The 90-plus-minute “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” on Thursday night celebrated the city’s refurbished train station, which reopens to the public on Friday, six years after
The vacant
“Six years ago, we gathered here, and we dreamt of what was possible. We dared to dream that this station, which had become a symbol of a broken city, could once again shine as the symbol of the Motor City,”
The sold-out, ticketed, outdoor event that streamed live on Peacock also featured performances by Big Sean, the Clark Sisters, Common, Fantasia,
“For most of my life, it was just a big eyesore,” Big Sean said of the train station. “It's an oasis in the middle of the city. It's a metaphor for us all: It's our time right now.”
The concert was executive-produced by Eminem and his longtime manager,
Eminem's appearance may have been a highlight, but White's performance wasn't far behind.
Announcing he and his band were "going to play a couple songs tonight that were written a few blocks away from right here,” White was met with a thunderous response when he strummed the opening chords of the anthemic, “Seven Nation Army,” which he recorded while a member of The White Stripes. White, who grew up not far from MCS, held his guitar high above his head with one hand as pyrotechnics lit up the station behind him.
The hulking structure, rising high above Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, was ravaged for years by scavengers and urban explorers. The station will now serve as an anchor for a sprawling 30-acre (12-hectare) mobility innovation district and a resurgent Corktown. The project is expected to bring thousands of tech-related jobs. Restaurants, new hotels and other service-industry businesses already are moving into and near Corktown.
The reopening of the train station also comes as
A decade since exiting its painful bankruptcy, the city has stabilized its finances, staunched population losses and made inroads in cleaning up blight across its 139 square miles (360 square kilometers). In April,
“I just love seeing everybody in our city happy,” Ford said.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
, source