a reminder that even when life feels like it is falling apart, there are still moments worth holding onto.

And sometimes you do not realize how much you needed an adventure until you are home again and already miss it.